007-Changing Seasons

"October is the fallen leaf, but it is also a wider horizon more clearly seen. It is the distant hills once more in sight, and the enduring constellations above them once again." — Hal Bourland

Full disclosure: I’m stuck-ish in my writing, and one of the few reasons I keep moving forward is that I realize I’m only stuck-ish. My WIP is between drafts, in that lonely void where I question whether its missing one last component to flesh out a truly complete and fulfilling story, or my reaching the point where I’m comfortable sending it out to beta readers…

Which reminds me…beta readers! How many do I need? How do I get the book to them? Paperback, PDF? Should I start looking into cover design first? How do I follow-up with my readers between drafting a new novel and critiquing another novel? Holy shit, exactly how much crippling anxiety will this all result in?

The answer is none. Okay, realistically the answer is nothing I can’t handle, although my current lack of progress seems to compound the issue.

I’ve mentioned it before, but in her Write Now Podcast, Sarah Werner discusses “seasons,” as in figurative seasons of time. Writing season, like spring and football seasons, end with the promise of renewal in the near future. A large chunk of the novel I’m editing was written between January and June of this year. Perhaps that is my writing season, or maybe I simply took time to let my manuscript breathe while trying to develop new projects.

Either way, this time of year provides a perfect storm of creative opportunity, and no, I’m not speaking about NaNoWriMo. I will…very briefly, but not this second. No, my dear occasional vagrant that wandered over and have now found themself reading this page, I’m talking about fall. I’m talking about Halloween. I’m talking about the weather slowly starting to lean back into the shrubbery (and yes, I’m picturing the Homer Simpson meme) to re-emerge as a freezing cold couple of months that begs us introverted creatives into hunkering down and playing within the jungle gym of our imaginations.

There’s something about this time of year that starts to get the synapses firing a little extra. There’s the aforementioned change in weather but consider the activities going on. Leaves are changing color and falling, and some outdoor activities may be a more pleasant experience than it was in say…the sweltering days of early August. Senses welcome being acknowledged more often and allow us to take our time experiencing as many details as we can.

From a purely creative, fantastical standpoint, let’s not forget that a few times during the month of October, we may also be walking around dressed as witches, warlocks, pirates, superheroes, wizards, or any of the other countless costumed beings our hearts and minds can come up with. I personally have spent way too much money on a rather true-to-screen-looking Doctor Strange costume (which I may or may not decide to go live on Instagram with for my drunken Halloween antics), but something about the act of dressing up and being someone else for the day provides that element of creative buy-in. And considering I was never a fan of Halloween until the last few years, I’m here for all of it.

NaNoWriMo is a different beast, and one I’ve never had the pleasure of fighting. To be more accurate, I have no desire to fight it. Something in the idea of forcing yourself to write around two-thousand words a day to complete a novel within a month…it doesn’t make sense to me for multiple reasons. One: you’re likely spending a month planning it. Face it, you’re VERY likely not looking at a blank screen on November 1st when you suddenly decide how your six main characters interact with each other while they engage in a plot that uncovers a covert government operation, etc. There’s at least some planning there. Plus months to edit. And Thanksgiving…truly, I’m not sure why November was the month to be picked. January should be pissed off. Let’s not forget having a day job, laundry detergent isn’t cheap, people. Can NaNoWriMo be completed? Yes. Is it ACTUALLY a month to complete a novel? No.

Does it have to affect your ability to write? NO! And can you still benefit from it? YES.

I am SO excited to join with my South Jersey Writers Group during the month of November. For the first time since the day I decided to call myself a writer and follow through with that idea, I will be partaking in at LEAST two NaNoWriMo sessions, held both in person and virtually, IN ADDITION to my first virtual writing retreat with the same group.

While I have no misconceptions about completing a novel manuscript in thirty days in the midst of holidays, work, and everyday life, there are a ton of opportunities this time of year to either start a new season, re-ignite your creative endeavors, or truly get your current project revved up. Plenty of groups have write-ins and virtual write-alongs, including online groups, like Facebook and Meetup pages.

I’m excited to kick back into high gear, with multiple days in November dedicated to writing. To those doing NaNoWriMo, I wish you luck. To those who have been sitting out for a while, welcome back, I hope this is your greatest season ever. To those who haven’t stopped and are ready to put it into high gear…what the hell is your secret?!

I would love to hear from you! Where do you struggle? What is your inspiration? Is this time of year where you start to consider jumping back into your writing seasons? Comment below!