My November


I am doing this.

Why? I've asked myself the same question for the past two weeks as I weighed whether to do it. I've threatened to do it for the past couple of years and always found an excuse. In the past, I always said, "I'm too busy. I have a kid. I have work. I have drinking."

I've come to realize recently that I'm always going to have those excuses. I've come to realize that I actually have a reason to participate in what will surely be one of the most frustrating and ultimately ego-shattering experiences of my writing career.

Why am I doing this: Because if I don't, I won't.

In the past, I've always worried about starting any long-form writing project for fear of failing. Not failing to finish, mind you, just failing to create something worthwhile. I've learned a lot about myself in the past year, and I think I can accept that on the morning of December 1, regardless of what I've created, it likely won't be worth binding and putting on a shelf. And I'm okay with that.

The next 30 days will simply be an exercise in discipline. It will be an exercise in creating for creation's sake. At this time, I don't even have a working title. I only have the seed of an idea.

Wish me luck. I promise to report if I give up and/or fail miserably. I also promise to report if I succeed, even if success means writing something really, really awful.

Why? Because if I don't, I won't.