I always used to define myself as a person who writes, an aspiring novelist (or, when I was younger, a poet) and it used to be the most important thing for me. I have taken creative writing classes, I have completed first drafts of novels (I tried to get one published when I was seventeen *lol* but it was just delusion of grandeur, looking back on it!), and I regularly meet writer friends for literature discussions, feedback and constructive criticism... However, the last few years, something happened. I gradually stopped writing. Partly because of lack of time, but I know that's not the whole reason. I just can't find the joy of writing or even the idea that I still want to write... except that in some corner in my heart, I do miss it a lot. Lately I've realized that I've more or less stopped defining myself as a person who writes, and it makes me sad.
Seeing this thread, my first thought was: "Oh, that NaNoWriMo thing again... I wonder why I've never tried it; I can't now that I'm working anyway..."
Then I was like: But why not?! Even if I don't have time for it, even if I can't write 50 000 words in a month, I should try it just to find my way back to writing!!
So, I'll decide to do it. I'm just going to make myself write something every day even if I'm tired and would rather want to watch a drama! I'm not thinking of it as actually completing a novel (most people need more time than that), but why not try to "force" myself to write a story? I know that some people need to feel free, to feel the inspiration come and go, and that's fine, but then other people can write most "freely" when they're constrained by something, some kind of rule like a deadline. Theoretically speaking, anyone can decide to write any number of words any time of the year, but I think that knowing that there's something called "NaNoWriMo" can work.
I remember the first time I conciously had the thought "I'm gonna be a novelist!" That was 20 years ago when my 7th grade teacher complained about the length of my "short story"... I decided to write a novel and show him that it could be a good thing to write something lengthy. *lol*
So thanks to the original poster, and last posters who bumped the thread, for giving me some inspiration. Sorry about the rant!
