November is coming, and that means that NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) is coming, as well. NaNoWriMo is a month-long challenge each November to write a 50,000 word imperfect novel in 30 days. Learn more at the National Novel Writing Month website.
The payoff? Kicking to the curb that nasty internal editor that keeps us from creative fluency.
Where to find the time? Prioritize homework and studying (or grading) but shelve other activities for November (e.g., I'm giving up Facebook for NaNoWriMo).
November is always a very busy month at MSOE, and if you are particularly organizationally challenged or are struggling to catch up with important studying and academic projects, you might want to save NaNoWriMo for another year. However, if you feel on top of your school work and have a story in you that needs to see the light of day, this might be the time. Also, remember that you will have a week between quarters in November when you can play word count catch up, if you need to.
If you are interested, please join the MSOE NaNoWriMo group (http://www.msoe.edu/groups/msoe-nanowrimo) where we can share NaNo usernames (mine is one to die for, I promise), cheer each other on (I need encouragement to finish this challenge after several unsuccessful attempts), share tips, and, on December 1st, celebrate our success!