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This month, if you didn’t know, is National Novel Writing Month. It’s the time of year when would-be novelists turn into actual novelists by churning out a story of at least 50,000 words between Nov. 1 and Nov. 30. 
It is so much crazy good fun. I haven’t even attempted it in years, but I really would like to be able to again.
It was even the subject of my very freelance article that I ever got paid for, back in 2004. I’m actually still pretty proud of it, which is nice.
There’s just something about attempting something that feels a little crazy. Something it feels like you might not actually be able to do, but wondering if you can pull it off is really exciting and motivating.
In a riff on Nanowrimo, as it’s affectionately called, it’s also National (thought obviously not just America, any more than Nano is) Knit Sweater Month, in which knitters attempt to knit a sweater from start to finish within the month. (I’m not deliberately taking part in this one, though I am planning to finish one sweater and maybe start another.)
Bloggers have their own challenge, with many trying to write a post every day this month. There was another group that tried to do a post every day last month. I was sort of doing that. I think I made it 10 days or so.
Sometimes challenges don’t work out the way we plan.
The very name of this blog “Our Daily Craft,” is rather a challenge to myself. One that I’ve yet to meet in the couple of years since I changed the name.
But still, we try, we strive, we push ourselves.
And there’s value in that.
If you didn’t even try to write a novel or knit a sweater or grow a beard or blog every day, you’d never have those few chapters or that back or stubble or collection of blog posts that you did manage to accomplish, and that’s something.
Well, maybe not the stubble. But still.
There’s something to be said for trying. Achievement is great, of course. Meeting goals is wonderful.
But sometimes just signing up for the crazy challenge and saying “I’ll try, even if I fall on my face,” is a really great and noble thing.
What are you trying these days?
