NaNo Hiatus, or "The Insatiable Maw That Devours My Life Every Year"

So November is almost over, and you may be wondering why I vanished again so quickly after such a dramatic return. Well, it's that time of the year again. A time for sharing with others. A time for personal introspection. A time for putting the hectic craziness of regular life aside for hectic craziness of a different kind.

That's right. I speak, of course, of NaNoWriMo(what were you thinking about?).

If you aren't familiar with NaNoWriMo, suffice to say that it's a month of torrential psychosis afflicting thousands and thousands of writers across the globe with delusions of grandeur, but also with very real and justified thoughts of total literary world domination. You could check out the project's web site, but really, why would you need to with such an excellent explanation? But seriously, go check out the web site.

As such, every year at the start of November(but after SugoiCon, which I will be posting about ASAP), I fall off of the face of the planet to devote ludicrous amounts of time to writing The Great American Novel(or at least The Great Lexingtonian Novel. Or, perhaps, The Great Two-Mile-Radius-of-Wherever-I-Currently-Happen-to-Be Novel). As this is one of the events that I hold nearest and dearest to my heart, all of my free time during November is devoted to NaNo, and thus ACN has taken a hit.

But fear not, loyal reader(s?) To tide you over for the next week or so until I can pull brain cells away to once again fill the Hallowed Ninja Halls, I have provided this handy-dandy layman's guide to understanding NaNo. It all boils down to the following statement:

"Writers are full of C.R.A.P."

And of course, I wouldn't leave you hanging on the definition of this wonderful acronym:

C areful - Writers are nothing if not attentive and cautious, forever endeavoring to "get it right" and "not f*** this up like the last time."
R eflection - We possess an uncanny knack for looking within, and discovering that font of C.R.A.P. that lies within each of us.
A lways - Writers don't know how to stop. Seriously. Just try and make us.
P rocessing - A writer's brain churns through information with the rapidity of a domestic housecat tripping on catnip. It's science.

If you've ever spoken with a novelist, you know these things to be true, so I don't need to explain further. If you haven't, I suggest you take the time to do so. We are a fascinating, diverse lot, and through practicing C.R.A.P. we uncover gems that miss ordinary folks unaccustomed to putting on a pair of mental surgeon's gloves and getting into the thick.

In fact, to demonstrate the lucidity that can be granted only by participation in NaNo(or a trip back in time to hang with Hunter S. Thompson), I will now provide a special definition of C.R.A.P. that has, over the years, helped many of us writers survive a month of near-constant contact with Nirvana:

C easeless - I'm not even kidding, we don't know how to stop.
R epetition - "I already wrote this passage? Not from the perspective of the park bench, I haven't!"
A nd - conjunction - used to join words or groups of words.
P rocrastination - Really, that other stuff can wait. The house fire will put itself out; I might not be able to remember this witty conversation about lasers that I'm working on right now.

So there you have it, a beginner's guide to NaNo and what it's like to be a month-long warrior of words. If this intrigued you, and you wish to know more, then you are a gentleman/lady and a scholar, and you too should come join us in the land of the literarily-inclined.

Now I return, to see where my sappy love story winds up. See you soon, ACN.