NaNo-Seconds

Oh, Time. Why must you be so aggravatingly finite? I would have loved to do the entire NaNoDoMore list this year. But the usual things ate up my waking hours (can I move to a shack somewhere, and ditch this mortgage and the day job to boot? then there's that darn eating thing...).

I managed five, though!

• Submit to a paying market. In November, I submitted stuff to Ninth Letter and Newfound (Virtual Realities Themed Issue). Neither of them has yet responded, so it remains to be seen whether I’ll ever be able to call myself a “professional” creative writer. But, nothing ventured, nothing gained!
• Write a complete story in under 100 words. Of course I did, because I can’t quit the YeahWrite microfiction challenges. The prompts are delightful, and the length is an exact match for how much free time I have (very little). 
• Start a conversation in the Coffeehouse about anything writing related. I asked about in-person writing groups vs. online groups. Everyone seemed to agree that both types have their pluses and minuses. I like my in-person group, mostly because it's a chance to meet other writers in my area, not necessarily because they're amazing critiquers (did I just make that word up? Red squiggly lines are telling me that I did).
• Write an essay you’ve been afraid to write because of what your family might say. At the time, I thought it would never see the light of day, but I’ve since shared it privately with another writer friend who had a similar family story. So who knows. 
• Write a poem in a form you’ve never tried. The kimo was fun! One of the things I love most about YeahWrite is getting to try all these poetry forms I've never heard of.

Speaking of time, I’ve noticed that the more time I spend editing, the better my writing turns out. This is a big DUH, in theory. But this was the first year I really observed it in practice with my own writing. On YeahWrite, my more-edited stuff did better in the popular vote and got more editors’ picks. In writing contests, the screenplay that I spent a whole week fine-tuning got an honorable mention; the one I wrote in 48 hours bombed.

Of course the point of a 48-hour contest is to make it more challenging. But I find myself fantasizing about what it's like to be one of those people who can spend all their waking hours writing and editing during those two days. I can’t do that, not with two young kids, a household to run, family and friend commitments, two obnoxious pets, and a 40-hour-a-week job at a Fortune 10 company. Yet without those things in my life, I’d be a poorer writer, because I’d have less life experience to draw on. Maybe that irony needs to become its own essay.

Last weekend I had lunch with a friend who is very tolerant of my gabbing about writing. I was telling her how my in-person writing group is mostly retired people; at 43, I’m the youngest one by quite a margin. She said, “You know, I’m really proud of you for not waiting.” She's a sweetheart. She knows how busy I am and that I pretty much do all my writing in those precious 1-2 hours after the kids go to bed.

Maybe it is never too late. My dad, at 72, is writing a memoir. I encourage him every chance I get. I can't wait to read it.