We still have two months left in 2023, and which means there is still time to accomplish the goals you started out the year with. What did you want to do back in January that you haven’t done, or haven’t finished yet? This is a good time to revisit your goals with the start of the new month. Or, take a peek back at your vision board from the beginning of the year.
With a new season and a new month starting, it is a good time to look forward towards the future. The energy of the eclipses in October is still hovering in the air, telling us, we are starting a new cycle now. You don’t have to wait for the new year to start something new. You can begin a new project any time.
Since the month of November is National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) maybe you are trying your hand at writing your first novel. Or, maybe it’s not your first. Whichever the case, this is a great time to nest and focus on your writing while it is cold outside. Curl up with a blanket in front of a cozy fire, and let your creativity run wild.
November 1, 2023 is National Author’s Day
I don’t think it’s an accident that we start National Novel Writing Month with a celebration of authors. It is a great time to celebrate our favorite books, and let them inspire us on our own writing journey. Lots of our favorite authors have writing guides available, and advice to point the way.
"You can fix anything but a blank page.” -Nora Roberts
I think what she’s saying is, no matter how bad your first draft is, you can go back and edit it later. But if you don’t start writing, there is nothing there to edit. Don’t stress about the words you are putting down or try to make them perfect. Just get them down on the page.
For more inspiration for your writing this month, check out 25 Writing Tips From Famous Writers. It can help you get started. But don’t spend too long staring at writing tips. Reading a few is good, but reading too many is just another form of procrastination. Us writers have a tendency to be a perfectionistic lot, and procrastination tends to walk hand in hand with perfectionism.
If you need some tips to help with perfectionism, you can check out my article:
Is your gifted student a perfectionist? Know the signs, and how to help!
Though these are tips for parents of school children, combatting perfectionism really looks the same no matter what your age. Once, someone told me:
“Perfect is the enemy of good”
and I took that to mean, sometimes you don’t see the good in front of you because it isn’t perfect. Taking time to appreciate the goodness around you can not only help you to get more done (because you aren’t aiming for perfection) but it can help you have a healthier mental attitude as well.
Let me know in the comments if you are going to be doing NaNoWriMo, and what help I can provide for you! Best of luck, my friends.
Have a great month,
Nicole Dake