My National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) Challenge
I don't write novels, so I don't plan to participate in the National Novel Writing Month challenge in the traditional way. But I do plan to take the spirit of the challenge and do something in the same vein...
A Deep Aversion That Hinders Me as a Writer
As much as I absolutely love sharing my poetry at a poetry reading (reading this weekend in Albany!), sending out my work for publishing...that is a whole other ballgame.
For a number of reasons, maybe ones I could do well to talk to a therapist about, I have a severe aversion to submitting my work to be published. I don't talk about it much, but I had some very difficult times in graduate school, and since then, I have been extremely reticent about sending work out and subjecting it to rejection.
I have counseled myself on the matter a lot, "It's not the poem, or you, it's just not the right home for this piece. Keep trying." But I inevitably get a petrifying fear after a rejection that I am the worst writer in the history of the world and get disproportionately dejected when rejected.
My "Whoa, what?" Ambitious NaNoWriMo Plans
I'm sharing this idea I have for myself here on this site in hopes that it will motivate me to stick to my plan. It is my intention to send my work out for consideration of publication for every day of the month of November. That's right. I'm using NaNoWriMo to submit my poetry somewhere every day. I'm calling it...
*NaSubWoMo*
National Submit Work Month is My NaNoWriMo Spin
Given that I have 2 completely finished manuscripts and 8 working ones in various stages, and given that I almost never ever send my work anywhere to be published, I will not be focusing on generating more work in November. Instead, I will edit and revise poems. I will research and read potential places for submitting work. And then I will send poems out into the wide world to be shared with other people.
I know it's ambitious, but I think that subjecting myself to this much possible rejection will help build a resiliency I currently lack. I am usually bold -- in this area, I have had that boldness sort of suppressed. It's not my nature to be timid and reticent. So I'm hoping doing this will help me get back to my nature.
We will see!
Want to Join Me for NaSubWoMo?
If you're into this idea and you want to create an accountability group of sorts for it, get in touch at my email (vintagebridge on the Google mails) or Facebook messenger. I'll be posting about my NaSubWoMo adventures here as well.