Here we are in the middle of NaNoWriMo.

I’ll keep this short like the micros I’m writing every day this month for my personal NaNoWriMo challenge.

I’ve managed to write every day, which is harder on the weekends when I want to take a break from sitting at a computer all day. What that tells me is when it’s not November, I’m not a “write every day” kind of writer. 

Some days, writing feels impossible. I’m out of words, I have nothing to say. One day I wrote only 65 words, and it was a struggle. But hey, words is words. 

Then there are days where words stream like liquid gold. Those are the best days! They seem to be few and far between and they feel like the result of luck rather than consistency. (Spoiler alert: consistency is the trick. You have to turn on the faucet to get the water to flow.)

Most days, though, a prompt or a bit of inspiration or a time constraint (or all of the above applied at once) are the keys to getting words on a page.

For example, this past Saturday I participated in a workshop facilitated by Sage Tyrtle at Crow Collective. The instructor for this workshop, Sarah McPherson, led us through four 10-minute exercises with word or phrase prompts. In two hours I generated over 1200 words, and I have three reasonable micro story drafts that I can come back to.

You’re in luck! Sage is hosting a workshop this Saturday, Nov. 19. (It’s about $19 CAD and there is a scholarship option if the cost is unaffordable.) Give it a try if you need a writing boost.

I’m also enjoying Nancy Stohlman’s daily prompts delivered via email and her Facebook group for those playing along (free!).