It’s the month of NanNoWriMo– The National Novel Writing Month. Something I have participated in some previous years.

In the blogosphere, November has been designated as the National Blog Posting Month or NaBloPoMo. I found out about this one on the last day of October.

My very first instinct when I heard of NaBloPoMo was:

• How can I participate?
• What do I want to do, and when can I fit it in my schedule?
• Wouldn’t it be fun to have this done and under my belt when December rolls around?
• I would have the bragging rights!

Classic me!!

Then the sensible side of my brain kicked in seconds later (thankfully!), to remind me:

• That I have already taken on a big project for the month of November, working on my new art series.
• That it is more than enough work.
• That I really want to focus on this one project and do it well.
• That I do not need to take on more.
• That it’s not a requirement for me to write a post a day in November, just because it’s November.

All these thoughts flitted through my mind in a couple of seconds. 

At the end of it I was imagining the dread I would feel if I put this pressure on me…The overwhelm of it all. That I would feel the heaviness of this commitment, and still do it. That fun would be taken out of it.

Not sure if this scenario would play out exactly as I imagined it. But I realized it was my brain’s way of steering me clear of extra commitments that may be too much to handle at this point. 

Thank you brain.

So, to be clear:

I will not be participating in NaNoWriMo, and write a novel this November.

I will not be participating in NaBloPoMo, and posting a blog post every single day this November either.

Instead, I will take on what’s already on my plate with gusto, and hopefully do it well.