As writers, we must learn to be self-motivated. Having a supportive community of fellow writers is an amazing resource. However, at the end of the day, it’s all up to you. If you don’t tell your story, who will? It can be so tempting to get bogged down with word counts and page numbers. Today, NaNoWriMo participant Clairisa Phoinix reminds us how important it is to play and have fun with the art of storytelling:

Ever since joining NaNoWriMo for the first time last year,  I’ve been using it as a motivator to get the story ideas that were in my head onto the blank page. And now I’m NaNoWriMo’s biggest fan! so I decided to do the same with a short story idea I had for my blog. I joined Camp NaNo for the first time last April! The excitement was there as well as the motivation.

The first week went great, and the second. But by the end of week two/beginning of week three, I lost steam and momentum. I didn’t want to give up, but I didn’t know how to go forward either. I still wanted to finish the story. So, I took a break to think on what was missing. Was it writer’s block, procrastination, or have I written myself into a wall? And then it hit me—I wasn’t having fun anymore.

 I was making a chore of something that should be enjoyable. 

NaNoWriMo is an international event, and the stories being written every year reflect our hundreds of participating regions. We’re taking a Road Trip to NaNo to hear from our amazing writers all around the world. Today, Barrington Lloyd-Lovett, our Municipal Liaison in the San Francisco region challenges you to look for stories where no one else is looking: 

San Francisco is a defining city. I don’t mean that San Francisco defines anything directly. I mean that concepts, movements, and industries are defined in and by San Francisco. 

The Mission burrito? San Francisco. Gay marriage? (Largely and vocally) San Francisco. Tech companies? SF, my friend. All of these and more were defined or developed in our lovely city and the surrounding area, and that’s something to be proud of…