October...You know what that means

Yesterday was January first, today it's October.

Fine by me. I love October. In North Japan it means School Festivals. All the schools display their handiwork, but even level and school has a different flair. At my techie school, it's jaw-dropping the things these kids make. I mean, a go-kart, really? At junior high there are speeches and a singing contest. And at primary school, it's a day full of cute little plays. Today, the 6th graders did a play they wrote themselves, and it was amazing. Not only because the content rocked, or because a kid beat-boxed (I know, right?), but because two 'random' bits from an early scene were vital to the end of the play.

This ties into the other reason I love October. The countdown to November.

For writers, November is Nanowrimo. If you haven't heard about it before, here's a quick synopsis. You write a novel in November. Pretty simple, huh? They count a novel as 50,000 words. And the only real rules are that you start a new story in November and write 50,000 words of it before November 30. It's not absolutely required that you finish the work, but it is recommended.

I haven't written anything significant since last year, but nano is the one time of year I refuse to ignore my writer soul. If you're a nano-er, or you're interested in joining up, come find me, My user name is muchlanguage.

Enjoy October guys, and be prepared for November. If you're into nano, then...

May the words be with you.