Welcome to the first edition of NaNotes! This series is inspired by @naquoya's Notes (From An Amateur Writer) (he trimmed it for the most recent entries), which was initially a 30-day chronicle that also sought to help treat his writer's block. It extended far beyond the month and it included some of his best literary entries. If you're interested in reading it from the beginning, here's a link to the first entry: https://steemit.com/writing/@naquoya/notes-from-an-amateur-writer-1-the-search-for-inspiration

Now, before anyone accuses me of ripping off anything, allow me to enumerate the differences. Unlike @naquoya's Notes, I promise that my NaNotes will not be used to get rid of my lingering writer's block, will not be creative and will most definitely be a regular thing. In fact, this might be the only NaNotes entry ever! With the steep word count requirement, I might just use this to warm up or as a repository for excess thoughts. This might act like a stream of consciousness thing. So, I guess the only similarity is the name. Really though, I just miss seeing posts from my brother from Down Under, and I'm just hoping that by writing a tribute, this would act as a sort of summoning spell to draw him back to the STEEM blockchain.

The Other (Other) Inspiration

Oh, and before I forget, this was also inspired by this little thing called the National Novel Writing Month or NaNoWriMo. It's not that big of a deal, so I'll forgive you if you haven't heard of it before. As much as I want to have it easy and just describe things that can be found elsewhere on the internet, it goes against every fiber of my being. Guys, my being, alright? Just to let you know how serious I am. Instead, I just want to rehash this little post I wrote last year: NaNoWriMo Lessons for Non-Writers.

Even though it didn't receive a lot of comments, I have received compliments about it months after. So, if you have time, please feel free to check it out. You can leave your comments about it here on this post, I won't hold it against you.

Since this is Steemfest month, I'm sure that the feed would be flooded by Steemfest posts, both by participants and fauxrticipants. I just hope that NaNo posts would still receive some trickle down STEEM from all the STEEMclejerking haha! Sorry, I just had to ;P

The Declaration

Now that it's out in the open, might as well say it out loud: My name is @jedau, and I am putting my name in the proverbial hat. While I won't be able to post a NaNote every day, I will do my best to complete the 50,000 word requirement by writing not 1, not 2, but...

Yes, that's right. You heard it here first. Most people don't even finish writing one story, and I'll be attempting to write, well... more than one. Do I have a deathwish? I hope not. Have I gone insane? Possibly. Did I leave the stove on again? Let me check.

While I won't be able to post any of it during the entirety of the month (because they would certainly make no sense), I will include updates for the current word count with each NaNote. Since I'm not part of any writing clique or have any other people to write NaNo with, I'm using the STEEM blockchain to hold myself accountable.

Much NaNo About Nothing

I've been competing in NaNoWriMo for a number of years now. While most of my entries haven't made it past the draft stage, my very first self-published novel and A Day in the Clouds are some of the finished products that have come out of it. There's a certain sense of motivation that comes with trying to meet the requirement. I guess, in a way, it pushes you to succeed. It gamifies the whole writing process. The social aspect adds a layer of camarederie and shared responsibility too.

Even if you're not a fiction writer, you can still do the whole NaNoWriMo cycle, I feel. If anything, it could help get you posting on STEEM. If you're an artist of any sort of medium, you can do this as well. It's really just an exercise of getting things done. For someone who contemplates a lot, it has proven to be really helpful for me in the past.

So, yeah. Come and join me in Nano-ing. Link your progress posts in my comments section and let's keep each other motivated and accountable. Here's hoping I can keep my NaNo winning streak alive!

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Let's keep @lukestokes.mhth as a Top 20 STEEM witness, shall we? :D

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Oh, and yep, I left the stove on again.