When I won National Novel Writing Month, I was super happy. So happy, in fact, I wrote this scene for the last scene in my novel:

“Hey what’s this?” Rika asked, stopping at a particular news channel. On it, a brunette was standing behind a podium, giving a speech. AJ sat next to her on the bed and they listened as the woman spoke.

“…five hundred words may not seem like a lot. But to me, it holds more meaning than anyone can ever understand. Five hundred words mark the line between winning national novel writing month, and being just a simple participant. The former is a title to be fought over and hard won. The latter is a loser. Folks, I am going to be a winner. I don’t know about you, but right now I’m going to win because it’s what I do. I win, win, win and then I lose. But do you know why I lose? It’s because I won. Winning something means taking risks. It means putting yourself out there. It means being something not many people can be. And when you take risks, you win. But sometimes, risks fail and you lose. But you know what? You’re still a winner. I’m still a winner. Why? Because I can write speeches five hundred words in length that rattle the souls of my listeners. And do you know what else? Right now, you hear a song in your head. Yep. That’s right. Here the deep piano vibrating to the core of your soul. It’s Family Tree by TV on the Radio. It scares the kitty on your lap away, but it’s your winning song so you play it loud. You play it loud because you have won. You are winning. And the taste of victory is just beginning to ripen on your tongue. It tastes different to different people. To some, french fries that taste like salty clouds. To others, the taste of victory is the sweet tartness of lemonade contrasting sharply to a caffeinated tea of fruity essence. Whatever your victory taste is, it is coming on strong now.

And why should it not? You have accomplished what at first seemed impossible. You scaled that peak that looked so tall from the bottom. You now laugh at that tall mountain. Silly mountain! You tried to intimidate me but I turned around and scaled you. I didn’t run. I accepted your challenge and I am a better person because of it.

And that’s why I’m here. Because I’m a better person because of my trials and my accomplishments and my goals. Because of my writing. And why, do you ask, does this hardly relate to my plot? Simply because I’m a writer and I can. I may be drunk with power at this particular moment, but take a look at the hurdles and mountains I’ve leaped over. They’re not insignificant and never will be.

And as the fading notes of this song blur into a shining light, take this thought with you: the taste of victory will never sour on your tongue if you use your determination wisely and continue taking risks to better yourself.

And keep telling those mountains how insignificant they are. They should never, ever intimidate you ever again.”

And the audience broke into applause. AJ and Rika shut off the TV, thoroughly confused, but a little moved. Rika thought she saw AJ wipe a tear off his face.

“National novel writing month?” Rika murmured in confusion.

So, November rolls around and everything seems like it’s softly declining into the realm of December. The drugstores have lazily put Halloween and Christmas displays right next to each other, the irony of the juxtaposition not lost on the customers.

November, Turkey Month, or that placeholder month between winter and fall really isn’t lifechanging.

For most people.

And then there’s the novelists. The writers who embark upon a journey filled with epiphanies, sleep deprivation, and moments so weighty and full of emotion the writers are reduced to tears. It’s National Novel Writing Month, and you can bet the authors aren’t in control.

No, our well being is handed over to our creative muses and wily characters during this month.

When I explain my 50,000 word, month-long journey to friends and peers, I’m met with a variety of expressions. Some people are confused, some are in awe, some want in on the fun.

The practical ones ask, “why? You’re in AP classes, NHS, and you’re in the middle of filming a movie.”

I laugh and shrug. “What can I say? I’ve caught the creativity bug. Pretty much nothing exists that can stop me from completing this masterpiece I’ve been planning out for the last nine months.”

And it’s true. November is that month that I hold sacred. I love it because it’s one month out of the year I can devote entirely to exploring my creativity. And every year on December 2nd I can look back and see how far I’ve come. All NaNoWriMos that ‘win’ National Novel Writing Month come out of the month with a feeling of pride and a strong bond with their creative side that has been slowly been drifting away the moment childhood ends.

NaNoWriMo is a glorious journey not only of creative exploration, but of self-exploration. It’s that one time of year great strides can be made to something out of the ordinary and truly great. Not to mention the great habits and life skills like dedication, self-discipline and determination that are learned along the way.

No turning back! Success is the only option.

Embarking on the journey that is NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) is like trying to domesticate a squirrel. You end up with some scratches and possibly a black eye or two, but in the end you uncover something valuable about yourself: your unhealthy obsession with seemingly friendly woodland creatures is a bit dangerous.

So this year, I’m working on a completely new novel. As far as outlining goes, I’ve finished creating my two lead characters. I’ve also finished penning the reviews that this groundbreaking new novel will already get. The New York Times is going to call it “..a modern marvel…”. They don’t know it yet, but they think my  novel is a “rapid, fast-paced whirlwind of adventure and truth”.

Yeah. I’m that good.

In other news, I’m creating an action plan to reach my word count goal while finishing my movie, keeping my grades as awesome as they are, and possibly even maintaining my sanity.

Scratch that last part. Sane people don’t do NaNoWriMo.

-Amy

I asked people what they thought change smelled like. They gave me the following flowery responses:

Some people think change smells like the changing of seasons. The sweet smell of flowers waters your eyes as they usher in allergy season. The distinctive scent of perspiration kindly lets you know summer is on its way.

Still, others think change smells like burnt toast. Blackened toast is unwelcomed and useless, just like change can be.

Everybody is wrong. Change smells like metal. That distinctive smell of your pennies and nickels after you accidentally washed them. I was talking about coins. I guess no one took me literally.

…

So every year at about this time, us writers make our dramatic comebacks. We haven’t been writing for about a month and a half (some of us longer) and yet we still come back triumphant and determined until our schedules get the best of us.

This year I’ve decided to do a little show and tell for my dramatic comeback.

You see that? That is our prototype of our new tote bag. I’m so skilled.

So I was at California Pizza Kitchen the other week in Oahu and I saw the Black Pearl in the harbor. I very nearly died. Especially when I was able to visit one of the other sets of Pirates of the Caribbean.

Show and tell over. Now it’s time to get down to business.

THINGS YOU’RE GOING TO SEE AT OUR WEBSITE

• Investigative journalism AKA using means like espionage to find out information you otherwise wouldn’t know. Like what’s in Calister F. Well’s freezer. Even we don’t know what’s in there.
• Cause of the month. Yeah, we’re going to turn you into an activist. Because you’re either an activist, or a nonactivist. (I stole that quote from the documentary The Cove. Best. Documentary. Ever.)
• Cool Nearby Future gear. You aren’t an activist without a t-shirt or bumper sticker that says so.

Welcome back, my friends. The season of blogging has re-arrived.

-Rika

Sure, us writers of The Nearby Future can blame our lack of writing on our schedules. Or even our conflicting jiu jitsu classes. But there was a real culprit behind our lack of writing. Our theme. Our old color blocks theme killed our ideas. With a lead pipe, in the conservatory with Mr. Green.

So, as head ER nurse in this attempt to resuscitate our dead URL, I am presenting the shock panels of this operation: the THREE PRONGED ATTACK PLAN TO BRING TNF BACK TO THE FUTURE.

1st Prong: Re-Motivate

In the first step, the entire staff will be figuratively tasered into action. New theme? Heck yes! New content, new categories, new publicity stunts… The Nearby Future will have so much going on that it’ll have to have caffeine intravenously pumped into it’s system to handle all of the new and exciting changes!

2nd Prong: Publicity Stunts

Within the next phase of our dastardly plan, we lure in unsuspecting viewers to our website with promises of new content, engaging posts, and boxes of chocolate. This is the stage where we jump out of airplanes with “The Nearby Future” logos strapped to our backs and where we have pirate battles in place of polite political debates.

3rd Prong: Incentives for Staff and Viewers

To keep a sitewide shutdown from ever happening again, our staff will be ordered to party once a month, and party favors such as pink tasers will be distributed. Expect spontaneous guest appearances of our staff on Survivor, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire and A Minute to Win It. Our viewers will also be treated with new and amazing top secret incentives to keep coming back! (Besides our re-energized posts, of course!)

The nearby future looks good,

~Rika

Productivity. Progress. Working under pressure. Goal-setting.

These are the skills that a month of novel writing will sharpen and perfect. Even if you’re not a writer, and you don’t plan on becoming one, spending a little alone time with your imagination for a month benefits you more than you can believe. As a novelist myself, 50,000 words in thirty days at first seemed impossible. How would I find time? What if my idea wasn’t good enough? None of that matters in the month of November. As you crank out about 2k words a day, you’re focused on moving towards your goal, towards completion, and right now, nothing else matters.

But if you’re considering diving into NaNoWriMo, there are some things you need to consider beforehand.

For a successful Noveling month, you have to plan ahead.

• Sure, some of the best stuff you’re going to write is completely improv, completely off the top of your head. But if your story doesn’t have direction from the start, you’re going to spend a lot of time going in circles. Mapping out scenes before writing helps some authors, other authors need an idea of where they’re going from the very start.
• Stay motivated and inspired! Listen to music. Look at relevant pictures. Let your imagination take control. If you lose that spark of determination, then you need to get it back before you continue writing. The only person who has to believe in your writing is YOU!
• Know your characters. Before jumping into the month, you need to have two or three characters that you know as if they were real. The side characters will develop their personalities on their own.

After the month is over, you don’t necessarily have to continue writing your book.

• Sometimes, post-NaNoWriMo, people take a look at their finally written book and can’t find any positives. To them, their 50,000 words are total crap. If that happens to you, spend some time away from your draft, but don’t delete it! When you come back and read it with fresh eyes, you’ll be able to find the soul of your story. The next step in the process is taking that soul, that spark of creativity and emotion, and molding the story to best channel that light of brilliance. That next step doesn’t have to be taken in the upcoming days, months, years- or even at all!
• Know that, even though your draft may never see the light of day, you’ve written more in a month than some people will write in their lifetimes.

National Novel Writing Month is an adventure that each individual has to approach in their own way. Some aren’t ready for that journey, and some are.

If you’re ready, log onto www.nanowrimo.org for more information about the program, and take part in this adventure next November!

-Rika

We here at the Nearby Future pride ourselves in dramatic comebacks. This latest comeback now includes a video.

This year The Nearby Future staff has written a collective 48,747 words! Here are your favorite articles from staff members with the most page views (not counting Jala, because she writes pages, not posts).

• Rika’s best articles: “Corn“, “Stress: Side Effects Include…”, and “The World is Not Coming to an End“
• Calister F. Well’s best articles: “When In Rome, Think Like the Greeks”, and “Humming the Song of the World’s Destruction“
• PLOTG’s best articles: “Personal Rights Conflict With Hollywood’s Big Bucks”, “Teens and Their Sleep“, and “The Pledge“,
• Hope’s best articles: “HPV Vaccine“, “Izze: A Healthy Alternative“, and “Clocky: Crushing the Dreams of Snooze Button People Everywhere“.

And even though she doesn’t write for us anymore, big thanks to contributor ‘Ashley Lampost’ for her wonderful article about cars!
Looking forward to a great new year,

-Rika

Note: Each article that has won this prestigious award will bear the following picture upon it’s page:

Tasteless jokes.

Just don’t.