November is here and so is NaNoWriMo’s novel writing month which has become an annual staple within the author community. The international creative writing event encourages participants to complete a 50,000 word first draft manuscript within the month – how we go about that though is beyond me. The toxicity of internet culture simultaneously tells us to “just lock in” whilst also offering an unending stream of inspiring productivity content. The author community across platforms like Reddit and YouTube has always offered a candlelit, blanket wrapped alternative.
Unfortunately this community is, well, in upheaval in its current landscape. In September, the organisation acknowledged controversy surrounding an earlier statement that had gone viral; stating “debates about AI on our social media channels” have become “vitriolic”. They issued a “categorical condemnation” of the use of Artificial Intelligence which has “classist and ableist undertones”. The approach seemed to stifle the 25 year old community surrounding the non-profit. What is so odd here is that whilst the statement alluded to the inaccessibility of paid editors and test readers to young or less wealthy writers, it had previously felt clear that this challenge encouraged a completely free, community driven approach for hyper-creativity. Conversations surrounding AI are however inevitable within an industry so clearly threatened, though this makes the community that exists today ever more valuable.
So where do aspiring writers find themselves this November, still keen to keep the spirit of the community alive? For those interested, I would recommend the abundance of resources available on Youtube for inspiration—even if a disproportionate amount of creators write exclusively Young Adult and Fantasy.
For November, I shook on a deal with a friend to say that we would both record our creative process for the month, my only distraction being my camera and notebook which I’ll use to document the challenge. After drunkenly bombarding a friend with the details on Halloween, they enlightened me on their own struggles with distraction. In our current digital environment we are all aware of a seemingly unavoidable circus of distraction that surrounds us at all times, especially obvious when we wish to be creative. I was told to delete all social media, not just Instagram, not just Twitter, that if I don’t delete Facebook then I’ll end up on there too. Terrified, I took that advice on board. I have cleared my writing space too, to the extent that you might think that Marie Kondo had been at it.
I do not expect to write 50,000 words this month, and would be satisfied with any small number that I see in the corner of my screen in three weeks time. If this era of claustrophobic abundance of digital content can be carefully exploited for its educational value, resources and social communities, then we have the opportunity to be more creative than ever.
Photo by Peter Pryharski on Unsplash