There are only 61 days left in the year, now that we’re on the first day of November. These are the crazy times when the day after Halloween begins a frenzy of food, shopping, travel and other insanity until we start a new year. This is the month for more of everything. More food, more frivolity, until somebody’s waistline or energy timer says “no mo.”
Writers–of which I hope to be counted as one–may have started off the day at midnight holding an unofficial version of the event once called NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month), which as an entity went dark earlier this year. The staff were forced to shut the whole operation down, and it suffered an unexpected death at the hands of a variety of evildoers, including criminals trolling the official website for potential underage victims, causing a scandal. Also, they were done in by a business model system lacking in a complete and helpful path of guidance to help the uninitiated navigate the process while protecting the brand from disaster. If you check out YouTube, you will see a video explaining much of what happened to NaNoWriMo; a cautionary tale and warning to others excited about the prospect of becoming a highly visited presence on the Web. Learn to crawl and everything-proof your surroundings before you walk.
But back to getting November off to a rousing start. Writers are coming up with creative alternative ways to make the month count for something. Heck, I’m doing that myself right now by writing this post. I may not get to 1600 words, but this is a month I am hoping to make more progress on my quartet of novels, of which I am in the draft phase of book two and have some foundations up for books three and four. I have a critique group which is putting up with reading my drafts, because I am writing dark fiction. My critiquers don’t normally read it. Some specialties fare better when read by folks who share enthusiasm for the genre, but they gamely offer the feedback they can, and I love them for it.
My other projects for the month of November include shifting the household around and putting things back where they belong. After a year of decluttering and maintenance which was overdue, I have rooms filled with stuff from other rooms. Once I shift it all around, I will have my space back, and some old spaces will have their original purpose back.
Finally, I plan to pick up my crochet hook this month. I ordered an advent calendar filled with crochet delights for 24 days, and I have supplies of yarn enough to open a shop, but instead I will craft some wonderful things just in time for the holidays and year-end.
My fridge has some ingredients for tomorrow’s Sunday dinner, and my turkey for Thanksgiving is already occupying a space in the freezer. I’ll just need the mashed potatoes and dessert. Holiday shopping is finished (go ahead and hate me). That gives me some room for taking a deep breath and preparing for whatever comes next. The next word, the next project, or the next trip up flights of steps for restoring order to a home filled with chaotic mismatched items.
If it isn’t writing month, it’s shifting month. And it’s only 30 days long.
Susan's Scribblings the Blog 
Mo-Vember
Posted at 3:17 pm by kayewer, on November 1, 2025
There are only 61 days left in the year, now that we’re on the first day of November. These are the crazy times when the day after Halloween begins a frenzy of food, shopping, travel and other insanity until we start a new year. This is the month for more of everything. More food, more frivolity, until somebody’s waistline or energy timer says “no mo.”
Writers–of which I hope to be counted as one–may have started off the day at midnight holding an unofficial version of the event once called NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month), which as an entity went dark earlier this year. The staff were forced to shut the whole operation down, and it suffered an unexpected death at the hands of a variety of evildoers, including criminals trolling the official website for potential underage victims, causing a scandal. Also, they were done in by a business model system lacking in a complete and helpful path of guidance to help the uninitiated navigate the process while protecting the brand from disaster. If you check out YouTube, you will see a video explaining much of what happened to NaNoWriMo; a cautionary tale and warning to others excited about the prospect of becoming a highly visited presence on the Web. Learn to crawl and everything-proof your surroundings before you walk.
But back to getting November off to a rousing start. Writers are coming up with creative alternative ways to make the month count for something. Heck, I’m doing that myself right now by writing this post. I may not get to 1600 words, but this is a month I am hoping to make more progress on my quartet of novels, of which I am in the draft phase of book two and have some foundations up for books three and four. I have a critique group which is putting up with reading my drafts, because I am writing dark fiction. My critiquers don’t normally read it. Some specialties fare better when read by folks who share enthusiasm for the genre, but they gamely offer the feedback they can, and I love them for it.
My other projects for the month of November include shifting the household around and putting things back where they belong. After a year of decluttering and maintenance which was overdue, I have rooms filled with stuff from other rooms. Once I shift it all around, I will have my space back, and some old spaces will have their original purpose back.
Finally, I plan to pick up my crochet hook this month. I ordered an advent calendar filled with crochet delights for 24 days, and I have supplies of yarn enough to open a shop, but instead I will craft some wonderful things just in time for the holidays and year-end.
My fridge has some ingredients for tomorrow’s Sunday dinner, and my turkey for Thanksgiving is already occupying a space in the freezer. I’ll just need the mashed potatoes and dessert. Holiday shopping is finished (go ahead and hate me). That gives me some room for taking a deep breath and preparing for whatever comes next. The next word, the next project, or the next trip up flights of steps for restoring order to a home filled with chaotic mismatched items.
If it isn’t writing month, it’s shifting month. And it’s only 30 days long.
Share this:
Related
Author: kayewer