A Month Of...

It is November, and time again for National Novel Writing Month, a.k.a. NaNoWriMo.  By writing just 1700 words per day, a whole host of enthusiastic folks will write a whole bunch of miraculously, sometimes hilariously, bad fiction.  And that's just fine, because the point isn't to write the Best Novel Ever, but to write a novel at all.

Or maybe that's just the method, and the point is something deeper.

There is something here about a passion that becomes a dream that becomes a vision that becomes a plan that becomes a discipline that becomes a reality.  There is something here about setting a goal that feels big and amazing, the kind of thing that other people do, and then realizing it is actually possible.  There is something here about giving ourselves permission to be playful and serious and fun in pursuit of a passion without perfectionism.  There is something here about connecting with like-minded others.

Once again, I will not be participating in NaNoWriMo.  Still, once again, I will be celebrating people who do.

Perhaps God gives some ambitions knowing we won't fully achieve them but will accomplish other important things in their pursuit. (N.T. Wright)