ShoStoWriMo

It’s National Short Story Writing Month.

It’s nothing official. Syntax of Things came up with the idea. But it’s a “Month” all the same. And this is something I think I can get behind. Finally. I even stole the logo from SOT’s site.

February is the shortest month of the year, which lends itself quite nicely to the idea of ShoStoWriMo, as it’s abbreviated to in the bookblog world. I, for one, am going to stop staring at the paper with a blank look of uncomprehending fear and instead start writing something. Anything.

I’ve got ideas. I’ve developed themes. I plan on someday writing a set of short stories based on Ween’s Chocolate and Cheese album. I’ve got a character drummed up that is deathly afraid of failure and takes great risks to become as non-risky as possible. I could write volumes, I think, about my own personal tics and inconsistencies. I suppose we all could, if given the chance.

A short story could be any length – from 500 words to 50 pages. I can be unbridled. It could completely suck. It’s not going to be perfect.

I’ve spent most of my life being completely frightened of working hard on something that ends up being of poor quality. I want everything right the first time. I haven’t even bothered learning how to write – how to practice, how to drive myself against the throes of indifference, how to just keep typing and worry about the syntax later.

How to fail. And then, how to fail better.

On February 28th, a short story will be finished. If I get enough positive comments, I might try to publish it. If I don’t, I’ll just post it on the blog. Either way, it’s for public consumption and criticism.

I deserve that for myself, at least.

Welcome to Short Story Writing Month. Let’s get started.