The NaNoWriMo Writing Adventure Begins

Special Needs? Writing? Together? *smiles happily* Yes! Coffee-addicted writer and mommy? *grins maniacally* Yep! One glorious,  month-long writing adventure? *rubs hands together in glee*

And I’m excited

about it? What, am I nuts?

This particular Kat is being what’s known as a Nano rebel this year and writing something other than traditional fiction (any genre) and in fact, am aiming to write some of my memoir-ish ramblings.

So just what is NaNoWriMo? National Novel Writing Month

What’s the point? Each year thousands (now hundreds of thousands) of writers band together to try to write 50,000 words toward one novel, aiming to work mostly from scratch and on a new project. Seriously? Yep! I participated a couple times and enjoyed it immensly, but had to sit out last year because we were having too much craziness with Logan’s seizures.

While this year is still, entirely, crazy as well, I just couldn’t sit out another year.

Nano is slightly addictive, you see, and allows me to be, well, me! While I have always written with a special needs slant of some kind, and have even tried getting into my own Bobby’s head to write from a child with autism’s perspective, I’ve found that the world of the special needs parent is horribly under-represented in modern literature. By literature, I mean the fiction and non-fiction genres.

So this year I am being what’s known as a Nano rebel, one who doesn’t write fiction, but works on a different literary form. If you haven’t already read my, In the Silence, a piece on Logan and his epilepsy, you can read it if you want to see how the non-fiction form can offer a unique slant on telling our story.

I haven’t decided if only parts of the finished piece will be in that same mosaic format, of if the whole book will be written in a kind of mosaic style, with the chapters making up the pieces of my life, and the book as a whole representing that life. And that’s the true joy of Nano, I don’t have to know yet … I can let the words speak to me.

A little piece of my actual NaNaWriMo self, from my bio at the site:

I’m Katrina “Kat” Moody and I’ve got a secret passion that isn’t quite so secret. I love to write. As a freelance writer and editor I use this passion for others daily, and in my blog I’ve found I try hard to connect with others. So this year, Nano is my chance to connect with my own passionate and creative side.

I’m a wife and mom of three amazing little guys. They are great guys for many reasons, not the least of which is Bobby’s smile, Andy’s storytelling, and Logan’s giggles, but they have each taught me that life is about so much more than simply living each day. It’s about being passionate about living. See, each of my guys, even my husband, has a rare disorder called Axenfeld-Rieger Syndrome.

I could tell you lots of scary symptoms and stats and medical information that will fry your brain, but instead I’ll say that we deal with life and death issues on a monthly, weekly, and sometimes daily basis in this house. With additional diagnoses of autism, epilepsy, ADHD, vision loss/low vision, cerebral palsy, and a whole lot more – we have experienced the best, and the worst, of what life can throw at a family.

Through it all, I struggled for years to remember my passion in life came from writing about what matters to me. Nano has become my way to dream a little, to feed my own creativity and passion in life. I look forward to dreaming a little bit of fun with the other participants and invite you to connect with me across the web.

I’m Kat … I’m a wife, a mother, and a dreamer. I’m passionate about life … how about you?

Tomorrow, I’ll share a little more about my working inspiration, and a tool I use to stay on track during this writing adventure. Above all, though, I am a mother, and a mother of children with special needs at that, so these posts won’t happen every day throughout November, but I’d like to keep you updated, share a line or two I might have written that I like especially well, and above all, hold my hand out for some inspiration and encouragement (Virtual coffee? Candy? Chocolate?).

How about you?

Are you participating in NaNoWriMo this month? Are you the parent of a child with special needs? Will special needs, or your child’s own diagnosis have any bearing on what you are writing? 

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Katrina Moody

Graphic Designer, Wordpress Addict, Blogger at Kat's Media & More

I'm a special needs parent before just about everything else in life, but also a passionate advocate for my three boys and husband, who all have a bit of awesomeness about them. Awesomeness = Axenfeld-Rieger Syndrome, Autism, Epilepsy, Dyslexia, Cerebral Palsy, and more. It all adds up to some awesome kids and an amazing family.

@KatrinaMoody

Wife; Mom to 3 guys w/ARS, autism, epilepsy & awesomeness; Advocate. Writer, Graphic Designer, Wordpress addict, social media nut. Site: http://katsmedia.com &

It's easy to judge ... but are you leaving time for love? --gotta love Mother Teresa's heart! http://t.co/HYgpYrFnCM - 53 mins ago

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