November on my Mind

Is it just me, or is there something special about November? There are so many really cool things that go on in the month of November. I am certain this is not a exhaustive list and that any of you who happen by, will be able to add your own, but these are the things that I know of.

NaNoWriMo - The National Novel Writing Month
run by the Office of Letters and Light

50,000 words in 30 days ... it the ultra marathon for writers. I participated in it last year, writing a novel called Finding Aphrodite (that will one day again see the light of day) and stumbled over the finish line on the final day. It was what sealed my decision to pursue the life of a writer last year, after two decades of just tossing the idea around and making no firm committment to it. I was helped along by the lovely crew from WriteStuff (now WriteAnything). This year I've made contact (and it does sound a little like first contact!) with those Brisbane writers participating in NaNo. Today was the Kick Off Party and while it was daunting to come on a huge group of strangers in the Roma Street Parklands - whose catch cry was "Are you a writer?" every time a person came into view vaguely heading in their direction - it was a wonderful validating experience to stand up and share your story, and meet other nutters!

NaBloPoMo - The National Blog Posting Month
Technically you can do it any month you like - the idea that you do a post a day for a month to get into the habit of blogging, but I first saw it last year in November. Some of my NaNoWriMo buddies were also NaBloPoMoers as well. Nothing like being a sucker for punishment. I'll probably given NaBloPoMo a crack this November - it will provide necessary procrastination from NaNo and help me establish healthy blogging habits.

Movember (the month formerly known as November)
Movember is a moustache growing charity event held during November each year that raises funds and awareness for men's health. It is now officially held in Australia, New Zealand, the United States, The United Kingdom, Ireland & Spain. As I'm quite obviously a chick - this will be something I'll be unable to participate in, but already the word has gone out and on email this morning there was word from Melbourne writer Max Barry that he'll be growing a Mo for Movember. In Australia all funds raised go toward research and support for depression and prostate cancer.

AusMusic Month
"Triple j is the world’s biggest supporter of Australian music. We love it because you love it and every November, we hold a massive party to celebrate all the great sounds happening at home. " Without Triple J's involvement and support of Australian artists and Australian music we would be without the likes of Missy Higgins, Wolf Mother, Xavier Rudd & Josh Pyke. Every day during Ausmusic Month Triple J focuses on one new act. Acts from last year included Little Red (whose debut album came out this year ). It will remind me to keep the radio turned on!

What will you be doing this November?