In Honor of the Writers & Bloggers of NaNoWriMo & NaBloPoMo

Tomorrow (or today, depending on when you read this), 30 November 2007 is the official end of NaNoWriMo and NaBloPoMo 2007. Although I did not participate in this year's event, I want to congratulate all the writers and bloggers who completed their commitment to write a novel in a month or blog every day for a month---and even those who tried but dropped out at various points during the month, for as many reasons as there are people.

It seems to me that these two events (and the wonderful Young Writers Program) is, at its most basic, a vehicle for writers to prove to themselves that they can make a commitment, fulfill it and share the joys, pains and fruits of their labor with a large community of fellow writers, cheerleaders and even detractors.

Beyond that, though, or perhaps before that, the people who participate in events like this possess something very special. It's more than a trait, more than a habit, even more than a virtue. It's a belief that something about life can be good, can be accomplished, and can be achieved by any person.

You might be a runner in a marathon, a person who gets a 3o-day achievement chip for staying clean and sober for thirty days, a person who cares for a sick, elderly or disadvantaged person or pet for a month, a kid who shows up for school when it seems like bullies and math are everywhere and friends are hard to find, or just someone who gets up in the morning and puts one foot in front of the other for another month of days when depression, anxiety, panic and fear are so compelling that staying in bed seems preferable to another day of pursuing some vague, distant, amorphous sliver of hope that there is a purpose to all of this, and more specifically, a personal purpose---to everyone who does anything for a month that celebrates their efficacious relationship with the world, whether or not they feel it or know it, I say: I admire you, I celebrate your achievement, I am inspired by you, and I wish you the best.

From my own experiences, I know that if one can do something for 30 days, one can do many, many things for far longer. This post is just a little applause we give you, and applause you ought to give yourself. We've been watching you, we know what you've done. It's as magnificent as the sunset in the high desert this evening, to which no photo can ever quite do justice.

Still, as these events draw to a close, this celebratory picture is offered to all of you who finished the month-long commitment. And to all who started but didn't finish, and to all who never started for fear of not finishing, and to all who could not fathom a reason to start or finish...it's never too late to reconsider, regroup, rededicate and realize the dreams some dared to desire....and I'm not just talking about NaBloPoMo or NaNoWriMo. But you knew that.