With a whisper. A gust. A wick of inspiration kissing against your neck. My first novel, unfinished as they all are, came to me as I walked through Kit Carson Park in Taos, New Mexico, dodging feral dogs and advancing tree roots. A girl started murmuring her secrets in my ear and I kept trying to ignore her.

“I am a poet.”

That’s what I told the ghostgirl voice. “I am not writing fiction. That’s not what I do.”

Fast forward a decade later and I was finishing my M.F.A. in Creative Writing in fiction. Why? That kiss of story across my skin. That heat. That invitation. Another eight years down, I am still listening.

I’ve decided to do NaNoWriMo 2021, though I know many people say it is gimmicky and overwhelming. I don’t feel that way—at least not this year. I feel like I want to challenge myself. I want to break through the hesitations of my novel rewrite and take on this crazy, impossible thing cheering others on and staying accountable. Since leaving social media (mostly) in mid-July, I am finding my way back to creative community again in phases.

Into NaNoWriMo community and Twitter…maybe back to my Instagram after. I am in community with my characters. These ones have been with me for a couple of years now. But, I am looking for other places, too. If you’ve found yourself here and are looking for the same, let’s connect. Let’s do crazy, impossible things like write novels together in a month. Even if we “fail,” it’s words—immersion. Connection. Inspiration. Fire.

How it begins.