Don’t Be Chicken

Well, it’s November.

And you know what that means, don’t you?

It means that summer is far behind us, and the slow march to winter solstice is beginning to take its toll.

Here in the Gray-t Northwest, November means gray and drizzle and gray and showers and gray and rain and more gray and cloudbursts and early nightfalls of a darker shade of ... well, gray.

Here’s the rub — if you’re not careful, all of that gray can start to affect your grey matter. And by mid-month you’re likely to find yourself listlessly sucking down Darjeeling and eating orange marmalade straight from the jar.

I’m speaking from experience here.

But this doesn’t have to be you! Your inner awesomeness and a November stretch goal will save the day... er... month!

Just say NO to listlessness by checking out this list of fabulous possibilities—

Pen a novel! (NaNoWriMo)

Create 30 picture book concepts in 30 days! (PiBoIdMo)

Research and write a nifty nonfiction piece! (WNFIN)

Or get really inventive and create a November challenge of your own...

You could draft a screenplay!

Revise those old manuscripts you’ve got hanging about!

Do daily morning pages à la The Artist Way!

You could even make it a month of poems, jokes, comics, or paintings!

Due to the fact that I write for a living and for fun, I decided to take that last option last year.

I’d never worked with acrylics, and I thought, Well what have I got to lose, but all that orange marmalade belly fat? Then I set aside an hour a day for painting.

In the end, it was great fun. And I particularly enjoyed two of the pieces I did...

 

Ahem...

Well, I guess I was a little chicken after all.

But it didn’t stop me.

PROMPT: Come up with a stretch goal and make your own November to remember...

Chickens are optional.