This is the day!!!

Lower your standards, and let's celebrate.

Oh, my little stARTtistic chickens, I’m so glad you opened this newsletter today. I’ve been waiting for some inspiration to write this ALMOST NOVEMBER 1 celebration post, and it has arrived as first-day-of-the-month ideas often do – as an answer to my question to Dr. Google: “What is (fill in day)?”

Dr. Google did not disappoint, and I am thrilled to report that November 1, this year and perhaps forever more, is:

National Cinnamon Day

National Calzone Day

National Vinegar Day

National Deep Fried Clams Day

National Cook for Your Pets Day

Scented Candle Day (Pick a scent from the above list before someone beats you to it.)

If none of these days inspire you to start something, light up your Deep Fried Clam-scented candle and pull up a chair, because November 1 is also the first day of National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWrimo) and, conveniently, National Authors Day.

Give me a few minutes to make November 1 rock your world.

Let’s start with National Author’s Day. It sounds boring unless you’re an author. So I have a party trick to help you qualify in 20 minutes.

You see, a few years ago it occurred to me that my life would be way cool if I knew a lot of authors. But stalking and meeting authors seemed like a hard thing to do, so I started a different way – by making authors out of people I already knew.

I started with girlfriends on a beach trip, a captive, relaxed audience. All I did was bring supplies, help these women identify the book inside them and then gave them the permission to write it in under an hour. I may or may not have ordered a round of mojitos to grease the wheels.

The beach trip party trick worked so well that I made it into an exercise in my book Start More Than You Finish. Bottom line: when you lower your standards, magic happens.

Here’s why this is exciting.

When I was researching Start More Than You Can Finish, I asked gobs of people to tell me something they wanted to start that they had not yet begun. The top answer was – don’t make me say it – a book.

I realize that “gobs” is not a statistically significant sample size, but it turns out that gobs of other researchers did studies, too, so you can take THEIR words for it: multiple studies show that 70 to 80 percent of people in America want to write a book. And more than 60 percent of people think their life stories are worthy of a book.

Do you know how many of those people actually even START writing those books? Less than one percent. (Keep in mind, 20-minute beach books had not yet been invented when these studies were conducted.)

So…I’m betting most of those 80% who say they want to write a book don’t so much want to WRITE a book as they want to HAVE A BOOK written by them. I get it. It’s kind of like how I want to jump out of an airplane while knitting a toaster cozy: I know I have the skills, but are the bragging rights really worth it? And does the world really need another toaster cozy?

And sure, the world probably doesn’t NEED another book, as evidenced by the 32.8 million published titles on Amazon. But it might need YOUR book. And YOU MIGHT NEED YOUR BOOK to be written, or at least STARTED.

Your kids and their kids might need your book.

Your business and coworkers and neighbors might need your book.

Your knitting club might need your book.

So, if you’re one of the 80 percent, November 1 may be your day.

I started my first book on November 1. It’s called An Elm Tree in Paris. You can't buy it, because it’s awful, and I respect your time. But that awful book was the gateway to two published books, a gob of published articles and a joyful writing life. It gave me some rules to write by and helped me figure out what kind of writer I am. (It also launched a Paris tour business, but I’ll save that story for National Start A Tour Company Day).

Here’s my story in an excerpt from Start More Than You Can Finish:

“…One date night in a bookstore, scanning shelves of books that I hadn’t written, I ran across No Plot, No Problem, by Chris Baty. It was a tiny, tidy little volume with a quick, clear message: ‘Sit down and write your novel, start to finish. You have 30 days.’ In a comforting, here-take-my-hand tone, Baty says ‘don’t worry about plots or perfection. Write 2,000 words a day. No problem.’ Then he offers chapter-by-chapter pep talks for the journey. 

Baty’s secret formula is two simple rules: no research and no back reading.

When you’re writing a novel, you’re making up a story, so just make it up with your own experience, he says. Don’t go off researching the actual color of Cleopatra’s favorite earrings to use in an argument between your main character and a bus driver. And when you’re on chapter 10 and you can’t remember why your main character knew so much about Cleopatra, don’t stop writing to hunt through the first three chapters for the passing reference to her college days.

Without these rabbit holes to fall into, you just start. Every time you sit down to write, you have everything you need. Then you start again tomorrow, right where you left off.

These two rules save us… from two time-gobblers that take energy out of starting: procrastinating by proofing, and paralysis by analysis. 

The No Plot No Problem model gives just enough deadline pressure to keep the pressure on – it’s hard to make the 50,000-word writing goal if you skip writing for more than a day or two. This allows new writers to quickly build a mini habit. We get to start writing joyfully every day. No planning, no overthinking. And no looking back at what we did yesterday to discourage ourselves.

I wrote a 50,000-word book in a month by writing about 2,000 words a day. 

If you want to raise your standards beyond the 20-minute beach book, and write a book with chapters and fancy page numbers, I’m here to cheer you on!

I don’t want to stress you out. Because I want only stARTistic joy for you. And because November 1 is also National Stress Awareness Day.

But today is a starting place! Today is your day. Starting on November 1 gives you 30 days until December and 61 days to make 2023 all she can be.

If you want to start a novel in November, START HERE.

If you want to start a stress/anxiety support group, START HERE.

If you want to start a social movement, START HERE.

If you want to start being more creative when you think you’re not, START HERE.

If you want to start a toaster cozy, START HERE.

Uh oh. There it was. I heard someone in the bleachers say “I’ll start after the holidays.”

Do you kiss your mama with that mouth?

If you’re in Kansas City, come celebrate the bookaversary of this green chunky monkey! I’m throwing a little stARTist happy hour meetup at the stARTistic Made in KC Marketplace at the Country Club Plaza location. I’ll bring bookmaking supplies! You can leave with my book or one you publish yourself.