It’s that time of year again for us creative types. NaNoWriMo, you ask? Um… actually I meant Halloween, creativity fodder.

(For those not down with the quasi-acronym, NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month. November, the month in which we writer-folk try, or think about trying, to write a book in 30 creatively-fertile and frenzied days.)

Every year I think. Yeah, NaNoWriMo! I should totally do that! And then I look at my to do list and realize I need spray paint and fabric and well, that’s super important, because you know… costumes.

It might be a little sad how much effort and energy I put into Halloween costumes, especially considering they are not just for my kids. (awkward laugh)
This is what a good group of friends (and an unpredictable childhood) does to you. It makes you frantically cling to beautiful traditions so that some day, when you finish water yoga at the senior center with your besties, you can wistfully reminisce about how fun your lives were together. Weasels, I’m talking to you. 

So, while I could be plotting an outline for a whirlwind novel to be written in the soulful month of November, I’m plotting our group costume with all the passion I would otherwise need to write. And, in my world, this is time VERY well spent.

What, you ask, is this costume that is soooo worthy of my time that I so snobbily snub NaNoWriMo? Well, of course, I can’t tell you! Come November 1^st, when I could be embarking on the rewarding task of producing said novel, I’ll be squandering… spending… investing time on social media to post pictures for the annual Halloween album. And that will feel very accomplished!

I consider this hobby obsession an investment in creative fertility, rather than a distraction from it. That’s right, it’s making me MORE productive to be shopping/gluing/sewing/imbibing with my friends. Maybe I could write a novel about that? Ya know, next year.