Veteran's Day, and NaNoWriMo

OK, so neither seems to have anything to do with the other. This page is named "Unfocused Nonsequitors" for a reason, folks.

First and foremost, then, many thanks to all who have, are, and will serve our country both at home and abroad so that I can have the freedom to sit here on a Sunday afternoon and blog about anything I want, and everyone else is free to read it or not, or maybe watch the NASCAR race (which I'm also doing) or a football game or take a nap or...

My grand-uncle Cecil Perle Fassett died on Normandy Beach on D-Day. He's just one of several family members who have served in the armed forces, from my dad to my uncles to my grandfather. Even farther back, there were family members who were involved in the Civil War. I'm proud to be part of a patriotic family, many of whom have been willing to - and some have - given their life to keep America, well, American.

That freedom has also allowed me to sign up for NaNoWriMo (national novel writing month) and get busy writing that next story I've been wanting to work on. Not that I couldn't get busy sooner, of course. But now I feel inspired and encouraged, whereas before it just didn't seem to matter one way or the other.

But I want to be a writer, and I'm living in a free country where I *can* be a writer, and I can write about anything I want. Anything. The police won't be by to arrest me if I write a political satire. Lord Andrew Lloyd-Webber won't sue me for writing "phanfiction" (as long as I'm clear that it's fan fiction and don't try to make money from it, of course). It isn't even necessary for me to hide my writing by dark of night or solitude (although fewer distractions is always a good thing).

Feel free to sign up for NaNoWriMo too if you like. Or you could donate money to support the effort through Letters and Light.  You could even buy some neat NaNoWriMo merchandise in the Letters and Light Store.

But no matter what you choose to do, be sure to thank and/or hug a veteran today. They deserve it more than we could ever really understand.