It’s November! Every November for the last… hmm…more than fifteen years, I’ve taken part in National Novel Writing Month. I’ve started November with an idea, and attempted to write a 50,000 word rough draft of a story before December 1st. Sometimes I’ve even succeeded.

The NaNoWriMo website is no more, sadly. I signed up for the Novel November website sponsored by Pro Writing Aid, but I don’t like their dashboard or much else about their version. But none of this is really relevant to my post, which is about swapping postcards with other writers who are also writing in November. I have participated in that swap for… I really don’t know, but I’m sure it’s been at least five years.

Why do I like swapping postcards with other writers? Getting a postcard in the mail is like getting a little surprise package. There’s a picture on one side, and a message on the other, and no knowing what either will be like. I’ve gotten antique postcards, travel postcards, art postcards. I’ve gotten a postcard of people lounging aboard a ship, a postcard of paths diverging in a park, and a postcard of a cat riding a unicorn.

And then there’s the message. There isn’t much space on a postcard. Since we’re all writing madly, or hoping to, there’s usually something about writing. I find I’m very curious about other people’s writing projects. So many ideas, so much potential. Sometimes there’s something about why they chose that year’s story idea, which is also fascinating.

Often we send each other encouragement. “Just keep putting down words! The ideas will come.” Maybe we’re both writing mysteries, or fantasy YA, or something middle-grade. When I can, I like to choose my postcards based on whatever the writer said about their project in their sign-up info, hoping that the card may be extra inspiring that way.

Another thing I enjoy about postcards, strange as it sounds, is seeing people’s actual handwriting. How do they write–big or small, cursive or print, in colored ink or plain black? It reminds me that there’s a real person at the other end of the swap, who sat down to write me this message. Sometimes people add stickers, or washi tape, for extra decoration.

And finally, people who sign up to write postcards are always so nice in their postcards! It makes me feel good about humanity when I receive one.

And so, if you are swapping postcards with me this year, thank you! I hope you enjoy your card.

Till next post.