Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

This year, I have decided to participate in NaNoWriMo 2017 throughout the month of November, and thought it a perfect opportunity to raise funds for Rochdale and District Mind. 

What is NaNoWriMo?

National Novel Writing Month is an annual event which runs throughout November for writers of all types of backgrounds and experiences, which challenges it's participants to write 50,000 words between the 1st and the 30th November. 

That's averaging 1,667 words per day, and provides 100% commitment from the participant to meet that target. 

To give you a vague idea of the amount of work 50k is, that's pretty much just over the word count of F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby... (47,097!)

Why am I doing this? Who needs sleep... right? 

In all seriousness, I feel pretty much ready for the challenge this year, and I have been prepping intensively to make sure i'm not caught short at the end when December is approaching by the hour. I have been writing since I was young, but things didn't take off properly until I started my blog - The Manic Years - Which originally began as a therapy assignment when I first got my diagnosis of Bipolar disorder. Using writing as a tool to open up and share my experiences with the community helped me find my feet again, after battling with my mood states and other traumas for over ten years from early teenage days. 

The Blog.

After a year or so of blogging up about my turbulences with my mental health, readers started to feel encouraged to get in touch and tell their own personal sufferings. This lead to the blogs first feature Sharing Stories; where brave MH warriors from across the globe submitted their own blog entries to be published on the site. Each one of the stories received great feedback from others who were suffering, touching lives of many others and encouraging those who had not yet opened up to speak up themselves. Following from the blog, I have had the honour to write for bigger mental health movements, such as The Mighty and Time to Change, took part in interviews, and been approached to submit an extract for The Recovery Letters - a compilation of letters to those who are experiencing depression, by Olivia Sagan and James Withey which was out in print this Summer. My first big fiction project, my novel which focusses on mental health and the hidden depths of the human condition, will be the focus of my NaNoWriMo attempt this year.

Why have I chosen Rochdale and district Mind to fundraise for?

The first time I reached out for help was just before my 18th birthday. Rochdale Mind, a mental health and wellbeing charity which is local to me were ones who took me under their wing, and gave me the help I needed to realise that I, as well as many other they have helped, were worthy of life. I was blown away by the commitment of the volunteers, who provided a shoulder to cry on, an ear to be listened to and the encouragement to open up. 

They helped me on my way to become the person I am today, and I hope  this spreads some awareness of the amazing work they do for Rochdale and the wider areas. Please help by sharing this page and donating, however small a contribution, in Rochdale Mind's efforts for the incredible support they offer to those in need.  

To follow my NaNoWriMo 2017 progress; please refer to my just-giving and Facebook page, where I will be posting updates of my word count to make sure you guys keep me on track!

Thank you for your support,

Megan x

Links.

Read up on what Rochdale and district Mind offers for it's community: https://www.rochdalemind.org.uk

Read some of the blogs contributions here: https://themanicyears.com/category/sharing-stories/

Participate in NaNoWriMo!                                           https://nanowrimo.org/about

Details of where to purchase The Recovery Letters can be found here; https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B06VY5XRGH/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1

Contact.

e: themanicyears@gmail.com - for any writing enquiries and to participate in the blog.