The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

Back near the end of October this past year, a parent of one of my students introduced me to the NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) contest. An annual event occurring in November, this contest challenges anyone of any age to write a 50,000 word novel in one month. Having always thought that it would be "cool" to write a book someday, I decided to give it a go. By the end of November, I had reached only just beyond the halfway point in my novel but my no means did I count that as a failure. I gained so much from just the experience and the effort it took to write that much in thirty days. Never before had I written that amount of words in one piece of work that was not required for some college research project. To me, that was a grand accomplishment in itself. I was also introduced to the world of NaNoWriMo with its many pep talks and a lot of advice that helped me better myself as a reader, a writer, and an organized and dedicated person in general. Through this process, I was also introduced (although not in the literal sense) to author Erin Morgenstern, who is a published author thanks to the NaNoWriMo contest.

Morgenstern's book The Night Circus was one that she wrote during a previous NaNoWriMo. It is very different from the book I'm writing (the one I started in November and have vowed to finish). Where my book is realistic, mainstream fiction, Morgenstern's is fantastical, mysterious fiction. I read books of many genres but I tend to read more books that are different than my own writing style. I am enchanted by books like this - historical fiction, dystopian, mystery, fantasy, etc. - because they are so far away from what I believe myself capable of writing well. I enjoy and feel comfortable writing what I know first hand, but appreciate and applaud those who can write what they don't know first hand and do a wonderful job at it.

This evening I have just started The Night Circus. I am eleven pages in out of a total 387. Already I am very much impressed with Morgenstern's writing style and the way that the plot takes off right from the start with the mystery of this circus that opens only at night and closes at dawn, and the interesting daughter of Prospero the Enchanter who seems to be, even at the young age of five, surrounded by magic.