Since it's November and that means NaNoWriMo is going on, I thought I'd search out thirteen facts about writing that relate to November for you to enjoy while letting your muse have a breather before you dive back into your NaNo novel.

1. November 1st is National Author's Day
2. NaNoWriMo was founded by Chris Baty in July of 1999
3. NaNoWritMo began not because Baty and his friends "wanted to write novels for the same dumb reasons twenty-somethings start bands"
4. Jonathan Swift, author of Gulliver's Travels was born on November 30 in 1667
5. On November 14th 1889, New York World reporter, Nellie Bly, set sail fro mNew York to put to test Jules Verne's 1873 novel, Around the World in Eighty Day. She completed the trip in 72 days, six hours, 11 minutes, and 14 seconds.
6. November is also National Blog Posting Month
7. November 24th 1859 Charles Darwin published his book Origin of the Species
8. November 29th 1641 England's first newspaper is published.
9. C.S. Lewis was born on November 29th 1898
10. Mouisa May Alcott was also born on November 29th but in 1832
11. Water for Elephants, Fangirl, and WOOL all began as rough drafts during NaNoWriMo
12. In 2018 2,791,454,312 words were written for NaNoWriMo
13. I was born on November 18th 1981 🙃

I hope you enjoyed my list of facts. It was a bit tricky coming up with enough variety and not just do birthdays or facts about NaNo.

With Halloween around the corner, I thought I'd hand out some fun facts about the best holiday ever. (If you disagree, you are wrong. 🤪)

1. Samhainophobia is the medical term for the irrational fear of Halloween. The root word is expressive of the ancient Celts who held a ceremony called Samhain in order to honor the harvest cycle.
2. Americans spend nearly $400 Million on Halloween pet costumes each year.
3. On Halloween in 1981, John Belushi got the hardcore punk band FEAR to play live on SNL, causing an estimated $200,000 in damages.
4. Many shelters won't allow black cats to be adopted around Halloween, for fear that they may be sacrificed or tortured.
5. All Hallows Eve, Witches Night, Lamswool, Snap-Apple Night, Samhain and Summer’s End are all names for Halloween.
6. It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown aired in 1966 and is still a must watch Halloween show today.
7. The largest pumpkin on record weighed 2,625 pounds. The record was set in 2016.
8. Originally, you had to dance for treats.
9. Halloween has been recognized as the 3rd biggest party day following New Year’s Eve and Super Bowl Sunday.
10. In the USA, One-quarter of the candy sold annually is purchased over the Halloween.
11. The world’s fastest pumpkin carving time is 24.03 seconds that was created by Stephen Clarke.
12. Halloween is really old. It is believed that Halloween traditions began in the year 4,000 B.C., which means that humans have been celebrating Halloween for over 6,000 years.
13. The candy-drugging was a myth. In 1974 a young boy ate a piece of heroin laced candy which led to a mass fear of drug-laced candy being passed out during Halloween.  As it turns out, that young boy had gotten into his uncle’s drugs and it was never meant for the Halloween candy.

​Do you have any fun facts to share about Halloween? Will you be dressing up and trick-or-treating? What is your favorite candy? Did you know I have an annual book even at my other blog where authors hand out books like candy?

​It's Friday the 13th and to celebrate I went searching the internet for 13 facts about Friday the 13th.😱

1. The fear of Friday the 13th is known as paraskevidekatriaphobia.
2. 60 million people world-wide are affected by this phobia.
3. Tuesday the 13th is unlucky in Hispanic and Greek cultures, and Friday the 17th is unlucky in Italy.
4. 80% of high rise buildings in the U.S. don’t have a 13th floor.
5. The fear of the number 13 is triskaidekaphobia. 
6. Jason Voorhees has the most victims with 199 kills.
7. 13 is Taylor Swift's lucky number.
8. Black cats, which are often linked to Friday the 13th, and the number 13, are both feminine symbols.
9. Whenever January 1st falls on a Thursday (except in Leap Years), February, March, and November will all have a Friday the 13th.
10. Alfred Hitchcock Was Born on Friday, August 13 in 1899.
11. Since 1995, Finland has dedicated one Friday the 13th in a year to observe National Accident Day. 
12. The band Black Sabbath released its debut album on Friday, February 13, 1970.
13. ​Founded in 1882 by Capt. William Fowler, The Thirteen Club of New York was a group of skeptics who defied superstitions by hosting dinner parties on Friday the 13th.

​Do you know any fun facts about today? What is your favorite superstition? Do you believe Friday the 13th is unlucky? Or is it a lucky day for you?