NaNoWriMo

National Novel Writing Mo (NaNoWriMo) is an event that takes place every year during the month of November. I first heard of this event last year when one of my friends decided to take the challenge. I didn't take part in it myself as I "didn't have the time" what with school work and other social activities that took up my time (plus I probably spent way too much time clicking the refresh button on Facebook, waiting for something exciting to happen). Although I still have things to occupy my time, I've decided to take the plunge. I just created a NaNoWriMo account, committing myself to at least attempt to reach the goal of 50,000 words in 30 days. I'm going to do it. And you are more than welcome to try it with me :)

Some of you may be wondering what all of NaNoWriMo entails. I'm still learning about it a bit myself, but I'm having fun exploring their website. Well, first off, you can find out all about it under their What is NaNoWriMo? page. As I mentioned above, the whole goal of this event is to spew out 50,000 words in 30 days giving about 175-pages worth of your very own novel. In case some of you think this is an easy-peasy-lemon-squeazy process, let me assure you that writing takes a lot of work and it never comes out perfectly on the first go.

One of the beauties of NaNoWriMo is that you don't have the pressure of writing a perfectly formed ready-to-be-published novel by day 30. It's just to help you get out a draft that you can go back and edit later and then send it out to your hearts content if you so wish. One rule you must keep in mind as you slave away at your typewriter (or laptop as the case may be) is that you can't stop to edit. We all have what is referred to as the inner editor, that little voice inside us that makes us crazy wondering if we wrote everything correctly (is it who or whom sort of madness), and well the inner editor is all well and good, it also can hold us back and keep us from ever finishing a full length novel as we keep telling ourselves that the beginning just wasn't perfect. So set your inner editor aside and produce a novel!

Another great feature of NaNoWriMo is that you don't have to go at it alone. They create an online community where you can discuss and gain support from other NaNoWriMo participants. In some cases, there may also be groups that get together in your area that you can meet with.

The site also gives encouragement and suggestions to go about writing your novel.

During the process, you can upload bits of your writing so everyone can see what your word count is. (Don't worry. They have protection so no one will be able to steal your novel.) On November 30th, you submit your novel for the final word count. If you made the 50,000 word mark, you're a winner!

Take a look at the site and consider joining in. The site is http://www.nanowrimo.org/.