The beginning of November means different things to different people. To some, it means a sad farewell to Halloween. To others, it marks the beginning of the holiday season. To aspiring writers, November 1st marks the beginning of National Novel Writing Month- otherwise known as NaNoWriMo!
Last year, over 200,000 writers participated in NaNoWriMo. Although it might seem impossible to write 50,000 words in a mere thirty days, a large portions of the participants finished. The goal of NaNoWriMo is not to produce a quality, award-winning novel, but is about quantity. The harsh deadline pushes authors to be daring and allow room for mistakes. The creators of NaNoWriMo acknowledge that the books may not turn out very well, but that is beyond the point. The point of the event is to knock down the walls blocking your creativity and to push beyond the writer’s most common fear: the fear of failure.
If you are interested in participating in the grueling competition visit www.nanowrimo.org. The site helps you track your own process and receive helpful tips for finishing. You can even contact other writers in your area to complain about the mess you have gotten yourself into. If you finish with 50,000 words by November 30th, 11:59 PM, then your name will be added to a list of international winners and you may officially call yourself a novelist! What a great conversation starter at parties. It’s pretty impressive to be a teenage author.
Give it a try! Visit www.nanowrimo.org for further instructions and encouragement. Even if your novel ends up uncompleted, even giving an effort is an admirable achievement in itself.
So if you’re one of those people who talks of writing a novel one day, start now! And if you can’t participate this year, the event will recur annually for years to come, so there will be multiple opportunities to become an accomplished novelist.
