The WMF Archives

By Angela Atkinson

It's that time of year again, my writing friends. NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month), a month of intensive novel writing, begins November 1. The general idea is to write a 175 page novel in one month.

So, we'll be focusing on quantity, not quality. Does that seem strange? Maybe so--but not as strange as one might think. The fact is that writers often get caught up trying to write "quality" and then never get the story out. By working to create a specific number of pages (which you can go back and edit after you've met your goal), you're pushing yourself to actually complete the work.

NaNoWriMo may not be for everyone, but it's a great way to get rolling on that project you've been putting off. And, for those writers who aren't interested in novel writing, NaNoWriMo can be customized to fit your career. So, for example, if you're a content writer, maybe you'll write 30 articles in 30 days. Magazine writers might send 30 queries in 30 days. You get the idea.

And, in some way, it may help writers to stay motivated if they know that thousands of others will be NaNoWriMo-ing right along with them.

So, according to the NaNoWriMo website, here's the gist of it:

What: Writing one 50,000-word novel from scratch in a month's time.

Who: You! We can't do this unless we have some other people trying it as well. Let's write laughably awful yet lengthy prose together.

Why: The reasons are endless! To actively participate in one of our era's most enchanting art forms! To write without having to obsess over quality. To be able to make obscure references to passages from our novels at parties. To be able to mock real novelists who dawdle on and on, taking far longer than 30 days to produce their work.

When: You can sign up anytime to add your name to the roster and browse the forums. Writing begins November 1. To be added to the official list of winners, you must reach the 50,000-word mark by November 30 at midnight. Once your novel has been verified by our web-based team of robotic word counters, the partying begins.

And, from the website, here is "How NaNoWriMo Works."

1) Sign up for the event by clicking the "Sign Up Now" link at the top of the site. It's right there above "National."

2) Check your email and read the ginormous email our noveling robots send you. It will have "Love" in the subject line, and may be hiding in your Junk folder.

3) Log into your account and use the links on the My NaNoWriMo page to set your timezone, affiliate with a region, and tell us a little bit about yourself.

4) Begin procrastinating by reading through all the great advice and funny stories in the forums. Post some stories and questions of your own. Get excited. Get nervous. Try to rope someone else into doing this with you. Eat lots of chocolate and stockpile noveling rewards.

5) On November 1, begin writing your novel. Your goal is to write a 50,000-word novel by midnight, local time, on November 30th. You write on your own computer, using whatever software you prefer.

6) This is not as scary as it sounds.

7) Starting November 1, you can update your word count in that box at the top of the site, and post excerpts of your work for others to read. Watch your word-count accumulate and story take shape. Feel a little giddy.

8) Write with other NaNoWriMo participants in your area. Write by yourself. Write. Write. Write.

9) If you write 50,000 words of fiction by midnight, local time, November 30th, you can upload your novel for official verification, and be added to our hallowed Winner’s Page and receive a handsome winner’s certificate and web badge. We'll post step-by-step instructions on how to scramble and upload your novel starting in mid-November.

10) Win or lose, you rock for even trying.

That's all there is to it! Occasionally, participants write in to ask about the rules of the event. We don't have many! But because we've found that creativity is often heightened by constraints (and communities bolstered by shared goals) we have evolved a handful of rules over the years. The rules state that, to be an official NaNoWriMo winner, you must…

* Write a 50,000-word (or longer!) novel, between November 1 and November 30.
* Start from scratch. None of your own previously written prose can be included in your NaNoWriMo draft (though outlines, character sketches, and research are all fine, as are citations from other people's works).
* Write a novel. We define a novel as a lengthy work of fiction. If you consider the book you're writing a novel, we consider it a novel too!
* Be the sole author of your novel. Apart from those citations mentioned two bullet-points up.
* Write more than one word repeated 50,000 times.
* Upload your novel for word-count validation to our site between November 25 and November 30.

Want to know more? Check out the NaNoWriMo FAQ.

So are you in?

NaNoWriMo: Are you in?