NaNoWriMo!
Tuesday, October 6th, 2009For so many years I’ve been wanting to write a novel….or at least half a novel! Coming this November, I’m going to do just that! I’m participating in NaNoWriMo!
To elaborate, the website explains it best, so I’m just going to copy and paste what they say:
National Novel Writing Month is a fun, seat-of-your-pants approach to novel writing. Participants begin writing November 1. The goal is to write a 175-page (50,000-word) novel by midnight, November 30.
Valuing enthusiasm and perseverance over painstaking craft, NaNoWriMo is a novel-writing program for everyone who has thought fleetingly about writing a novel but has been scared away by the time and effort involved.
Because of the limited writing window, the ONLY thing that matters in NaNoWriMo is output. It’s all about quantity, not quality. The kamikaze approach forces you to lower your expectations, take risks, and write on the fly.
Make no mistake: You will be writing a lot of crap. And that’s a good thing. By forcing yourself to write so intensely, you are giving yourself permission to make mistakes. To forgo the endless tweaking and editing and just create. To build without tearing down.
As you spend November writing, you can draw comfort from the fact that, all around the world, other National Novel Writing Month participants are going through the same joys and sorrows of producing the Great Frantic Novel. Wrimos meet throughout the month to offer encouragement, commiseration, and—when the thing is done—the kind of raucous celebrations that tend to frighten animals and small children.
In 2007, we had over 100,000 participants. More than 15,000 of them crossed the 50k finish line by the midnight deadline, entering into the annals of NaNoWriMo superstardom forever. They started the month as auto mechanics, out-of-work actors, and middle school English teachers. They walked away novelists.
So, to recap:
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.
I’m looking for people to do it with me, so we can cheer each other on and bring on a little competitiveness which is always healthy (“omw so-n-so is on 3000 words, and I’m only on 1000! i gotta get moving!”). If you’re participating, drop me a comment with a link to your blog so we can keep up to date on each others progress.
I have no idea what my story will be about, so any ideas n such are very, very welcome! Apparently not knowing is part of the rush of NaNoWriMo haha. Time to start stocking up on late night snacks!
To those not participating, ah well, maybe next year. But please do wish me good luck!
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