It’s a question met by many with confusion, some with interest and others with outright squeals of excitement and anticipation.
The arrival of Nov. 1st marks more than the end of Halloween activities and the beginning of preparation for oncoming Thanksgiving feasts—it marks the arrival of National Novel Writing Month.
Commonly referred to as NaNoWriMo, National Novel Writing Month is a 30 day-long dash to write 50,000 words in the form of a novel. It’s a challenge that more than 250,000 people will take on this year according to a 2011 press release by The Office of Letters and Light, the non-profit organization that “organizes events where children and adults find the inspiration,
encouragement, and structure they need to achieve their creative potential.”
Chris Baty, NaNoWriMo founder and executive director, details the history of the event on the NaNoWriMo website (www.nanowrimo.org) that began 12 years ago in San Francisco with 21 participants and six winners. Baty writes it didn’t start out basking in its current glory, but he and his fellow participants “wanted to make noise.”
And noise they made.
NaNoWriMo ended Nov. 2010 with 250,500 registered participants and 37,500 “official” winners and more than 500 official NaNoWriMo chapters.
What does it take to win? Registered or not, all it takes to “win” NaNoWriMo is to write 50,000 words, from scratch, during the official timeline—Nov. 1st at 12 a.m. to Nov. 30th at 11:59 p.m.
However, to be counted among the winners on the site you must register (it’s free) and submit your manuscript (it won’t save it, only count the words). As an added bonus, CreateSpace, a publishing website, teamed with NaNoWriMo to provide winners with a free proof copy of the novel in paperback format.
With approximately ten NaNoWriMo’s under her pen, Stacey Seidl, a Creative Writing major at EMU said, “some years I made the count, some I didn’t.”
When she did the feeling was incredible.
“It is such a huge feeling of accomplishment when you get to that 50,000 word mark you just want to run around your neighborhood, streaking with sparklers in hand screaming, ‘whoohoo, I did it!’” she said.
If you are just starting your NaNoWriMo experience, Seidl encourages you to “Just write. It’s OK if the story doesn’t make sense. It’s OK to write out of order. Don’t concentrate on writing the next great novel. There is plenty of time for mass revision after.”
Christopher Segal, a Literature major at EMU, agreed.
“Just write,” he said. “Don’t think too much about what you are doing. November is all about getting your ideas down, December is for the editing phase.”
While not necessary, a support system is highly recommended. For this, many writers turn to writing groups and the official website’s forum. Both options give writers the ability to bounce ideas around and get feedback, encouragement and make incredible bonds with other writers.
Armed with “a really good friend who makes a great cheerleader,” Seidl will pick up her pen once again this November.
When asked if she has any ideas for her 2011 novel, Seidl said, “I never allow myself to think about it until I sit down on November first and open the document of NaNo.
“I find it works best to see what happens. Sometimes it is a story that really needs to be told/written but if you allowed yourself to think about it first, you would talk yourself out of it.”
“I’ve always had ideas swimming [in] my head about stories that I want to see played out,characters forming themselves as I watch people around me,” Segal said. “But I’ve never had the time or place to actually develop them for other people to read and understand. By doing NaNo, I’m hoping that I can do that and get the story that has been in my head for years onto paper.”
No matter the reason for jumping on board, National Novel Writing Month provides a unique opportunity for writers to challenge themselves in a fun and supportive atmosphere.
This year, I registered to participate in NaNoWriMo. I’m excited, nervous and a bit overwhelmed, but I think it will be a lot of fun. Look for me on the forums [aWorldApart] and at local write-ins.
