NaNoWriMo

Hey everyone! The leaves are turning red and gold, the air becoming crisp, and you probably haven't noticed any of that because you've been hunched over your computer this entire time trying to finish that essay (no shame there, you go get that A!). But as November approaches, people like me begin to prepare for an interesting opportunity: National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo.

What It Is:

NaNoWriMo is exactly what the name describes: a month of novel writing. It begins on November 1 and lasts until November 30, although it isn't a bad idea to start planning out your novel beforehand. Participants will then commit themselves to a month of writing whatever they so choose (usually a novel, although the competition is highly customizable). 

The competition itself is to write 50,000 words by the end of NaNoWriMo, or November 30th, however, this isn't what you have to do, it's just a goal the majority of people set for themselves. What the objective of the month really is is to help writers commit to starting or finishing a novel.

Why You Might Not Want To Do It:

NaNoWriMo is definitely a big undertaking, I can't lie about that. It might be especially difficult because of some other extracurriculars that one might have going on. In addition, you do need at least somewhat of a plan to be successful at whatever goal you set, but now is a great time to start planning if you want to participate!

Why You Should Try It:

It's a great experience! While the most popular option is to write 50,000 words by November 30, you don't have to do that if you don't feel up to the challenge. NaNoWriMo can be a month of you completing writing prompts or exercises to try and improve your writing, you don't have to necessarily write out a whole novel. If you do choose to commit and don't end up finishing your novel, that's perfectly fine too! The basis of the competition is writing, so you can adapt that to whatever goal you want.

Cool Stuff That I Should Mention But Don't Really Have A Good Place To Mention It:

Since the competition's beginning in 1999, over 600 novels written during NaNoWriMo (that we know of) have been published by either traditional publishing houses or self-publishing. That's a lot! Some that you might have heard of include Cinder by Marissa Meyer, Side Effects May Vary by Julie Murphy, and Assassin's Heart by Sarah Ahiers. As of the publishing of this article, over 800,000 active novelists are prepping for November, and more than 367,000 novels have been completed as a result of NaNoWriMo.

 

Okay, You've Convinced Me. What Now?

Great question, reader! You can sign up here to officially become apart of the competition, or just check out in a bit more detail what exactly NaNoWriMo is if you're confused. In addition, the NaNoWriMo organization has lots of great resources for aspiring writers, and events and pep talks you can sign up for if you're especially interested in participating in.

Until next month,

-William King