For most people, the month of November brings thoughts of fall, Thanksgiving and family. For others, November means lots of writing.
This month is not only for Thanksgiving, but also for National Novel Writing Month or NaNoWriMo. NaNoWriMo is a non-profit organization that challenges participants to write a 50,000-word novel from start to finish, going from Nov. 1 to Nov. 30.
The point of NaNoWriMo is to motivate people to write. Anyone can participate and write about anything.
The 30-day limit encourages people to use their creativity and gives them the opportunity to write a novel, something that many may never actually set aside time for.
“You’ve got nothing to lose, except for a tremendously fun month and the awesome accomplishment of completing the rough draft of that novel you’ve been wanting to write for as long as you can remember,” NaNoWriMo program director, Lindsey Grant, wrote on the website.
The writing challenge boosts participants’ confidence and shows them their own abilities which were unknown before, according to Grant.
“NaNoWriMo shows you what is actually possible,” she wrote. “If you can write a novel in a month, by the end of the experience, you think, oh my gosh, what else am I capable of?”
“One of the wonderful discoveries about NaNoWriMo is that the novels that come out of this experience are ideal for reshaping and revising,” Grant wrote.
These drafts have even launched 60 published novels, including “Water for Elephants,” written by the New York Times No. 1 bestselling author Sara Gruen.
The novel is now being made into a film starring Robert Pattinson and Reese Witherspoon.
Another aspect of participating in NaNoWriMo is the socializing. There are many events held across the country that allow participants to write and meet other writers.
According to NaNoWriMo founder and executive director, Chris Baty, these events have proven to be a success.
“People tend to make new friends at these crazy writing events.
At this point, we’ve had about a dozen marriages come out of NaNoWriMo, and there are even Wrimo babies in the world,” Baty wrote on the website.
NaNoWriMo began in 1999 and has grown in popularity ever since.
In 1999, there were 21 participants, which escalated to 59,000 in 2005 and then to 167,150 participants in 2009.
NaNoWriMo inspires children to write as well. Last year, 1,295 schools participated.
“I never would have imagined this random idea would spread so widely,” Baty said.
“I feel like it’s a ringing endorsement for not knowing what you’re going to do with your life and just following the things that seem interesting to you,” Baty said.
Already this month, over 55 million words have been written, and 156, 415 writers have been furiously working on their novels, according to the website.
As November continues, it is expected that more words will be written, more friends will be made and even more bestselling novels will be drafted.
For more information on writing a novel this month, visit www.nanowrimo.org.