For those who've never heard of it before NaNo, as it is affectionately known, takes place during the month of November and is National Novel Writing Month when writers, whether aspiring or published accept the NANOWRIMO challenge to write a 50,000-word novel in 30 days.
While you do that sitting alone at your computer/laptop or whatever, you are not alone. World-wide there were 300,000 writers participating in NaNo in 2011, and will probably be even more this year. The NaNo website is full of wonderful information, both informative and inspirational. Hop on over to http://www.nanowrimo.org/ and discover what other writers are doing this November.
Did I say you won't be alone? There are forums, lots of them, that cover almost everything you can think of and others you never thought of at all. there are challengens within challenges, contests, sharing of information, tecniques and genres. And as if that was not enough you can join a 'regional' group online with the chance of getting together with the members at a local venue in 'real time'.
Does the thought of writing 50,000 words in 30 days overwhelm you? Then let's break it down. It's 1667 words a day. depending how fast you type, thats probably about one and a half hours. And, of course, you don't have to sit down and do it all in one go. It's amamzing how the word count adds up when you snatchs minutes here, and there during the day.
Many people will spend weeks before hand plotting their story, but clearly at this stage there isn't time, but don't fret. There have been participants who've started writing during the final week of naNo and still met the required 50,000 word count. Believe me :-) I'm not one of them.
During the final days of the challenge you are asked to submit your 50K novel for 'verification'. This is done in such a way it is totaly secure, but you will learn more about that when you visit the NaNo site.
NaNo buddys are friends you can keep in touch with during November when you feel you are flagging, just for a chat.
And what if you don't finish? There are many who don't reach the 50k line, but then they still have the beginnings of a novel to work on later when they have more time. They have had the fun of taking part in the challenge.
To take the words from the horses mouth --
At NaNoWriMo you can:
Write a novel in a month!
Track your progress.
Get pep talks and support.
Meet fellow writers online and in person.
LearnHow NaNoWriMo Works
