Nanowrimo, or National Novel Writing Month is an annual event for writers started in 1999 by Chris Baty, author of No Plot? No Problem! A Low-Stress, High-Velocity Guide to Writing a Novel in 30 Days. Over the last ten year it has grown from 21 participants to over 100,000 participants.
What is Nanowrimo?
Nanowrimo is an opportunity for writers of all ages and ability levels, and from all over the world, to come together with a common goal: write 50,000 words in thirty days.
How to Write a Novel in Thirty Days
The combination of a daily writing habit, the pressure of a deadline, and the competition and camaraderie of fellow writers is the formula used by Nanowrimo. Writers can accomplish the goal of writing a novel in thirty days simply by sitting down and writing 1,500-2,000 words each day. The Nanowrimo website provides a treasure-trove of writing resources and advice in the form of prompts, plot ideas, outlining techniques, inspiration, troubleshooting and support.
Word Counts and Word Wars
The National Novel Writing Month website helps writers track their goals through word counts. Writers can log in to update their word count at any time, and their current word count is displayed on the Nanowrimo website. The site also provides word-count widgets that writers can display on their blogs or in their email signature. The widgets synch with the Nanowrimo site and always display the writer's current word count. In addition, many writers post their word counts on Twitter or Facebook. In Nanowrimo helps writers boost their daily count by encouraging them to participate in word wars. A word war is a competition between two or more writers to see who can write the most words in a set period of time.
It's Free to Join
Nanowrimo is free and easy to join. Anyone can to go to their website and register with a user name and password. Nanowrimo encourages donations, and many writers donate at least ten dollars. Nanowrimo is a non-profit organization, so all donations are tax-deductable, and writers who donate get a glowing halo above their name when posting in the Nanowrimo forums. The site also raises money by offering a variety of items for sale, from books to t-shirts.
Become Part of the Community
Writers can maximize their writing marathon experience by becoming part of the Nanowrimo community. The vast forums have something for everyone, from forums devoted to writers with children, to forums for teens only, to forums for each type of genre, from science fiction to vampires to chick lit. Writers can share their triumphs and frustrations, read each others' writing, ask and answer questions, offer ideas and suggestions, or just cheer each other on.
Nanowrimo begins on November 1st. Writers can join before or after this date and anyone who completes 50,000 words by midnight on November 30th gets a winner's badge to display on their website or blog. Even those writers who don't meet their goals can connect with other writers, learn a great deal about their craft, and have fun.
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