November is known for three things: Thanksgiving, No Shave November and NaNoWriMo.
NaNoWriMo is the shortened name of National Novel Writing Month, where aspiring authors of all ages have a month to write a novel. So far, the program has produced famous authors and novels like Erin Morgenstern’s The Night Circus and Sara Gruen’s Water for Elephants, not to mention thousands upon thousands of high school and college students with boosted egos and better English grades.
So far as rules go, participants have from midnight on November 1 to 11:59 pm on November 30 to write a 50,000 word novel straight through. Editing isn’t allowed until December and no previously started works can be completed during the month. Word one of any story is written on the first of November and word 50,000 somewhere before the thirtieth. Otherwise, the decisions are up to you.
While technically there are no real prizes for NaNoWriMo, everybody who finishes their novel is considered a “winner.” All partakers who finish win the satisfaction of finishing a 50,000 word novel in thirty days. But, starting in 2008, the self-publishing company CreateSpace joined forces with NaNoWriMo and began offering to print finished manuscripts for participants.
In 2012, there were 341,375 participants in nearly 600 regions on all continents but Antarctica. That doesn’t necessarily mean that all those who signed up finished. As a bet, my roommate and I last year said we were going to both participate. I only made it two days. She made it a week.
A non-profit company, NaNoWriMo also funds two other programs focused on writing throughout the year. The Young Writers Program is the NaNoWriMo version for people under eighteen and sets goals friendlier to less-experienced writers. Camp NaNoWriMo is basically NaNoWriMo, but takes place during April and/or July.
When NaNoWriMo founder Chris Baty started the event in July 1999, it was as a fun solution to boredom for him and twenty-one of his friends. He now serves as a Board Member Emeritus while teaching writing classes at Stanford University and being a novelist himself. In fact, the novel that he wrote in San Francisco that first summer is published, called No Plot? No Problem!
With NaNoWriMo, there really are no limitations. It’s a great schedule to keep to if you’ve been wanting to writing. Participants write mysteries, fantasies, fan fiction, and memoirs, to name a few genres. As long as they reach the 50,000 word minimum, the stories can go on and on, with sequels and prequels and anything in between. Many participants come back year after year and spend the year in between Novembers brainstorming ideas for the next NaNoWriMo. And, although November isn’t the ideal month for novel writing, it at least gets the juices flowing. Who knows? The author of the next Great American Novel could very easily come from NaNoWriMo.