November is knocking on October's door, and it's coming with the annual writing challenge--NaNoWriMo. NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month. It's a personal goal you set for yourself to write a novel in November. Yes, a NOVEL. Think you have what it takes? Below is the scoop from the folks sponsoring the event. Read on...
What: To meet your word-count goal and write a novel from scratch in one month’s time. You will be able to enter your chosen word-count goal in your profile starting October 1.
Who: You!
You should sign up on the Young Writers Program site if you are:
•17 years old or younger participating on your own.
•In a K-12 teacher-led class that is participating in NaNoWriMo.
•An educator facilitating NaNoWriMo in your classroom.
If you are 13 or older, you can sign up on the main site at www.nanowrimo.org. Just know that you will have to write 50,000 words since the adult site doesn’t allow you to set your own word-count goal.
Why: The reasons are endless! To write freely without having to stress over spelling and grammar. To be able to talk about how cool your novel is any chance you get. To be able to make fun of real novelists who take far longer than 30 days to write their books...
When: You can sign up whenever you’d like to add your name to the roster of budding young authors and participate in the forums. Writing begins November 1. To be added to the official list of winners, you must reach your word-count goal by November 30 at midnight. Once your novel has been verified by our web-based team of robotic word counters, the celebration begins.
If you ever thought about giving writing a try, why not take the plunge during NaNoWriMo? The library has lots of books with tips for aspiring writers, so drop by and give us a shout.
Lisa, have you ever done NaNoWriMo?
ReplyDeleteAllison, how I wish! Every year I psyche myself up to do it, but I never have that perfect idea for a novel. I'm hoping those of you who have already been toying with a story idea will take the reigns and run with it. As for me, maybe that brilliant idea will come to me soon and I'll be able to crank out that bestseller next year. :)
ReplyDeleteThat sounds like an excuse to me. :) Don't wait for the idea, make it come to you! Heck, I'm starting on Monday and still have no idea what I'm going to write, but I didn't last year either and still cranked out 11,000 words. And yes, I know 11,000 words sounds pathetic compared to other NaNoWriMo goals, but I started late. Anyway, I'm doing NaNo this year, and so's Annie - you should too!
ReplyDeleteYou're right...excuses, excuses!
ReplyDeleteI DID try to start. After about 3 paragraphs I had no idea what I was writing anymore...it was sort of a stream of conciousness thing.
You don't want another James Joyce inflicted upon the world do you? ;)
Interestingly, Maggie Stiefvater seems to be anti-NaNoWriMo. Take a look at what she has to say: http://m-stiefvater.livejournal.com/182676.html