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National Novel Writing Month
California freelancer helps novelists get their books written by freeing them from the "internal editor."
This seat-of-your-pants approach to novel writing began in 1999, when 26-year-old aspiring novelist Chris Baty, “in a moment of caffeinated ambition,” had the idea that it would be pretty great to write a novel in a month. “And it would be even cooler if I could get a bunch of friends to write novels with me,” he recalls. That year, 21 people joined Baty is his crazy idea.Valuing enthusiasm and perseverance over talent and craft, NaNoWriMo is a novel-writing program for everyone who has thought fleetingly about writing a novel but has been scared away by the time and effort involved.
Because of the limited writing window, the ONLY thing that matters in NaNoWriMo is output. It's all about quantity, not quality. The kamikaze approach forces you to lower your expectations, take risks, and write on the fly.
By 2003, 25,000 participants began writing on November 1 with the goal to write a 175-page (50,000-word) novel by midnight, November 30.
Over 3,500 of them crossed the finish line by the midnight deadline, entering into the annals of NaNoWriMo superstardom forever. They started the month as auto mechanics, out-of-work actors, and middle school English teachers. They walked away novelists.
Follow this year’s NaNoWriMo progress at the official website: www.nanowrimo.org
So, to recap:
What: Writing one 50,000-word novel from scratch in a month's time.
Who: You! We can't do this unless we have some other people trying it as well. Let's write laughably awful yet lengthy prose together.
Why: The reasons are endless! To actively participate in one of our era's most enchanting art forms! To write without having to obsess over quality. To be able to make obscure references to passages from your novel at parties. To be able to mock real novelists who dawdle on and on, taking far longer than 30 days to produce their work.
When: Sign-ups began October 1, 2004. Writing begins November 1. To be added to the official list of winners, you must reach the 50,000-word mark by November 30 at midnight. Once your novel has been verified by our web-based team of robotic word counters, the partying begins.
How many novels have been written through NaNoWriMo?
1999: 21 participants and six winners
2000: 140 participants and 29 winners
2001: 5000 particpants and more than 700 winners
2002: 13,500 participants and around 2100 winners
2003: 25,500 participants and about 3500 winners
This November we're hoping for 40,000 participants and something close to 5000 winners!
Has anyone had their novel published?
Jon F. Merz was one of Team 2001's winners; his NaNo book The Destructor was published by Pinnacle Books in March 2003. So far, two NaNoWriMo 2002 participants have sold their works to publishers, including Lani Diane Rich, whose NaNo-penned manuscript, Time Off For Good Behavior, will be coming out on Warner Books in October 2004.