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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.

Make no mistake: You will be writing a lot of crap. And that's a good thing. By forcing yourself to write so intensely, you are giving yourself permission to make mistakes. To forgo the endless tweaking and editing and just create. To build without tearing down.

As you spend November writing, you can draw comfort from the fact that, all around the world, other National Novel Writing Month participants are going through the same joys and sorrows of producing the Great Frantic Novel. Wrimos meet throughout the month to offer encouragement, commiseration, and -- when the thing is done -- the kind of raucous celebrations that tend to frighten animals and small children.

In 2004, we had over 42,000 participants. Nearly 6000 of them crossed the 50k 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.

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Start thinking up plots and character names now, folks.
 

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Posted by pooka (Member # 5003) on :
 
I'm so glad I did this last year, but I don't think I'll have the time this year. We're trying to get our house fixed up.
 

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Posted by Enigmatic (Member # 7785) on :
 
I may have a go at it this time around. I really do need to learn how to let a rough draft actually be rough, instead of fussing so much over each and every line as I go.

--Enigmatic
 

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Posted by CaySedai (Member # 6459) on :
 
I was thinking about signing up again - last year I only got about 1100 words. But, ever the optimist ...

Only, for some reason, I had thought it was 25,000 words - and now it's more freaky to think about. Oh well, 25,000 or 50,000 - they are numbers too big to think about so it doesn't matter.
 

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Posted by Vadon (Member # 4561) on :
 
I'll go for it again, I got like... 17,000 last year and I'm ready to try again.
 

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Posted by Astaril (Member # 7440) on :
 
Hmm. Kind of tempting, actually. I mean, heck, why not? I've never written a novel before.
 

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Posted by SteveRogers (Member # 7130) on :
 
I'm going to give it a shot this year, I think. I'll probably end up writing most of during my Thanksgiving break. If I'm not home, I'll just wait till next year.
 

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Posted by quidscribis (Member # 5124) on :
 
Yeah, I was wondering how soon this would be brought up. I've been delaying mentioning it myself because it was so early, but since you, Chris, bring it up. . .

Last year didn't go so well. Fahim was in Ramadan, and we didn't have a microwave, and because I was worried about him (the year before, he got really sick, and I didn't want that happening again), I got up at 4:30 every morning to make sure he got enough to eat. And me, with my sleep disorders, ended up being completely toasted. There went November.

This year, Ramadan is over by the 4th or 5th of November, and we have a microwave.

I'm in. I've even been made the ML for Sri Lanka, a country with two participants. Me and my 15 year old niece who'll be in the Maldives by then but who is participating with me. Have I mentioned I love my niece? I mean, for more than just her nieceness. She's cool. She participated last year and wrote something like 35,000 words - pretty incredible for a 14 year old.

I have one novel already plotted for the event, and I plan on having another one or two plotted as well. I've written 210 pages in a week (in July, and it's about 52,500 words), so I'm going like gangbusters to see if I can go way way overboard. I'd like to hit at least 150,000 words if I can. Er, theoretically, I can, but I mean without blowing my brains into a pool of goo.

Yep, I'm going to be really really really insane.
 

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Posted by Belle (Member # 2314) on :
 
I'm thinking of using it to type my first draft. I'm in the outlining stage, and have the novel pretty much completely outlined, but haven't started the actual churning out of the first draft.

So, it might be a good idea.
 

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Posted by Joldo (Member # 6991) on :
 
My brother and I are competing to see who can get to 50,000 first. There's forty dollars hanging on this, so I'll be putting in a lot of effort.
 

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Posted by Shan (Member # 4550) on :
 
So - ummm - how many pages does that equal and is it double-spaced?
 

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Posted by fugu13 (Member # 2859) on :
 
That's about 200 pages double spaced in a pretty large font.
 

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Posted by Shan (Member # 4550) on :
 
Font size 12? Ariel? Bold?

Bigger?

*grin*

Hmmmm . . .

I think I can do it - I wrote a first draft of a training manual of 148 pages in one week.

*Ponders some more*
 

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Posted by fugu13 (Member # 2859) on :
 
In 12 point double-spaced Courier New with default margins there are about 250 words on a typical page.

Most fonts will fit more words per page.
 

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Posted by larisse (Member # 2221) on :
 
Oh, all right, you twisted my arm. I think I'll join up, as well. Not that I could have avoided it in the next week or so since the emails for the updates will be going out the first week of October.

It'll be fun. I mean I have know idea what I am going to write about, not that I knew what I was going to write about last year until the night before the whole thing started. And, since last year was the first time I reached the goal, that means I have to continue the streak. Let the craziness insue.
 

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Posted by SteveRogers (Member # 7130) on :
 
I don't know if I'll be able to do it. I want to. I'll try. If I have the time.
 

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Posted by Olivet (Member # 1104) on :
 
If all goes well, I may participate with a bit of a cheat. That is, try to finish the novel I have already started.
 

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Posted by Belle (Member # 2314) on :
 
Well, I'm definitely in.

I'm almost done outlining the novel, it will be fnished in a couple of weeks, even if I only work on it about an hour or so each day. I can take a couple of weeks off to clear my head, then starting November 1st I can pound out that first draft. I won't be able to write during the days before and just after Thanksgiving so I'll have to readjust my daily total to make sure I stay on schedule.
 

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Posted by CaySedai (Member # 6459) on :
 
I've got my story idea - from a dream I was having this morning. It's a lovely, light romance (maybe some comedy thrown in - we'll see). I had gotten to the point where he was ready to propose but hadn't yet ...

Then I was awakened by the people across the street having a domestic argument ... and had to go and call 911 on them.

But that's okay, because I still remember enough of my dream to start outlining and doing research. Yay!
 

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Posted by fiazko (Member # 5812) on :
 
I may actually give this a go this year. It depends on some job things and how much of a functioning computer I have. I will definitely consider it, though.
 

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Posted by human_2.0 (Member # 6006) on :
 
I'm in. I have ideas, but need to organize them first.
 

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