Write a Novel in a Month...You Know You Want To...

Remember my post One Score, One Finish Line, One Novel? I mentioned something called NaNoWriMo.  It's short for National Novel Writing Month, 30 days of crazay writing!  I know it's not until November, but you guys need to hear about it now so you can prepare.  Every November thousands of people from elementary school to people retired and living in old fart bliss attempt to write a novel, or 50,000 words.  To some people that just sounds crazy and outrageous, and it is, but it's also glorious and aaaaaaaaaamazing!

Come on people, it's only 1,667 words a day!  Anybody can do that!  There's even a website to help you!  You can create a profile and befriend other writers (Writing Buddies!).  You don't even have to know them outside of NaNo.  There's a place for your novel information, and your information (which doesn't have to be real, I mean, who lives on Goaty Goat Island? I do apparently.)

(My profile, with my horrible pen name)

One of my favorite things is that they give you your statistics:

(Yeah, mine from last year look pretty bad)

It kind of helps you keep track of things, especially if you get behind, which happens to me a lot.  And like I said before, you're not alone!  In 2011, more than a quarter of a million people did NaNoWriMo, and I'm pretty sure last year more than 300,000 people signed up.  There are more than 60 forums where you can talk with all these crazy writers, so you're bound to find someone you have something in common with.  My favorite forums are the Adoption Society and Games, Diversions, & Other Exciting Forms of Procrastination.  The first is a place to drop off things you don't need and pick up things you do need.  From titles to catchy character lines, you can pretty much find anything there.  The second is a place where you can waste time and have fun.  Insane games abound!  Sometimes they can be constructive and develop your characters, sometimes they're just ridiculous, like Throw Something at the Next Poster.

I turn my nose up at the NaNo naysayers, the people who think it's a menace to the "art" of writing.  It's not all about quality, it's about getting it done, something I have problems with myself.  It's not just for people who are dead serious writers, it's for people who want to write, regardless of whether they're good or not.  And for those who think nothing good can come from writing furiously for a month straight, you can forget that argument.  Did you know Water For Elephants started out as a NaNo project?  Yeah, go ahead and look bashful.  Over 100 NaNo Novels have been published, and one day mine will be one of them.

And guess what?  It's not just in November!  Camp NaNoWriMo, which is way more flexible, happens in April and July.  You can choose a different word count other than 50,000, and you can have cabin mates!  So if November is too hectic for you, try April or July.  Personally, I prefer July because November and April are hectic end-of-the-semester months.

So for everyone out there who has ever wanted to write a novel, has issues with finishing things, or likes a challenge, this is for you, and you should try it!  I've done it for three years and I haven't won ever, but I know one day I will.  The fact that I still want to keep trying every year should be an encouragement to you.  You can write, because I say you can.  Don't let anything stop you.