Yes, it’s that time of year, when the leaves turn, the nights get chilly, pumpkin spice everything wafts through the air, and people start writing like crazy.
Wait. What was that last thing? Writing? You mean, like Christmas cards?
No, silly! They start writing novels! Welcome to National Novel Writing Month, also known as NaNoWriMo. The goal of NaNoWriMo is to encourage authors and would-be authors to write a 50,000-word novel in one month. There is a website (https://nanowrimo.org/) where you can register your novel, track your progress, and network with other writers. You can earn participation and personal achievement badges based on your progress. Then, as early as the 20th of November, you can have your completed project validated (that is, confirmed that you actually do have at least 50,000 words). There are several prizes for winners and participants, provided by some of the event’s sponsors, including reduced price or free services that are of interest to writers.
So, what’s the point? The point is to encourage people to write and to tell their stories! And the satisfaction you can get from completing your own novel project is certainly worth more than all the prizes you could get.
I encourage any fledgling author, especially if you have never completed a project, to consider entering NaNoWriMo. It’s not too late! You can still sign up!
Am I entering NaNoWriMo myself? Nope. Couple reasons for that — first, I’ve already written several novel-length projects myself (not to say that experienced authors can’t enter, they certainly can), so I just don’t have the interest. I know how long it takes me to write a novel, and it’s a bit more than a month. Also, I am currently working on a project (the fifth Suburban Vampire novel) and I don’t want to start any other projects until I’m done (I’ve already done that, having put it aside for two other novels which I have completed). This novel is a hard one for me, harder perhaps than even my first one, so it’s taking some time. So, I’ll pass, this time…
Anyway, if you ever thought about writing, please check ’em out: NaNoWriMo
Franklin Posner 