National Novel Writer's Month

Also known as NaNoWriMo - this event begins November 1st and ends November 30th each year. The goal for this contest is to write 50,000 words (a 175 page novel).

http://www.nanowrimo.org/

Here is an excerpt from their site telling you about it.

National Novel Writing Month is a fun, seat-of-your-pants approach to novel writing. Participants begin writing November 1. The goal is to write a 175-page (50,000-word) novel by midnight, November 30.

Valuing enthusiasm and perseverance over painstaking 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.

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 our novels 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: You can sign up anytime to add your name to the roster and browse the forums. 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.

Still confused? Just visit the How NaNoWriMo Works page! http://www.nanowrimo.org/hownanoworks

I am going to move this post to it's own category. julie and I were talking on Wednesday about us trying to participate in a big way this Novemeber was a group for whoever is interested. I participated the year before last and had a blast as well as generated some really good pieces to work on throught the rest of the year!

That's perfectly fine to move the info. I wasn't sure where to put it exactly since it's something that runs every year and I actually consider it more of a Challenge than a true Contest. I've participated the last 2 years and love it because it gives me a boost and starts the ball rolling with ideas in my head. And it also gives me a break from whatever I'm currently working on. I think it would be so much fun to have the whole group participate in it this year. What is nice is that I think in the forums for each region you might be able to advertise/or at least post about this forum here and maybe gain some new local members.

Those are great Ideas Vicki! Julie and I have a lot in the works right now so it may be quiet here for a few days while we sort everything out and get some more features up and running (and I try to pass my mid-term exams) but there is lots of fun and useful stuff on the way!!!