What is NanoWrimo?

*Originally published on 11/6/09


Every November, writers become excited and fearful of something colloquially referred to as "NaNoWriMo", yes the capital letters are there for a reason, don't worry I'll get to that. The event goes all month long and it ends in either a lot of stress or a great sense of pride.

NaNoWriMo is an abbreviation for National Novel Writing Month. The idea is that you sign up and do your best to finish a 50,000 page manuscript within the 30 days of November. It doesn't have to be good. Heck, it doesn't even have to be a complete story. As long as you reach the word mark, you've succeeded. So if you're working on some sprawling epic that spans a thousand pages, you don't need to worry as much. This will just give you the chance to get the ball rolling and make significant progress.

Given the fact that every writer's dream is to write a novel, you can see why this program has such an appeal. If procrastination is a problem for you, than this will give you a deadline to work with that will, hopefully, get you to sit down and actually write. It also shuts off your inner editor as you don't have time to screw around and worry too much about quality.

They tell you not to worry about it and to just write it. As it's all just for fun anyway, there's no real sense in stressing out over it. You can always revise it later if you think it is sub-par and plan on actually doing something with it.

While some authors are known for cranking out a whole manuscript in the span of a couple of days after a writing binge, this is still a daunting task. While you are certainly welcome to do that if it suits your style, many try to divide it up throughout the whole month. People have actually done the math and determined that you need to average 1,667 words a day in order to complete the task.

So, what's the incentive? What carrot lies at the end of that 50,000 word track? Well, bragging rights essentially. The pride that comes with knowing that you have a manuscript in your hands is reward enough. In fairness, the site is operating solely on donations so it's not like they can offer some sort of sweepstakes level prize. You do get a little online badge, but the big prize is the rough draft of a potential book. As a writer, that's a sweet deal.

I, myself, signed up this year and hope to actually make it to the finish line this time. Many don't make it so if you do get too busy, there's no real shame in not having completed the task. Besides, there's always next year.

NaNoWriMo is a fun way to challenge yourself and really push yourself to the limit. There's really nothing to lose. It's free to sign up so money isn't a factor and there isn't anything at stake. It does, however, give you a backdrop to bust your hump trying to get a finished manuscript out in a relatively short amount of time. As exhausting as it is, people repeatedly sign up to see if they are capable of reaching the goal.

If you're a writer who likes a challenge, this one comes recommended. You need only go to the website to sign up.