National Novel Writing Month

We’re all full of stories, each of us with our own tales to tell, but we never quite seem to find the time to make it happen, do we? There’s always too much to do today, the feeling isn’t right, the story just isn’t there, or we just don’t feel good enough.

Thoughts like these are why some of the most influential books in history never got written, and procrastination is the great killer of artistic expression. National Novel Writing Month, known as NaNoWriMo by its adherents is your opportunity to bring out your inner tales!

History of National Novel Writing Month

National Novel Writing Month brings your excuses to a halt by encouraging everyone to take this one month of the year to try their hand at the grand art of storytelling. 50,000 words in one month is the goal, a number that seems quite daunting until you realize that over a span of 30 days it’s just 1700 words a day. To put that into perspective, that’s about three times the length of this article!

Established in 1999, NaNoWriMo was July back then, and the heart of it was the magical city of San Francisco. That year there were only 21 people involved, and they were at the heart of a revolution, though perhaps not the heart of the one they imagined. Fifteen years later thousands of people all over the world are participating in this amazing event, resulting in volumes of creative expression unlike the world has ever seen.

How to celebrate National Novel Writing Month

NaNoWriMo has a thriving and supportive community of people who love getting together, physically and digitally, to support each other and offer encouragement and inspiration to drive the creative endeavor. At homes, restaurants, coffee shops, libraries, and schools all over the world, NaNoWriMo takes all these places by storm. You can pop into nanowrimo.org and find yourself a local “write-in” near you to help you get your write on!

Obviously, whether you join these folks or not, the whole point of NaNoWriMo is writing. So dig an idea out of your head and start writing, and hold yourself to 1700 words a day throughout the entire month of November. Don’t worry about editing, rewriting, or any of the little fiddly things one does when finishing a novel, that all can wait until after you’re done. The goal now is to get 50,000 words down on the page by the end of the month!

Don’t let November go by without taking your greatest novel idea and turning it into a reality!