by Lauren Wing
November is NaNoWriMo! NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month. It started as motivational stunt for a group of writer friends in 1999 and has become a contest for writers to do what they do best: write.
Participants are supposed to write a novel of at least 50,000 words starting on November 1 and ending at 11:59 PM November 30. So, why would anyone want to spend their free time writing 50,000 words? Is there even a prize?
The prize for meeting the goal of 50,000 words is satisfaction. After spending agonizingly long hours trying to finish a novel before December 1, you don’t win $500 and a new flatscreen TV.
The purpose of this contest isn’t to win a big prize. It’s to strengthen your imagination and make writing a daily priority.
Last year over 325,000 people participated in NaNoWriMo.
Some NaNoWriMo projects came out very successful. “The Forest of Hands and Teeth” by Carrie Ryan was a NaNoWriMo project, as were “Water for Elephants” by Sara Gruen and “Fangirl” by Rainbow Rowell, just to name a few. There are plenty more.
Though it’s too late to sign up this year–unless you want to spend hours catching up–there’s always an opportunity open for next year. It’s an opportunity worth taking.