If you:
(a) think you’ve got a novel in your head just waiting to get out;
(b) believe you’re writing a novel but are in fact simply rearranging the only 10 sentences you’ve written that are intended as the first paragraph; or
(c) have a novel deadline for university fast approaching
– fear not, help is at hand.
Look to the horizon and you’ll see the 2007 NaNoWrMo (National Novel Writing Month) – an annual writing competition where entrants must start and finish a 50,000 word novel in the month of November. Sound a little crazy? Sound exhausting? Sound like it might produce some crappy stories? Well, you’d be spot on there. As the website notes, ‘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.’ In 2006, 79,000 writers registered, with 13,000 reaching the finishing line. A select few have gone on to get their heavily developed stories published, a couple have started their own writing prompting website, while the rest are still getting their breath back and basking in the warm afterglow of self-pride for their sterling effort. It all started in 1999 when a bunch of writers in San Francisco got together to spend time writing to deadline to see what they could produce under pressure. And what was the outcome? Well, as one of the founders confessed, ‘Fun was something we hadn’t expected. Pain? Sure. Embarrassment? Yes. Crippling self-doubt followed by a quiet distancing of ourselves from the entire project? You bet.’ But by the following year, a website was built to enable entrants to join the competition online, the idea was promoted via word of mouth, and 150 registrations were received from writers around the globe. Each year the number of entrants swells, as do the organisers’ scope for the competition. They’ve since launched the Youth Writers Program, Donor Program, and in 2006 raised $14,000 to build libraries for children in rural villages in South East Asia. Happy procrastinating until November…
