Shameless Plug

--------> www.nanowrimo.org <----------


Sorry for the lame arrows.

This is the web address for the creators of the National Novel Writing Month. If you're familiar with Nanowrimo, skip down several paragraphs.

The idea behind Nanowrimo is... is... well, here's what they say about it, from their "about" section:

"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."


Now, if you're like me, you're asking yourself this question: Of what practical use is a 175-page novel? John Grisham barely gets going in 175 pages. Charles Dickens considered 175 pages to be somewhere in the middle of chapter three. And Herman Mellville could have written 175 pages worth of text on the back of a postage stamp. The point is, most "good" novels occupy the mind for far more than 175 pages. I am not of the opinion that good literature must be lengthy. I'm just citing a trend that I've witnessed in an entirely non-scientific manner.

If a 175-page book is so pointless, why the shameless plug? Because Nanowrimo is the best tool I've found to help young writers get their good ideas on paper.

I'll say that again, and since vertical space is free of charge on the WWW, I'll be generous with my carriage returns:



Nanowrimo is the best writing tool for new writers!



It's free. The staff commentary and pep-talks along the way are witty and encouraging, and they take part in the journey with the masses. Local support groups can be found in virtually every major metro area. Resources to assist in keeping the groundbreaking, breakneck writing organized are readily available. The only real requirement to participate in Nanowrimo is lots of idle time and plenty of knuckle grease. It is truly a transformative experience.

That being said, the end product is an extraordinarily tiny, horrendously choppy and bumpy, nearly random piece of garbage. Unless the author gets lucky or spends inordinate amounts of time editing and revising, my guess is that the average NanoNovel isn't worth much.

But aside from the 30 day requirement, is Nanowrimo really much different than writing any other large, story-driven document? My experiences are hardly extensive, but I frequently find that I'm writing by the seat of my pants. I rarely know if my current paragraph will last beyond the chopping block. Surely there is merit in planning and outlining, but most authors will tell you that characters almost never cooperate with them throughout the whole story.

To me, Nanowrimo is a proving grounds. I've survived, twice now. I figure I probably have what it takes to write for a living. The next step... is to make the Nanowrimo endeavor something I do every month.