This November marks the 13th exhilarating, horrifying, and overwhelmingly exhausting journey that roughly 200,000 budding novelists will take in the hopes of writing a daunting 50,000 words in just 30 days. Each November, National Novel Writing Month--NaNoWriMo--provides an environment for writers from all over the world to tear their hair out, drink unhealthy amounts of coffee, cut their sleep time in half, and get that story that’s been bouncing around the backs of their minds out on paper.
NaNoWriMo began in 1999 with just 21 participants. Since then, it has developed a gargantuan following of novelists-to-be. The process is simple. In the wee hours of the first of November, the process begins. Each participant, with hopes of “winning” this challenge, attempts to write about 1,667 words each of the 30 days. On November 30th at 11:59 PM, with any luck, those participants will have finished their masterpieces.
I say “masterpieces” with some level of sarcasm, but NaNoWriMo works aren’t all doomed to be unreadable. Sure, the goal is quantity over quality, but that doesn’t prevent a truly remarkable novel from sliding through once in a while. Sara Gruen’s Water for Elephants was a product of NaNoWriMo, and it has since received numerous awards and recognitions. In April of this year, a film adaptation of the novel was released in theaters. Water for Elephants is a perfect example of the beautiful pieces of imaginative and innovative work that can come from NaNoWriMo.
While NaNoWriMo does produce works like Water for Elephants, it’s less a door through which you walk into literary stardom than an opportunity to simply prove to yourself that you can. NaNoWriMo provides anyone who dreams of writing a chance to stop saying, “I’ll write my story once I have the time,” and start saying, “In 30 days, I will be a novelist.”
And the best part is that you’re not alone. Evergreen students who embark on this adventure can find help and support through the Writing Center. Monday and Wednesday evenings at 6 o’clock, write-ins are held in Primetime in the A building of student housing. Additionally, participants (and the curious) can visit www.nanowrimo.org for more information.