The Office of Letters and Light is the official group that organizes November’s National Novel Writing Month. Having enjoyed it the last few years, I recently learned that freelance writer Chris Baty started the project back in 1999. In that inaugural year, 21 participants in the San Francisco Bay area dove into the challenge.
The next year 140 folks joined in and Mr. Baty personally verified that 29 of them successfully managed to write 50,000 words toward a novel. His dedication impressed me. Then word spread and the movement exploded. About five thousand people registered in 2001.
Now hundreds of thousands of novelists comprise the group. I attended some local write-ins last November and gained a friendly year-round writing group. The charity event called ‘The Night of Writing Dangerously’ in San Franciso seems like a blast.
But if gatherings aren’t your thing (and they usually aren’t mine!), you can find encouragement via forums and Facebook and emails from the NaNoWriMo folks. The pep talks can be really amusing as well as inspiring. As for the event rules, they are simple.
I won’t go into them but will add one more thing. There are no limitations on genre or fictional theme. I met one fellow writing a series of short stories. While that may not be valid to the rules, I hope it will inspire you to join in the fun.
Happy writing!
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I so want to launch myself into writing a novel, but I'm a little nervous about it. Perhaps a group around me is just what I need.
ReplyDeleteJust be sure to choose your crowd carefully, my friend. I don't want you to ever stop writing your wonderful stories because some blocked and/or jealous person poisons your well. It's not fun. Your flash fiction today gave me delicious chill, by the way.
DeleteI loved reading your post and learning more about NANO. It was my first time last November and I managed to get to the 50K goal. Really fun and affirmative experience. Maybe next year I'll find a gathering or two and join :)
ReplyDeleteI'm so proud of you! It is an interesting time. Besides this blogging challenge, I decided to try for another fifty thousand words during April's Camp NaNo. November just seemed too far away, I guess. Best wishes and happy writing!
DeleteI adore NaNo. Chris Baty's book, No Plot, No Problem, is a lot of fun. :)
ReplyDeleteThank you for introducing me to the even, and for the reminder about the book. I really should give it a read one of these days. Best wishes!
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