Ready, Set, Write!

Some people spend their whole lives working on a novel. But thousands of writers around the world try to do it in just the month of November for National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo.

The goal for NaNoWriMo participants is to write 50,000 words (about 200 pages) between November 1st and 30th. Even if you don’t finish your novel, if you write 50,000 words, you win the challenge!

“Whether your first draft takes you 30 days or 30 years, it’s going to be the same,” says Marya Brennan. She’s the director of NaNoWriMo’s Young Writer’s Program, which supports the more than 60,000 student participants in K through 12 each year. “NaNoWriMo is your chance to find an idea you really care about and dedicate yourself and your imagination to it for the month,” says Brennan.

Some NaNoWriMo winners even publish their projects. S. Jae-Jones wrote her first published novel, Wintersong, during NaNoWriMo after struggling with a different book. “I gave myself permission to not care whether Wintersong was good,” she says. As a result, Jae-Jones was able to enjoy writing rather than worry about publishing her book.

Both Brennan and Jae-Jones have the same advice for aspiring NaNoWriMo participants: Write every day and focus on getting your ideas on paper. After all, as Jae-Jones points out, “No one can publish an unfinished book!”