You are receiving this transmission because we have a task only you can handle. Intelligence has it on good authority that there is a novel inside of you: a story so crucial it must be shared with the world. Your mission, if you choose to accept it: write your novel in 30 days.
ALEXANDRA WONG/THE VARSITY
This year, National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) kicks off with over 250,000 aspiring novelists on board. Each is hoping to complete a 50,000-word novel between midnight on November 1 and midnight on November 30, by writing approximately 1,667 words a day. Novels can be of any genre, but cannot be co-authored or pre-written. Although plans and outlines are allowed, the aim is to write without revisions or re-reading. Every person who completes the project is declared a winner. Notable novels of a similar length include The Great Gatsby, Catcher in the Rye, Brave New World, and The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. Published NaNoWriMo works include Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen, Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell, and The Night Circus, a New York Times bestseller by Erin Morgenstern.
NaNoWriMo was started up in 1999 by a 26-year-old freelance writer Chris Baty and several of his friends in the San Francisco Bay area. In the year 2000, the NaNoWriMo website officially launched, making the project accessible worldwide. In that year, one hundred and forty participants took up the challenge, and 29 of them finished. The following year, news of the project had spread and 5,000 participants joined. The event takes place every November, in order “to more fully take advantage of the miserable weather.” It continues to grow in popularity. In 2012, 341,375 participants wrote a total of 3,288,976 words, with 11 per cent completing the challenge. NaNoWriMo is funded strictly by donations, and also has an online store for merchandise, featuring clothing, posters, and more.
This year, five published authors, one per week, act as writing coaches through the effort’s Twitter handle. The line-up includes Teri Brown, Kristyn Kusek Lewis, Stephanie Watson, Jason Hough, and Julie Murphy. These authors offer advice, prompts, tips, and encouragement under the hashtag #NaNoCoach.
The annual 30 Covers, 30 Days collaboration, in which “thirty amazing NaNoWriMo participants will be paired with thirty designers, who will create a work of art based on a NaNo-novel synopsis,” is also back for 2013. A silent auction will be held early next year featuring full-sized prints of the designs.
In addition to online forums, video sessions, and projects throughout the month, events also happen in the city for writers. Toronto ranks fifth on NaNoWriMo’s list of Top 50 Cities, with London in first and New York in second. Happy writing and good luck to participants!
