I'm writing a novel in November. Yes, a real novel of at least 50,ooo words. I've signed up over at the nanowrimo site: http://www.nanowrimo.org and gotten my Novel Writing Kit from the bookstore on Friday.
The NaNoWriMo site is still a bit buggy however it is loading faster than a week ago. That is the place where one can sign up, have a small "about me" profile, and subscribe to a regional board or two if one so desires. It is free. Donations will not be turned away [to help pay for hosting of the website and to help build new libraries in Southeast Asia]. Participation does not depend upon financial ability to contribute.
Here are some stats pasted directly from the media kit located at: http://www.nanowrimo.org/eng/mediakit
Founded: 1999 in Oakland, CA
1999: 21 participants and six winners
2000: 140 participants and 29 winners
2001: 5000 participants and more than 700 winners
2002: 13,500 participants and around 2,100 winners
2003: 25,500 participants and about 3,500 winners
2004: 42,000 participants and just shy of 6,000 winners
2005: 59,000 participants and 9,769 winners
2006: 79,813 participants and 12,948 winners
[end of direct paste]
NaNoWriMo has built 22 libraries via site contributions and sales from its store. Additionally, fifteen authors are listed as having novels published. Perhaps I too will get on the list.
Word counts can be uploaded every day during November and a final word count [of the potential novel which may be submitted in scrambled format] may be submitted at the end of November. Winners are those who have reached or surpassed the 50,ooo word limit. There are no prizes, except perhaps for the satisfaction of having written at lest 50,000 words in one month. Some regions may hold any of the following: a meet and greet, a pre-kick off party, a kick-off party, and a hooray it's over party.
The novel-writing kit which I've gotten from the bookstore [also available on the NaNoWriMo site at their store] is strictly speaking not necessary. It contains a booklet of inspirations, a card-a-day card pack, a log and gold stars, pep-talks in the form of letters, a novelist certirficate,
commitment coupons, and a button. I bought the kit for the card-a-day pack. The commitment coupons provide an opportunity for others to get the would-be novelist promise to do "things" if failing at the word count. I plan not to use those. I will probably hang up the chart with the daily count and gold stars. I will be wearing the novelist button before I reach my word-count as a way of evangelizing the program and my participation in it. I figure the more people know what I am up to in the month of November, the more I will be motivated to actually get my 50,ooo words down.
Folks have already asked me what my novel will be about. The truthful answer is something along the lines of, "I have no idea" [adding the hopeful word "yet" in my head while swallowing panic]. I am doing this and hopefully I will find, claim, sweat out, torture a novel into existence somehow. And the month of December is for the re-write. Maybe by January I will actually be submitting the novel or portions of the novel to a real publishing house.
IF the novel I write this November actually sees publication [not self-publication], I pledge to donate some portion of my royalties to NaNoWriMo and their library-building project. The universe does not distribute riches and bonuses for free. There is always a price.
This is my first crack at trying NaNoWriMo and at a novel. It is not my first crack at writing. Besides the numerous blogs zooming around in electronica, I also do have bunches of poetry, a couple of essays, a few short stories, and some really bad 2 dimensional drawings which have been published in a variety of literary magazines, fanzines, as well as in four anthologies. [Oh noes, I've been anthologized!] Whether or not the stuff is of lasting literary value is irrelevant quite frankly-- because I have been published extensively I can indeed call myself a writer. I do not know if I will ever attain the status of a Stephen King or a J.K. Rowling-- being among the sainted 5% who are able to quit their day jobs and write for a living. I do know that writing is lots of work and writing professionally is highly competitive. This has been a lifelong dream of mine and so I have reached a crossroads of sorts.
I would encourage anyone who has secretly or not so secretly dreamed of being a writer to submit their work and to begin reading publicly at coffeehouses and open mic nights, join a writer's group at the local library, and to write regularly. I further encourage anyone who is serious about wanting to write a book to join up over at http://www.nanowrimo.org/ and commit to the dream.
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