NaNoWriMo

It's official. Only two more weeks until the most glorious month of the year: National Novel Writing Month, also known as November. NaNoWriMo (in order to save four syllables) is a month-long writing fest for anyone who wants to write a novel.

To participate in NaNoWriMo, you must first create an account on one of two sites: the NaNoWriMo Young Writer's Program (for anyone under eighteen) or... just... NaNoWriMo. To win all you have to do is meet your word goal during the thirty-day period. It's great for both kids and adults, and being able to chat with other crazy awesome authors over the forums for a whole month is priceless fuel for the other 335 days of the year! Another thing that makes it great is the pep-talks given throughout the month by published authors. They're sort of like blog posts, only targeted to the writing-induced exhaustion phase you're likely facing at that stage of the NaNoWriMo journey.

And if that's not enough, let's not forget the winner goodies. ;)

For me it's great, but some people argue that it's just a waste of time. I disagree. If you love writing (or maybe even think you might), then you can't go wrong with NaNoWriMo.

Now let's review why participating in NaNoWriMo is a good thing:
1.) You get to bring a whole world to life over the course of thirty days... and even if what you wrote isn't any good, you'll learn a lot just by doing it.
2.) Fellowship with other writers over the forums. It's a very supportive community full of fresh new ideas and all things books and writing.
3.) It may just be the "oomph" you need to get that long-thought-about story idea written down. I didn't start writing with NaNoWriMo, but it's one of the reasons I've kept at it.

So give it a shot! NaNoWriMo is for everyone.