NaNoWriMo

Harley D. Palmer

Many people may be wondering, just what is NaNoWriMo? NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month. This huge event happens every November. The idea of NaNoWriMo is simple: write a 50,000 word (175 page) novel in 30 days. That's a total of 1,667 words a day!

Many people may find this task a little daunting but so many others love the challenge. According to the official NaNoWriMo site, in 2008 there was over 120,000 participants! Twenty thousand of them completed the 50,000 word count.

There are even prizes that you could win from the official NaNoWriMo site. If you win NaNo, write 50,000 words in 30 days, they will send you a cerificate that you can hang proudly. This may sound little cheesy, but this reporter can tell you that she proudly hung her certificate from 2008 up next to her desk. It is a great motivational tool! This year, there is a great added prize for the winners! CreateSpace.com is offering all NaNoWriMo 2009 winners a free proof copy of their winning manuscript. What exactly does that mean? A free proof copy of your 2009 manuscript in paperback book form! It is a great way to see your novel in print, before it's actually in circulation. So, make sure you have an idea for a cover!

For those that are participating in this great event this year, keep in mind that all over the world there are literally tens of thousands of other people going through the same joy, struggle, and stress that you are. There are many groups here on Writing.com to help give you support and encouragement during this challenging month! Find out more about these groups on Page Three.

Now, I know many of you are wondering just how this all works! Well through the official NaNoWriMo site, it's pretty simple. Go to the site then click on the "Sign Up" link. You will get a huge email from the site explaining more about how the site works, what perks you get, and how to set your profile. Then head back to the NaNo site to log into your account and use the links on the "My NaNoWriMo" page to set your timezone, affiliate with a region, and tell a little bit about yourself. Clicking on the "Novel Info" link on the left handside of the page will allow you to input the title of your novel, a short summary, and the genre of your novel. Once you have a bit of the novel written, you can also add an excerpt of your novel for other people to read. This same page is where you go to update your word count every day. Just enter in the word count and click "Submit".

On November 25, 2009 the site opens up the "Word Count Validator". To verify that you have truely written 50,000 words, post your entire manuscript into the window and the bots will count the words for you. The validator can be found on the "Novel Ino" link as well as the "Verify & Win" link on the left hand side of your profile page.

The site also has other features for you to use. On your profile page, you can see you "NaNo Stats". There is a bar graph set up to show how you fare each day for your word count. There is also another one that shows how your region compares to others around the world! Some regions even have get togethers to actually meet in person and help each other write! Of course, you can also go find your friends and add them to your buddy list. The "Buddy List" tab will show you all your buddies and their word count so you can give them encouragement and praise when they need it!

Have fun and keep writing! Don't get discouraged! You are a winner just for attempting such a feat as NaNoWriMo! Just stick with it and you'll be amazed with what you can accomplish!

Dear Aiden

Novel Advice Column

First Time Novelist

Dear Aiden: What is your advice to someone who writes shorter items but wants to try and write a novel, maybe even attempt NaNoWriMo?
– Curious Writer

Dear Curious Writer:

The chasm between writing short stories and writing novels may seem wide, and looking down you may be afraid to make the leap, but I assure you that it is possible, and even fun! The first thing I want to say (and some people will most certainly disagree with this) is intended to make this seem easier. You are accustomed to writing short stories, correct? I am going to take a leap here and assume that your short stories generally fall between 1,500 and 5,000 words long. Well, in the novel writing world, we call that a chapter. If you can write a short story, you can write a chapter. If you can write Twenty short stories, you can write a novel.

Now as you know, every short story has to have a beginning, middle and an end. The same is true for chapters. Just as with a short story, every chapter has to have conflict. There is one more thing, however that a chapter needs, that a short story does not. You have to make the reader ask questions. Say your conflict involves a bar fight. Your main character gets in a scuffle, and before it is over the person he/she is fighting with is dead. Only the main character didn’t do it, or perhaps the main character did it, but doesn’t know how. Maybe a hint of unknown magic? (I just love fantasy. :)) And while everyone stands there in shock, a knock comes at the door and a man dressed in black enters the room and looks directly at the main character, paying no mind to the dead body at his feet.

If that were an end to a short story, it would just kill the reader! But as a chapter, that would be a wonderful ending. It leaves the reader with questions. How did the man die? Does the main character possess magic? Who is the man at the door? What is his interest in the main character? These are the things that will keep your reader from closing the book and setting it on the nightstand, to be opened another time, or perhaps forgotten, and will have them instead turning over the page to the next chapter. Keep the questions coming. Leave certain questions unanswered until the very end. A question that the reader has been asking themselves since chapter one could very well be the one that keeps them reading until the end. I spent far too much time on that one aspect, but it is an important one. In a short story everything is answered in the end. That is not so in a chapter.

Now, the obvious difference between a short story and a novel is… well… obvious… The length. Depending on whether you read Romance, Mystery or Epic Fantasy, a novel will probably run between 90,000 words and 400,000 words, with the average being around 100-130k. I am going to take a ballpark guess here, and say that 130k words would be about 350 pages. A decent length novel. :) So of course a plot that would work for a short story wouldn’t normally work for a novel. Instead your plot must have many sub-plots within it. “a plot within a plot within a plot... seemingly without end." Think simple. The main plot of the story may be a prince’s vie for kingship, but what else happens in the story? Perhaps a love affair, a kidnapping, murder most foul? Don’t go easy on your main character. Give him hell and let him overcome it, becoming a stronger character as he does so.

Well, I have far overrun my allotted space, so I must say goodbye for now. The simple truth is that the question was a vague one, and one could write an entire book about how to go from writing short stories to writing novels (and surely someone already has.) I hope what I told you was of help, and feel free to ask another question, but a more specific one.
-Aiden

Like to ask Aiden a Question? Submit one to him here: Dear Aiden Mail.