What Is NaNoWriMo?

What is NaNoWriMo?

NaNoWriMo is an international yearly event which takes place during the month of November. Participants attempt to write a 50,000 word novel from scratch in 30 days. It's a crazy, intense, liberating way of writing! For more information, go tohttp://nanowrimo.org.

What is a NaNoWriMist?

"The NaNoWriMists 2012"  is a group for members of Writing.com who are taking part in NaNoWriMo. It provides support, motivation and inspiration through emails and forums, and gives members a huge amount of hints and tips to help them make it through their novel

What do I get if I win?

There are no prizes for completing NaNoWriMo other than the joy of having written a novel and the sweet taste of success (and sometimes a downloadable certificate to print and display). Some years, "The NaNoWriMists 2012"  awards prizes for word counts and novel extracts, but that is not occurring in 2011.

Why would I join if there are no prizes?

Completing NaNoWriMo is much easier if you have friends supporting you. "The NaNoWriMists 2012"  gives you a group of people who know what you're going through, who understand the joy of hitting your 1,667th word of the day, and who will celebrate with you every time you hit a milestone!

Who writes the motivational emails?

Several different people, from Barmymoo who has been running the group since 2006 and taking part in NaNoWriMo since 2005, to other group members (both veterans and newbies) and occasionally special guest stars!

How do I sign up?

There are two stages to signing up. First, you need to create an account at http://nanowrimo.org. Go to the website and click on the little Sign Up button, and follow the simple instructions. Then come back to Writing.com and fill out "Application Form for The NaNoWriMists"  to join NaNoWriMo. You are asked to donate at least 100gp which go towards the cost of advertising and running the group, plus any prizes which are awarded when the contest is running.

Why do you always write NaNoWriMo in blue?

Good question! It seemed like a good idea back in 2006 to make the word stand out from the rest of the text. Now it has become a habit. It could just as easily have been NaNoWriMo or NaNoWriMo.

So you type out the WritingML every single time?

Well, no. I'll let you into a secret - I have a macro that does it for me. I just press Ctrl+1 and I get NaNoWriMo. Handy!