What is NaNoWriMo?
If you love writing like we do, chances are someone has told you to participate in NaNoWriMo. But wait, what is NaNoWriMo?
Well, before you get in on the fun, it’s obviously super important to at least know what NaNoWriMo is.
To find out what it is, how it works, and find out which famous novels that came from NaNoWriMo, keep scrolling.
What is NaNoWriMo?
NaNoWriMo stands for “National Novel Writing Month”, and is the name of both an event (the writing month) and organisation (named NaNoWriMo). As the name suggests, NaNoWriMo encourages writers to “find their voices, achieve creative goals, and build new worlds — on and off the page.”
While NaNoWriMo does have a Young Writers Program, participation in the novel writing month is open to anyone! To achieve the goal of NaNoWriMo, writers are encouraged to spend the month producing 50,000 words towards a new novel. Of course, anyone can participate, online or off, but if you’re seeking a community this is a great opportunity to register online and become a part of something bigger than yourself.
Those who register online are given access to a login portal, with a plethora of writing tools and resources to help you during the month and beyond. Within the portal, you can find writing buddies, forums, and tons of resources to help you achieve your writing goals.
How Do You Sign Up?
Signing up for NaNoWriMo is super easy! All you have to do is head over to NaNoWriMo’s website and click “Sign Up” in the upper right hand corner.
While the actual novel writing month begins November 1, you can sign up for an account any time of year and get access to all the resources that NaNoWriMo has to offer.
Were Any Famous Novels Written During NaNoWriMo?
While it may sound crazy, NaNoWriMo is the perfect incubator for future novels to arise. Considering the dedication required to “win” (AKA complete) the challenge, it only makes sense that several famous novels were born from this challenge.
Here are a few examples of novels that came out of NaNoWriMo:
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern (one of my personal favourites)
Water for Elephants by Sarah Gruen
The Beautiful Land by Alan Averill
Cinder, Scarlet and Cress by Marissa Meyer (all 3 in one month!)
Having a writing buddy can help you commit to a writing project like NaNoWriMo. Explore the idea, here.