nanowrimo.org

I discovered NaNoWriMo in 2005, having just started out in writing fiction. Since then I have participated every year, although my reasons have changed somewhat since that first year. I think that sometimes people miss the whole idea behind it which is basically to have fun writing and actually be able to say they have achieved something. If you 'win' and can say you've written a novel (although that might end up being a very loose use of the term!) then all the better. The first year I wrote anything I could to hit the 50,000 word target. As a result I ended up with 50k of pretty much utter rubbish. I had fun, and I know a lot of people ...  Read the complete review

It's only May yet, and so there are still a few months left before the horde of amatue and professional writers attempt to sigh, curse, and procastinate their way through the process of writing 50000 words. Nanowrimo stands for National Novel-Writers Month (although it's actually more an international effort now). And all it's basically about... is writing. Writing good stuff. Writing bad stuff. Writing about ponies, pirates, ninjas, romance - anything you like as long as you get your backside into that seat and WRITE to a deadline damn you. The idea is that a lot of people do have the ability in them to write, they just struggle to get around to ...  Read the complete review

As something of a literary drudge (I'm a writer and I work as an academic editor for a major publisher), I get sent a lot of first novels to read. Recently, one term has been appearing over and over again in people's accounts of their first writing experience: Nanowrimo. What is Nanowrimo? At face value, Nanowrimo is a great concept. The idea is that between Oct 1st and Oct 31st, people who want to be writers sign up at the website http://www.nanowrimo.org. They set themselves a writing target, and maybe hook up with a writing buddy to encourage them through the process. Come 1st November they start scribbling away like a horde of demented ...  Read the complete review

It’s that special time of year again. No, it’s not Halloween or Bonfire night. For me and many others it’s Nanowrimo, or National Novel Writing Month. This is a yearly event that pulls in amateur writers from all across the world to try and achieve something that non-writers would probably think highly unlikely, or just plain foolish. The goal is to write a novel (or more like a novelette), of 50,000 words in just one month--- the month of November. What’s is all about? I’ll give you a quick overview as this has been reviewed already by friends of mine, and in one case, my writing partner and fellow novelist, known on here as Docpov. Nanowrimo started back in ...  Read the complete review

It is said that every one of us has a book inside us that is just waiting to be let loose on the world. How many of us though would ever actually set that book free? Ask me that question three years ago and I would have been one in the 'it's in there somewhere but I doubt I will ever loose it on the world' camp. At the time I had found the writing bug, writing reviews on here I had written a few short stories that had gone down quite well and when someone suggested NaNoWriMo to me I had a look and thought what the hell and gave it a go. So what is this fabled NaNoWriMo? Odd word that isn't it, not really a word at all, NaNoWriMo stands for ...  Read the complete review