TELLING TALES. (nanowrimo.org)

Member Name: thingywhatsit

Product:	nanowrimo.org
Date:	19/12/06 (193 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Gets writers to write within a given time scale.

Disadvantages: None that I can think of.

They say that every person on earth has a book dwelling somewhere inside them waiting to get out, though could you write a 50,000 word novel within the space of one month ? The whole object of this site is to give writers the incentive to write a whole book, and it somehow works.

I have been a member on the site for two years, and have written two novelettes. I call them novelettes because I don't think that 50,000 is a serious book, though what the site does is extraordinary and something I enjoy being part of.

In the month of November every year, people are invited to join up, and to get stuck into writing a book. There are no real prizes, so why would one bother ? Here, the prize is the achievement. If you finish the book, then you are a winner, and to me this means rather a lot, because it disciplines a writer to be able to write within a given time scale, and for me and many other writers, this discipline is what is lacking from their everyday lives. We can't seem to tie ourselves down to writing that novel, though the site is specifically for people who want to take that leap and try.

Nanowrimo, also known as National Novel Writing Month gathered from writers all over the world this year 982 million words, which means in effect that there is a call for a site like this, and that there are budding writers out there willing to try their hand at novel writing.

I like the site layout very much, and after you have registered, there is a friendly forum which is easy to access where you can talk to other writers who are trying to finish their books, talk about plots, or generally get some inspiration if you are lacking it.

Personally, I was too busy writing to be on the forum very much, but it was interesting to see which writers were back this year, and see friends from other sites amongst them. It's a friendly challenge and the only requirement is that you do your best. There is no pressure put upon members to finish, though that dreaded last day of the month is the last time that you can add to your word count, by uploading plain text files, and having your words counted.

What I like particularly about the site is the layout of profiles, and how the first part of your book is presented, in such a manner as to resemble a book, with pages that actually turn, the first of which show the progress that you have made towards your eventual aim. Little by little, uploading my progress every day, I got to the half way mark and there was no stopping me. I really did want to finish, and each year managed to finish a whole story with beginning middle and end, and was reasonably pleased with my progress. 12,959 potential authors finished the process of writing a book, some will get publishers to print them, though all went through the same experience as me of writing within a given timescale, and the range of Countries that participate is amazing.

It's interesting for me to go into the different profiles and read a section of the books that people have read, and you may ask if people cheat. Well, perhaps they do, though really there is little point in cheating, because those that cheat achieve nothing. There was some blurb on the site last year that said that they can recognise if people upload the same stuff over and over again to get their word count up, although I can't imagine the point of cheating when what the site offers you is that chance to get the book out of your system.

You can choose any genre of book, and both mine were romantic ones and probably of little interest to men, although many types of stories are written by both men and women alike and it's not a question of competing with others. It is more a question of competing with yourself, challenging yourself to the discipline of writing a set amount of words per day in order to achieve that final aim. I thoroughly enjoy it, and would recommend the experience to everyone who has ever thought of writing a book. Although your written work must not start before the lst November, what I found was that I was inventing the story in my mind, and that once I had a clear and concise picture of where the story was going, and a beginning, middle and end, it actually made the writing experience easier. I knew my characters and how to make them believeable to a reader. I knew how I was going to begin the story, and the road it was going to take. Strangely enough, last year I had to pad the story out as I ran out of ideas before I finished it, though this year I found that my story fitted perfectly well into the word allowance given on the site, without the need for padding, so perhaps the practice of writing is making me better.

How can you stop plagiarism ?

Well, only an extract of your book is ever shown. They do not show the whole book, so there is little chance of being copied by anyone.

Other options available on the site.

The Nanowrimo had a target this year of 200,000 dollars to collect for charity, fifty per cent of which goes to build libraries this year in Vietnam. They actually went past this target and collected 248,000 dollars, and the way that you can participate in the charitable side of the site is to donate from as little as 10 dollars to 5,000 dollars. It's a good way of collecting money to aid the literacy of countries that cannot afford to stock their libraries, and although my contribution was very small as I am not rich, imagine the good that can be done when you add all those contributions up.

There is also a small shop, with limited items such as a Nanowrimo T shirt, mug, and books on plot forming etc. They also have a radio station, though I must admit that I never used this.

My overall thoughts.

I love this site. It keeps you on your toes, and even if the event is only held once a year, achieving the goal of finishing your book is a wonderful feeling. You actually miss it when it is finished, and people can then go on to edit their books, make them better, and send them on to publishers, or simply to friends. Friends have read my last years book and enjoyed it, some thought it was weak, though that doesn't really matter that much, because books are such a personal thing that you can't please the whole world.

I love the fact that you have private messages and can keep people you meet and like on as friends, and access them easily from your profile and message them with encouragement. I think that the 50,000 word goal is a reasonable one, and although not simple to meet, easy enough to keep your incentive going.

Next November I shall be writing another book, receiving a certificate and feeling that I have achieved something, albeit small in the order of things. It's a good experience and one I shall enter again and again feeling that perhaps with practice, I may just write a book that matters. You can too and I look forward to meeting any new writers next year. I shall keep my certificates because they are reminders of those years when I devoted a month to writing, a really enjoyable hobby, and one that takes me a step further than the short story format that I am accustomed to.

Rachel

Summary: A super experience and one that I thoroughly recommend.