NaNoWriMo
NaNoWriMo , or National Novel Writing Month , is a creative writing project that was started in 1999 by the American Chris Baty. The aim is to write a novel of at least 50,000 words during the 30 days of November . Despite its name, the project has long since become international, with thousands of people trying to write a book in 30 days every year in many countries around the world. In this way, a total of 2,427,190,537 words were written during the NaNoWriMo 2009.
In 2006 the project was integrated into a non-profit organization founded by Chris Baty called The Office of Letters and Light .
regulate
When the NaNoWriMo was run for the first time, when the participants limited themselves to the circle of friends and acquaintances of the founder Chris Baty, there were hardly any regulations. In the second year, however, it became clear that there was a need for some basic rules .
Although the regulations allow and even strongly recommend starting planning the novel before November 1st, the actual writing process must not begin until November 1st at 12:01 a.m. local time of the participant. The finished novel must be submitted for verification by November 30th, midnight local time via the NaNoWriMo website.
When verifying the novel, only the words are counted, but not the content. Scripts or comics are not allowed (in the first year some participants drew comics and converted the number of pictures into words according to a certain system). Anything that the author himself describes as a novel is allowed.
The collaboration of several authors on the same novel is not permitted. However, it is expressly permitted to discuss the content of your own novel with other people. In many author forums there are sub-groups for the participants in NaNoWriMo, in which they encourage each other to write as many words as possible.
Since the verification only determines the number of words, no one checks compliance with the rules. A participant could theoretically copy another book, but since there are no winnings other than a small winner icon , a printable certificate in PDF format and the feeling of having made it, there is no point in breaking the rules.
history
The first NaNoWriMo took place in July 1999 with 21 participants from the San Francisco Bay Area . In 2000, the competition took place for the first time in November to take advantage of the poor autumn weather. The year 2000 was also the first year in which the NaNoWriMo became known to a wider public via a website. Out of 140 participants, 21 novels with at least 50,000 words were written in the course of November.
After the website became known, the third NaNoWriMo took place in November 2001 with more than 5,000 participants, whose registrations were still processed manually at the time. 700 of them won. When the 14,000 participants of the fourth NaNoWriMo stormed the website of the competition in November 2002 , a fully automatic system for recording and evaluating the entries was available for the first time . In 2003, so-called Municipal Liaisons were introduced for the approximately 25,000 participants (including 3,500 winners) , volunteers who acted as coordinators for the area around their home.
After the sixth NaNoWriMo in November 2004, donations from the 42,000 participants, almost 6,000 of whom won the competition, were able to transfer an amount of more than 7,000 US dollars to the Room to Read association. With this money, three public libraries for school children were built in villages in Cambodia . In November 2005, nearly 60,000 participants were able to use approximately US $ 14,000 to build seven similar libraries in Laos .
In 2006, over 100,000 participants were expected for the first time. Among the around 500 volunteers this year were also four regional coordinators for the German-speaking area (3 in Germany, 1 in Switzerland). The donations were used again to build libraries - this time in Vietnam . The actual number of participants remained somewhat below expectations: 79,000 authors took part, almost 13,000 reached the goal.
A new record was set in 2007, with 97,766 authors registered.
In 2009, more than 165,000 authors took part, of whom over 30,000 successfully completed their novels (i.e. with at least 50,000 words).
Book publications by winners
Some of the NaNoWriMo winners have succeeded in getting a publisher to publish the novels with which they have won the competition . The book The Destructor by Jon F. Merz, written during the third NaNoWriMo in November 2001, was published by Pinnacle Books two years later. Time Off For Good Behavior by Lani Diane Rich from NaNoWriMo 2002 was also published two years later by Warner Books. With this work, the author subsequently won the prize for the best debut novel, awarded by the Romance Writers of America Association . Her novel Maybe Baby from the subsequent NaNoWriMo was also published by Warner Books. Other published novels by NaNoWriMo participants are Flying Changes by Sarah Gruen, Breakup Babe by Rebecca Agiewich, The Mote in Andrea's Eye by Dave Wilson, Self Storage by Gayle Brandeis, Cashmere Boulevard by Kimberly Llewellyn and Daughter of the Bride by Francesca Segrè.
sense
Of course it is almost impossible to write an aesthetically high quality novel in 30 days, but that is not the aim of NaNoWriMo either. According to its inventor, Chris Baty, the main thing is to overcome inhibitions due to the tight deadlines and just start writing. Many people who would actually like to write a book would place too high demands on themselves from the start and quickly give up discouraged. With NaNoWriMo, the “inner editor ” should be switched off for a month and a first draft novel should be written quickly, which can then be corrected and rewritten later (e.g. in NaNoEdMo , the National Novel Editing Month ). Due to the time pressure, the story develops its own dynamic , which often surprises the author himself.
For many participants, the forum is an essential part of NaNoWriMo. It is divided into various subject areas in which one can exchange ideas with other authors. There you can ask questions, arrange writing meetings and motivate each other.
At 50,000 words, the intended novel is relatively short. However, this number was chosen deliberately because it represents a goal that is difficult, but achievable for working people and those with families.