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Aside from the somewhat Anime-sounding name, the National Novel Writing Month project is, in fact, a worthy writing marathon. Just look at the stats:
Annual participant/winner totals
1999: 21 participants and six winners
2000: 140 participants and 29 winners
2001: 5000 participants and more than 700 winners
2002: 13,500 participants and around 2,100 winners
2003: 25,500 participants and about 3,500 winners
2004: 42,000 participants and just shy of 6,000 winners
2005: 59,000 participants and 9,769 winners
2006: 79,813 participants and 12,948 winners
2007: 101,510 participants and 15,333 winners
2008: 119,301participants and 21,683 winners
(Statistics courtesy of www.nanowrimo.org)
The popularity of this “literary crusade,” as Wired UK called it, is growing. Despite the “National” in the name, international writers are encouraged to participate as well. And the point? Simply to join the other thousands of writers in making a deadline. Everyone who enters the event and uploads a 50,000 word manuscript as proof wins. Also according to the official website, established authors like Sara Gruen (Water for Elephants) and Lisa Daily (The Dreamgirl Academy) have participated in the past.
So even though it’s November 4th, it’s not too late to start typing away. Visit www.nanowrimo.org to register (it’s free!).
*But just an agent-related side note, remember that 50,000 words is technically not long enough to constitute a full-length novel, so you’ll have to keep at it until you reach the approximately 80,000 – 120,000 word length that agents consider adequate.
Still, you can reach the 50,000 mark hurdle with a whole lot of company if you so choose!
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