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50,000 words in 30 days
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How many of you have thought about writing a book? Now’s the time to put all those ideas into action, as NaNoWriMo starts Sunday, November 1. NaNoWriMo is the brainchild of writer Chris Baty. In 1999 twenty one people joined Baty in writing 50,000 word novels during the month of November. From those humble beginnings, it is amazing to consider 2008 brought over 120,000 writer participants in more than 45 countries - 15,000 of them crossed the finish line with novel counts of 50,000 words.
When you join NaNoWriMo, you can post a short bio and a brief blurb about your work in progress. As your word counts increase, your counter moves forward, helping push you onward in your writing. You also have the chance to make friends with other writers, so you can watch their word counts move as well.
NaNoWriMo has since expanded to include the Young Writers Program. Over the course of a month, YWP provides kids and teens an experience – depending on the grade, they write a 5,000, 10,000 word or greater story. The focus and creativity needed to reach the goal helps with self-esteem, perseverance, and allows kids to connect to words and writing. In 2008, there were 600 classrooms and 20,000+ kids involved. For 2009, they anticipate over 1,000 classrooms will participate.
For Script Writers, the month of April brings Script Frenzy, where they create a movie script or tv script of 100 pages.
NaNoWriMo is a fabulous way to meet other writers in your neighborhood. One of the most helpful features of the project are the write-ins, where participants gather at a local coffee shop, library, book store or member home to write. It’s a chance to bounce ideas off of other writers, socialize, and pound out words.
Long Island is a very active region. Due to its size, it can get somewhat unwieldy. By checking the region board, you can let your colleagues know where you plan to be writing and invite them to join you. It’s a great motivator and it helps take some of the loneliness out of the writing process.
Take a chance, fulfill those creative dreams and join NaNoWriMo this November. You can find me there as ljwwrites – together, we can help each other to reach 50,000 words!
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