National Novel Writing Month, aka NaNoWriMo, is a fun month-long novel writing event where participants begin writing on November 1 with the goal to produce a 50,000 word novel by November 30. Anyone can join the event (which begins today!).
Valuing enthusiasm and perseverance over painstaking craft, NaNoWriMo is a novel-writing program for everyone who has thought fleetingly about writing a novel but has been scared away by the time and effort involved.
Because of the limited writing window, the ONLY thing that matters in NaNoWriMo is output. It’s all about quantity, not quality. This approach forces you to lower your expectations, take risks, and write on the fly.
Make no mistake: You will be writing a lot of crap. And that’s a good thing. By forcing yourself to write so intensely, you are giving yourself permission to make mistakes. To forgo the endless tweaking and editing and just create. To build without tearing down.
Ryan Junell directed and animated this informative short film, titled What is the Office of Letters and Light?, about the Office of Letters and Light, the California-based nonprofit organization behind NaNoWriMo and other programs.
