NaBloPoMo is a month-long blog posting challenge that takes place every November, inspired by NaNoWriMo. Participants must generate new material every day for thirty days, and can register their blog with a centralized database. Some groups add additional rules or restrictions, and prizes are awarded for creativity, persistence, or emotion. The challenge is generally unenforceable, relying on the honor of each participant.
National Blog Posting Month, often shortened to NaBloPoMo, is a month-long blog posting exercise that takes place every November. The first NaBloPoMo took place in November 2006 at the request of the American blogger M. Kennedy. Kennedy was inspired by National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), which also happens every November, and thought there should be a blogging counterpart. NaBloPoMo has steadily grown in popularity due to the vast information distribution network among bloggers. Hundreds of participants entered the first NaBloPoMo, and every year the numbers seem to increase.
Relation to NaNoWriMo
NaNoWriMo was founded in 1999 by 21 authors in the San Francisco Bay Area who wanted to motivate themselves to produce more written work. The challenge requires authors to produce a complete 50,000-word novel in November. The novel doesn’t have to be deep, and there are no rules that say it should be published – rather, the main goal is to train writers to write in a smooth and disciplined way with a clear end goal.
National Blog Posting Month is similar in its emphasis on discipline, but also different in a number of key ways. NaBloPoMo participants can’t take days off or extensively alter their writing schedules, for example. They have to generate new material every day for thirty days. As a result, the dropout rate in the challenge is very high, with many participants dropping out in the first few weeks.
Rules and registration
Bloggers interested in participating typically sign up or “register” their blog with a centralized database, usually hosted by a particular blogger. In the beginning, there was only one registry that bloggers could join, but more and more blogs, bloggers and writing groups around the world act as “sponsors” of the NaBloPoMo challenges. Writers often have more choice now when it comes to where they want to subscribe. Registrants are usually able to view links from all other participating bloggers, and in many cases, entire blogging communities form around the shared experience of writing every day.
The rules are relatively simple. Participants are required to publish a post on their personal website or blog each day. There’s usually no length requirement, meaning some posters will do long essays every day while others will post little more than photographs and short captions. Participants are not allowed to “post” – that is, fill in missing dates from the future – nor are they allowed to write posts in advance. The goal is to actively create a post every day for a month.
Subgroups and prompts
Some groups add additional rules or restrictions to make the challenge more interesting. Daily prompts are one example – some organizers will issue a prompt for bloggers to answer that day, for example. Suggestions can be very specific, like “discuss your first memory” or more open-ended, like “write about something that inspired you today.” Others set rules about word counts or outgoing links. Various blogging groups and communities may also sponsor NaBloPoMo events in months other than November, depending on demand and interest.
Awards and recognitions
NaBloPoMo typically comes with prizes, most of which come from members of the blogging community. Writers are often recognized by other participants by creativity, persistence, or emotion, among other things. Depending on the sponsor, prizes can exist for any number of categories and criteria and prizes are generally equally varied. In the inaugural year, for example, prizes included a handmade scarf, German chocolates, original artwork, jars of jelly, psychic reading services, and a variety of other creative contributions. The grand prize was a year of free website hosting along with the installation of Word Press, a popular blogging software.
No matter where it’s hosted, the challenge is generally unenforceable, meaning participants rely on the honor of each other to post every day and to be honest about their contributions. Most NaBloPoMo contests include a consolation prize for the blogger with the best tragic story about why he wasn’t able to complete the challenge. Extenuating circumstances such as fire, evacuation, or a medical emergency are usually required.
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