NaNoWriMo is a writing contest to write a 50,000 word novel in November. It emphasizes quantity over quality and anyone can enter. Winners receive no prize but the satisfaction of completing a novel. NaNoWriMo is now a 501c3 company that raises funds for reading charities.
National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) is a writing contest started in the United States in 1999, by Chris Baty. The goal of NaNoWriMo is to write a 50,000 word novel between November 1st and November 30th at midnight. Anyone can enter the contest and whoever reaches the goal of writing 50,000 words of a coherent novel wins.
NaNoWriMo was meant to inspire writers to create and has become an exceptionally popular contest. NaNoWriMo winners get the satisfaction of completing a novel, but receive no other prizes. In fact, NaNoWriMo is often followed by NaNoFiMo, in December, which is designated as National Novel Finishing Month. Even if a novel is unfinished at 50,000 words, it still qualifies as a winner.
NaNoWriMo tends to emphasize quantity over quality. Writers need to write about 2.5 single-spaced pages a day in 12-point font. This doesn’t leave much time for editing, although writers who are quick typists could theoretically produce fairly well-edited work in that time frame. The writers don’t limit themselves to the subject; any genre of fiction is allowed, and novels can now be written in any language.
NaNoWriMo is now a 501c3 company, offering attendees access to laptops if they don’t have them, and paying for launch and celebration parties. Additionally, NaNoWriMo raises funds for reading charities and donates approximately 50% of its net intake to designated charities. Funds are raised through direct donation or the purchase of items such as mugs and t-shirts.
Some praise NaNoWriMo’s efforts but say they don’t spend enough time making sure people don’t cheat. However, the only reward of winning is writing 50,000 words and possibly a complete novel, so cheating doesn’t mean that no one gets any further rewards for being a winner.
NaNoWriMo has proven to be a popular contest. Only 21 people attended the first year. Nearly 60,000 competed in 2005 and nearly 10,000 were actual winners. In 2005, the total number of words produced by all participants was over 700 million.
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