NATIONAL NOVEL WRITING MONTH: THE LARGEST WRITING CONTEST IN THE WORLD TURNS 10!

Oakland, Calif. --- www.NaNoWriMo.org --- September, 2008 --- There are some who say writing a novel takes awesome talent, strong language skills, academic training, and years of dedication.

Not true. All it really takes is a deadline - a very, very tight deadline - and a whole lot of coffee.

Welcome to National Novel Writing Month: a nonprofit literary crusade that encourages aspiring novelists all over the world to write a 50,000-word novel in a month. At midnight on Nov. 1, more than 100,000 writers from over 80 countries - poised over laptops and pads of paper, fingers itching and minds racing with plots and characters - will begin a furious adventure in fiction. By 11:59 PM on Nov. 30, tens of thousands of them will be novelists.

2008 is the ten-year anniversary of NaNoWriMo, founded in 1999 by freelance writer Chris Baty. In its first year, NaNoWriMo had just 21 participants. In 2007, over 100,000 people took part in the free challenge, making it the largest writing contest in the world. And while the event stresses fun and creative exploration over publication, 24 NaNoWriMo novelists have had their NaNo-novels published, including Sarah Gruen, whose New York Times #1 Best Seller, Water for Elephants began as a NaNoWriMo novel.

Around 18% of NaNoWriMo participants "win" every year by writing
50,000 words and validating their novels on the organization's website before midnight on Nov 30. Winners receive no prizes, and no one at NaNoWriMo ever
reads the manuscripts submitted.

So if not for fame or fortune, why do people do it?

"The 50,000-word challenge has a wonderful way of opening up your
imagination and unleashing creative potential like nothing else," says
NaNoWriMo Director (and nine-time NaNoWriMo winner) Chris Baty. "When you
write for quantity instead of quality, you end up getting both. Also, it's a
great excuse for not doing any dishes for a month."

If you would like more information about National Novel Writing Month, or would like to talk to participants from NaNoWriMo chapters in your area, please
visit our website at www.NaNoWriMo.org, or contact press@nanowrimo.org

What is NaNoWriMo?

National Novel Writing Month
is a fun, seat-of-your-pants approach to novel writing. Participants
begin writing November 1. The goal is to write a 175-page (50,000-word)
novel by midnight, November 30.

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. The
kamikaze 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.

As you spend November writing, you can draw comfort from the fact
that, all around the world, other National Novel Writing Month
participants are going through the same joys and sorrows of producing
the Great Frantic Novel. Wrimos meet throughout the month to offer
encouragement, commiseration, and—when the thing is done—the kind of
raucous celebrations that tend to frighten animals and small children.

In 2007, we had over 100,000 participants. More than 15,000 of them
crossed the 50k finish line by the midnight deadline, entering into the
annals of NaNoWriMo superstardom forever. They started the month as
auto mechanics, out-of-work actors, and middle school English teachers.
They walked away novelists.

So, to recap:

What: Writing one 50,000-word novel from scratch in a month's time.

Who: You! We can't do this unless we have some
other people trying it as well. Let's write laughably awful yet lengthy
prose together.

Why: The reasons are endless! To actively
participate in one of our era's most enchanting art forms! To write
without having to obsess over quality. To be able to make obscure
references to passages from our novels at parties. To be able to mock
real novelists who dawdle on and on, taking far longer than 30 days to
produce their work.

When: You can sign up anytime to add your name to
the roster and browse the forums. Writing begins November 1. To be
added to the official list of winners, you must reach the 50,000-word
mark by November 30 at midnight. Once your novel has been verified by
our web-based team of robotic word counters, the partying begins.

Still confused? Just visit the How NaNoWriMo Works page!

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