A Book in a Month
Every November is National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo, for short) - the month when thousands of amateur novelists shatter their keyboards in the race to 50 000 words of fresh fiction.
"Fifty thousand words? In thirty days? Impossible!" i hear you say. Well, if there's one thing writers are good at, it's doing the impossible.
2009 sign-ups have already begun, and the madness begins at midnight 1 November - don't miss it!
Table of Contents
The Top Five Reasons November is the Wildest Month
- Locking up the Inner Editors
- Plot bunnies
- Dares
- Surviving the dreaded Week 2
- Finishing a novel!
@NaNoWriMo on Twitter
For the shortes, most up-to-date newsflashes from the NaNo team

- aka Twitter
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- Impromptu write-in? Want company? We're testing a new tool from our buddies Lohnes + Wright: http://www.wrimomaps.com
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- Don't forget that the NaNo word sprints have moved over to @NaNoWordSprints. Starting some soon for those farther away time zones!
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- 2009 Tally: 164,293 authors signed up with 1,448,554,647 words total. $409,325 on the fundometer (nearly halfway to our goal!)
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- Big fundraising drive for NaNo and YWP this Tuesday! Get a halo! See Lindsey's interpretive dance moves! http://tiny.cc/OfOov
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- @zenmonkey I was just thinking the same thing. Maybe it's time to bring back the running man with pencil?
More NaNoing Twitterers
Include #NaNoWriMo in your tweet to join the discussion
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- AshleyTenille
- It's 7am on a Saturday. Here I am nano'ing away... I must be crazy. #NaNoWriMo
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- _WritersBlock
- 34,000 words. 21 days. Hoping to have 35,000 by midnight. #NaNoWriMo
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- Pluizenbolnl
- stopt een cupcakerecept van @cherryfizz in #nanowrimo novel. :)
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- thisiscarlie
- 10 000 more words to go and I have a novel. #nanowrimo
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- QueenMommyDeb
- Yay! I was able to get in about 500 words before @ictEllaMorgan got out of bed. #nanowrimo
NaNo News
Fetching RSS feed... please stand byBattle of the Books
Tales from the Front Line
The NaNo staff blog, now with writing stories sent in from real-life NaNoers!
Fetching RSS feed... please stand byNaNoWriMo Around the Web
- NaNoWriMo Official Site
- Complete with forums, word count meters, and general insanity.
- National Novel Publishing Year
- The definitive guide for turning your one-month first draft into a one-year published novel.
- NaNo for the New and the Insane
- NaNo for the New and the Insane - A NaNoWriMo Survival Guide. Free ebook download for managing November.
- How To Write A Novel Using The Snowflake Method
- The Snowflake method of planning a novel - one of the most frequently-mentioned planning methods on the NaNoWriMo forums. Personally, i've *never* made it all the way through planning, but it seems you can more or less stop Snowflaking at whichever step you want and still consider your planning to be well worth the effort.
- GoodSearch : Support your favorite charity or school.
- GoodSearch : a Yahoo-powered search engine that donates money to your favorite charity or school each time you search the Web. Enter the "Office of Letters and Light" as your charity selection if you want to help National Novel Writing Month raise money for its website and the Young Writers Program.
- Surviving 30 days of noveling | Editors' Notes | Macworld
- Writing a novel in thirty days may sound like insanity, but some people keep doing it year after year, Dan Moren included.
The NaNo Forums
The best and the brightest from the NaNoWriMo forums
- The NaNoWriMo Cookbook
- Quick, easy, and keyboard-friendly recipes
- NaNo Calendars 2009
- Special destop wallpapers which make it really easy to see what your word count should be on any given day
NaNo & Other Writing Books
Vote for your favorite. Or, add what's missing!
No Plot? No Problem!: A Low-Stress, High-Velocity Guide to Writing a Novel in 30 Days by Chris Baty
Chris Baty, motivator extraordinaire and instigator of a wildly successful writing revolution, spells out the secrets of writing-and finishing-a novel. Every fall, thousands of people sign up for National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), which Baty founded, determined to (a) write that novel or (b) finish that novel in-kid you not-30 days. Now Baty puts pen to paper himself to share the secrets of success. With week-specific overviews, pep "talks," and essential survival tips...0 points
The No Plot? No Problem! Novel-Writing Kit by Chris Baty
Aspiring novelists don't need an MFA in creative writing, a book agent, an airtight plot, or a winsome cast of characters to get a novel written they don't even need to know what they're doing. All that's needed is a little determination and this high-octane kit to kick motivation into overdrive and inspire users to produce a 50,000-word book in an exhilarating, invigorating month long Noveling Adventure.
Includes:
48-page booklet
31 Daily Noveling Briefs recommended allowances of writing advi...
Novelist's Boot Camp: 101 Ways to Take Your Book From Boring to Bestsell by Todd A. Stone
It's time to plan and execute a writing strategy that's in sync with your ultimate mission objective: getting published.
In Novelist's Boot Camp, author Todd A. Stone, a former assistant professor at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, draws on his experience as novelist, writing instructor, and military officer to help get you and your writing into tip-top shape.
This boot-camp-in-a-book includes 101 carefully crafted drills designed to show you how to:
%u2022 Identify and d...
0 pointsHow to Write a Selling Screenplay by Christopher Keane
It may be better for Screnzy than NaNo, but this is one of my favourite writing books. I wrote what i consider my best NaNo ever after reading it, which is enough for it to get a special spot on my shelf.
Christopher Keane has spent 20 years in the business, learning the truths--and the tricks--of writing a selling screenplay. In How to Write a Selling Screenplay, he takes writers through the entire process, from developing a story to finding the best agent. Using an annotated version of an oft...0 points
How Many Words?
Your turn: Am I right?
Is November truly the wildest month? How do you survive the insanity? Do you hunker down under your desk with a laptop and a stack of books, or do you rush headlong into the fray of wild writing parties?









