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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- Calling all MLs! Please (oh please!) take the ML survey by Jan. 31. The link is here: http://tinyurl.com/yl44ykr (when you're logged in.)
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- ABNA is back and ready for your works of genius! http://tinyurl.com/6ddu94 Submit before Feb. 7! And good luck!
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- The NaNoWriMo site is back up and dancing. In the immortal words of Dignan from Bottle Rocket "Success! Full success!"
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- @Anshin Thank you for the kind well-wishes!
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- Dan will be putting the #NaNoWriMo site to sleep at 4 pm, Pacific. We will wake it up 30 minutes later with its gallbladder removed.
More NaNoing Twitterers
Include #NaNoWriMo in your tweet to join the discussion
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- Nebraska_Dave
- 5th, or so, story was to be my #nanowrimo entry but I only got to the 6th chapter. I promise to get that up soon. #drwho
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- strikethru
- @Cameron_Talley I'm sticking to typed #nanowrimo myself, in my case, to avoid novels composed primarily of "um."
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- Cameron_Talley
- @strikethru ...great advice, except for me. I'm hearing impaired. If I did #nanowrimo by dictation, I'd NEVER be done! :D
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- strikethru
- I just transcribed a 20 minute interview. 3,000 words! Take note, #nanowrimo participants. Dictate your next novel, be done in hours.
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- KatmanduHerself
- I don't know how I'm going to write this novel. Should I save it for #NaNoWriMo? But the ideas are too fresh to let it sit!
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?


















