The process of writing can be daunting, and motivation even harder to find. People often have a sudden burst of inspiration, and frantically write down their thoughts. But when it comes to actually fleshing it out and developing a full blown story, they hit a wall. So the idea just sits there gathering dust. Then, perhaps months later, they revisit the idea. Maybe some new insights have appeared, but they never last. And this process can go on indefinitely.

That’s where NaNoWriMo comes in. It’s short for National Novel Writing Month, the perfect challenge for aspiring writers. Essentially, participants have one month to write a novel. This may sound difficult, but it’s just the first draft. The deadline then pushes them to just keep writing, and ignore writer’s block. It doesn’t have to be good, it just needs to be finished. This year’s NaNoWriMo starts November 1st. Last year, 310,073 people participated from across the country.

According to HFC sophomore and NaNoWriMo veteran Katerina Stanley, “NaNoWriMo gives me more motivation to finish a story; to have ideas flowing constantly. You can’t really stop when you only have a month to write.”

Stanley has been participating every year since 2007. Her advice to new participants is this:

“Don’t worry about it being ‘good’, because it’s just a first draft. Just keep writing. It’s about quantity, not quality. You can always re-write.”
There is also a large variety of resources on the NaNoWriMo website, such as writing tips, and pep talks from established authors; in the past, authors such as John Green and Lemony Snicket.

The website has been re-designed this year too. It uses a system of interactive “badges” to track participation and motivate writers. For artists, there is the “30 Covers, 30 Days” challenge, in which designers must create a book cover for a participant’s novel in 24 hours.

So if it’s your dream to write the great A

merican novel, or just to get some practice with writing, NaNoWriMo is just the challenge for you! (nanowrimo.org).