National Novel Writing Month encourages writers to produce 50,000 word novels.
While some struggle to read a novel in a month, over 300,000 people around the world will be trying to finish writing their own novels in the month of November.
National Novel Writing Month — commonly referred to as “NaNoWriMo” — is a month-long event where writers are encouraged to produce an entire 50,000 word novel throughout November. NaNoWriMo has a large online community where writers can join groups, update their word counts and find inspiration from other writers around the world or locally.
The event also raises money each month to bring creative writing programs to children all around the world. It’s currently in its 16th year.
Melinda Knowlton Fulk has been doing NaNoWriMo since 2008, and has been the municipal liaison since 2009 — which is an organizer for a region and is responsible for organizing “write-in” events and doing weekly web updates through the site.
“I see myself as a cheerleader (for the writers),” Fulk said.
A tradition she’s done since become the municipal liaison is painting a fingernail purple each time someone crosses the finish line of their word count. On the website, the word tracking bar is blue throughout the month and turns purple when the word count is reached.
“I like to see if I can have both hands painted,” she said. “Once, I had both hands and both my big toes painted. It gives us a license to be a little bit silly. People will get competitive over which nail they’re going to get.”
Fulk has “won” NaNoWriMo four different years — meaning she’s hit the word count four different times throughout her participation in the event.
“It’s designed so if you write 1,667 words a day, you will hit 50,000 by the end of the month,” she said. “You should be able to have a life, work a full-time job and still do this. It encourages people who would otherwise never pick up a pen or a keyboard.”
For the past few years, both of Fulk’s teenage daughters have participated with her, and she was even able to start a Young Writers program at Chauncey Elementary, where she went in once a week at their lunch time and worked with six or seven kids on their writing.
This year, Fulk is working on finishing her novel from her first year of NaNoWriMo.
For Lara Wehling, a junior studying creative writing, NaNoWriMo is a chance to hone in her skills and practice her craft. She started participating three or four years ago after many of her writer friends were participating.
“I didn’t realize the scale of it until I had been about two years in,” Wehling said.
Currently, Wehling is over 2,000 words in, but doesn’t anticipate finishing. She uses the month of writing to push herself more than normal to put the words on paper.
“I’m not a quick writer. It’s a challenge,” she said. “It’s more practice for me than to achieve a goal.”
Patrick O’Keeffe, an assistant professor of creative writing, has never participated but has had many students who have.
“I think it’s great fun, for one thing, especially if a friend or friends are also doing it, because writing is so solitary, and you can talk with your friends about your progress. You might also find out how demanding writing is,” he said in an email. “Of course, in the end, a writer gets writing done in whatever way she or he can.”
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