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National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo, is nearly upon us. Every November, thousands of people who have been bitten by the creative bug hunker down at their computers, typewriters, notepads, rolls of parchment, and papyrus scrolls, to pound out 50,000 word flights of literary fancy. WriMos, as we are frequently referred to, sign up for NaNoWriMo at http://nanowrimo.org, and find hours of fun procrastination in the forums and chat rooms there, as well as a place to verify our word counts and, come November 30, win.

The goal is to produce 50,0000 words, roughly 175 pages of your own original novel. When your word count is verified at or above 50,0000, you win. If you think that 50,000 words couldn’t possibly be long enough to be a novel, think of Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, or Fight Club, and think again. The month acts as a sort of creative kick in the pants, and can help one develop, what is commonly referred to as “The Writing Habit.” It is not a writing competition in the traditional sense, nobody reads what you produce, and there is no second place. I did NaNoWriMo last November, and had a great time producing a tragedy of a first draft, which is still haunting my computer. I get it out and hack at it every once in a while for grins. Well, I had such a good time with it last year, that I’ve decided to do it again this year.

The Office of Letters and Light, which puts on NaNoWriMo, also puts on Script Frenzy in April, during which, you guessed it, participants write a script in the month of April, and two Camp NaNoWriMos during the summer. NaNoWriMo was kicked off in 1999, and has continued to grow over the past decade and a bit. They have write-ins in many cities around the world that are organized by Municipal Liasons and allow WriMos the opportunity to meet equally crazy people and write together. The Office of Letters and Light also provides materials for creative writing classes and workshops in schools and libraries across the US. And they have a young writers program that encourages teens to funnel their angst into poetry and prose instead of into empty vodka bottles. All in all, I think it is a stand-up organization, and I would like to do my part to support it. Or rather, I’d like you all to do my part to support it. WriMos can set up sponsorship pages for their month of literary abandon, which is exactly what I’ve done. If you’d like to help support NaNoWriMo, and encourage me in my novel writing efforts, please visit http://www.stayclassy.org/fundraise?fcid=128997, and break out the plastic.

Or, perhaps you’d like to join me in the literary fit of November. If you’ve had a novel idea kicking around in your head for awhile, even if you haven’t and just think it sounds like fun, I encourage you to sign up and, come November 1^st, start writing!