Nano Challenge
Wednesday, October 29, 2008 by Mel
Here's a copy of the challenge email I sent out announcing my involvement in nano. If you didn't get the email but want to participate, leave me a message.
Friends,
As most of you know, I have devoted much of the last few years to writing a novel, Gifted. At times, this has meant losing sleep and sanity, declining invitations, and generally being a nuisance to those in the real world. Many of you have encouraged me. Some of you ask if I am "still writing" with a spark of doubt that I will ever finish, but to me, this still counts as motivation. After all, the whole thing started as a bit of a dare.
Now here's where it gets interesting: I'm about to do it again, and I need some help.
While for some people November 1st means throwing out shriveled jack o' lanterns and counting the days until Thanksgiving, for others it is something else entirely. For the last 10 years it has been National Novel Writing Month (aka NaNoWriMo or NaNo), and crazy people all over the world will once again choose to write a first draft of at least 50,000 words (roughly 200 pages), or 1,667 words per day.
You may ask, "What's this got to do with me?" Here are some answers:
One more thing, and I'll be done: NaNo is sponsored by the nonprofit Office of Letters and Light. If you're a fan of reading, writing, or people who read or write, and you've got some spare change, please consider donating to the cause. $10 will keep those servers serving for 3 hours. $25 sponsors one classroom in the Young Writers Program...you can click the nano link above and go to donations to see more.
All right, you made it to the end! Thanks for reading. Happy November!
Mel
Friends,
As most of you know, I have devoted much of the last few years to writing a novel, Gifted. At times, this has meant losing sleep and sanity, declining invitations, and generally being a nuisance to those in the real world. Many of you have encouraged me. Some of you ask if I am "still writing" with a spark of doubt that I will ever finish, but to me, this still counts as motivation. After all, the whole thing started as a bit of a dare.
Now here's where it gets interesting: I'm about to do it again, and I need some help.
While for some people November 1st means throwing out shriveled jack o' lanterns and counting the days until Thanksgiving, for others it is something else entirely. For the last 10 years it has been National Novel Writing Month (aka NaNoWriMo or NaNo), and crazy people all over the world will once again choose to write a first draft of at least 50,000 words (roughly 200 pages), or 1,667 words per day.
You may ask, "What's this got to do with me?" Here are some answers:
- Place your bets. One of the NaNo motivational tools is making bets with friends/family to nudge you toward your word count goal. For example, you might propose that if I don't make my word count, I buy dinner for you. Or clean out your garage. Or walk your dog. As long as it's a) legal, and b) not against my morals, I'll probably agree.
- Make it more interesting. If you want to go beyond standard betting, you can propose something more extreme/expensive/ridiculous and also provide me with a minor character that must be used in the story. I'll ask you for a few simple details (name, age, and a couple of other things), and fill in the rest. Of course this probably means that I will have to provide actual proof of your character's presence in the story.
- Send out good thoughts. NaNo requires seclusion, but I know the only way for me to succeed is to have support. There will be days when meeting the word count is a breeze. Other times I will be tempted to type, "This was the dumbest idea ever!" 278 times. Even if you don't want to participate in the first two options, you can check up on my progress and/or harass me when there isn't any via posts to Facebook or Twitter, or check out my NaNo page if you want to delve a little deeper. Share this message with other potential supporters.
- Come celebrate with me. I fully intend to finish by midnight on November 30th, and I want to make a big deal about it. I hope you'll join me in December for a celebration.
One more thing, and I'll be done: NaNo is sponsored by the nonprofit Office of Letters and Light. If you're a fan of reading, writing, or people who read or write, and you've got some spare change, please consider donating to the cause. $10 will keep those servers serving for 3 hours. $25 sponsors one classroom in the Young Writers Program...you can click the nano link above and go to donations to see more.
All right, you made it to the end! Thanks for reading. Happy November!
Mel
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