National Novel Writing Month

Did you know that November is National Novel Writing Month? This actually began on the internet as a way to encourage writers, celebrate novels, and inspire creativity. The goal of the month is to write 50,000 words, the minimum length considered a novel, during the thirty day period. I have exceeded that amount at least twice, although my books were over 80,000 words, and the longest one was 101,000. That was Sown in Dark Soil, which just came out in September. I cut it down to 89,000 words before I sent it to the publisher.

National Novel Writing Month
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The National Novel Writing Month project started in San Francisco in 1999 with 21 people meeting together. In 2000, they launched the website. By 2010, over 200,000 writers participated in National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWrMo, as some refer to it. There's a website for registration where writers can post information about themselves and their novel. Go to www.nanowrmo.org to see more.

So, if you've always wanted to write a novel, this may be the time. If not, you can celebrate this month by reading one. I'm an avid reader, too (good writers are), and every time I read a book instead of completing my list of things to do around the house, I tell myself that reading is good preparation for writing. How's that for rationalization? Now, let me get back to my novels, both writing them and reading them.

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