Post Number Four*

*NaNoWriMo

Sign up now for National Novel Writing Month through October 30th. The goal is to write a 175 page (50,000-word) novel over the course of 30 days beginning November 1st and ending midnight November 30th.

I recently told a co-worker about this "contest" which has no prize and affords you no recognition, outside the community of the website. He wondered how many famous novels had been published by writers from past contestants or if any of the novels entered had been published, and I realized how many people will miss the point.

Because of the limited writing window, the ONLY thing that matters in NaNoWriMo is output. It's all about quantity, not quality. The kamikaze approach forces you to lower your expectations, take risks, and write on the fly.

Make no mistake: You will be writing a lot of crap. And that's a good thing. By forcing yourself to write so intensely, you are giving yourself permission to make mistakes. To forgo the endless tweaking and editing and just create. To build without tearing down.

It's not really about recognition, although I guess that idea is lost on alot of Hipsters. Whether or not your a beginning writer or just trying to get your creative juices flowing, NaNoWriMo seems like a good way for the less than motivated to set a deadline and see what happens.

Of course if you're just interested in the fame and fortune there are plenty of other contests with deadlines in November that might offer more.