BY EVIE BHASIN
This November is NaNoWriMo! NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month, in which people all around the world try to write 50 000 words of the first draft of their novel in only the 30 days of November.
The month of October in the NaNo community is known as “Prep-tober”, during which participants spend the entire month planning and outlining their novels so that they can write freely in November. Alternatively, many choose to pants the novel, meaning they begin writing it with minimal planning.
You can write about basically anything: songs, poems, short stories, and even fanfiction. As long as you aim to reach the goal of 50 000 words before the end of November, anything you write is valid.
You don’t have to be a professional writer to participate! In fact, you don’t even have to have any experience writing to take part in this wonderful month-long experience. Anyone can do it, which is one of the most wonderful parts of NaNo!
The community is extremely welcoming and kind to new NaNo-ers, which helps a lot during November. You can make an account on the NaNoWriMo website for free and explore its forums, where a lot of NaNo-ers like to reside and talk about their novels. It’s a fun place to talk about all things writing and NaNo related.
There is also Camp NaNo, which occurs during the months of April and July. Camp NaNo is the same as normal NaNo, except you can make your own targets and work towards personal goals. It’s a more flexible version of NaNo, but just as fun!
All in all, NaNoWriMo is an amazing and fulfilling experience for anyone who wants to try their hand at writing a novel, or just wants to practice writing. Give it a go! Who knows, you might end up writing the next bestseller!
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