Is anyone else participating in National Novel Writing Month?

National Novel Writing Month is a fun, seat-of-your-pants approach to novel writing. Participants begin writing November 1. The goal is to write a 175-page (50,000-word) novel by midnight, November 30.

Valuing enthusiasm and perseverance over painstaking craft, NaNoWriMo is a novel-writing program for everyone who has thought fleetingly about writing a novel but has been scared away by the time and effort involved.

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.

As you spend November writing, you can draw comfort from the fact that, all around the world, other National Novel Writing Month participants are going through the same joys and sorrows of producing the Great Frantic Novel. Wrimos meet throughout the month to offer encouragement, commiseration, and -- when the thing is done -- the kind of raucous celebrations that tend to frighten animals and small children.

In 2005, we had over 59,000 participants. Nearly 10,000 of them crossed the 50k finish line by the midnight deadline, entering into the annals of NaNoWriMo superstardom forever. They started the month as auto mechanics, out-of-work actors, and middle school English teachers. They walked away novelists.

So, to recap:

What: Writing one 50,000-word novel from scratch in a month's time.

Who: You! We can't do this unless we have some other people trying it as well. Let's write laughably awful yet lengthy prose together.

Why: The reasons are endless! To actively participate in one of our era's most enchanting art forms! To write without having to obsess over quality. To be able to make obscure references to passages from our novels at parties. To be able to mock real novelists who dawdle on and on, taking far longer than 30 days to produce their work.

When: Sign-ups begin October 1, 2006. Writing begins November 1. To be added to the official list of winners, you must reach the 50,000-word mark by November 30 at midnight. Once your novel has been verified by our web-based team of robotic word counters, the partying begins.

Still confused? Just visit the How NaNoWriMo Works page!

If anyone else signs up and wants to be a writing buddy, let me know and I'll give you my NaNoWriMo name.

How about "Maddog and Eddiecat",the heartwrenching tale of two star-crossed lovers who cannot be together.Maddog from the Dog family and Eddiecat from the infamous Cat family.A new twist on Romeo and Juliet as well as Tony and Maria.Oh the possibilities are endless.

I like it! We'll call it "The Growl and the Pussycat"

BRILLIANT!!!!!!

As I just finished editing my barely 18,000 wd kids novella, I'm looking forward to cranking out 50,000 starting next week. It will certainly lower my alcohol intake...I hope.

Or increase it and make Charles Bukowski blush!

I have no idea what I'm going to write as of yet. I've got plenty of kernals but they all have their own stumbling blocks. I can't decide whether to try to power through an old but good idea or just start completely fresh. I may have to let the vodka decide.

I'm mulling over the same thing: I have 30,000 wds of a novel finished and edited but the rest of it just hasn't emerged yet. Do I commit to finishing this? Adding another 50,000 and making it the real thing? Or do I start the story I've been writing ideas and tidbits about for two years?

Maddog - how to decide? Meditate? Draw straws? Vodka shots?

I think I'm gonna start from scratch. I think anything pre-determined might have pre-built road-blocks. I'm just gonna see what comes out on November 1st. Being the day after Halloween it might end up being a Tale of the City that would make Amistad Maupin look like a children's book.

All that drinking must mean that you were celebrating your birthday early.Happy Birthday,Bryan!!

If I'm rewriting my resume, does that count as a work of fiction? (Since I'm going to have to revise it to "pad" it up. )

LOL...I think you're going to have a hard time finding a job if your resume if 50,000 words.