Issue date: 11/19/09 Section: Campus News

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This phrase, a banner across the top of the National Novel Writing Month website, embodies the enthusiastic spirit of what NaNoWrimo is all about. It is essentially turning novel writing into an enjoyable sport and being a cheerleader for it. Founder Chris Baty has wrestled the daunting process of novel writing down to the ground, and having knocked any fearful qualities it once possessed away, has made it an enjoyable, brilliantly self-deprecating, and most importantly, doable experience for any and everyone who shows interest.

"You get a bunch of friends together, load up on caffeine and junk food, and stare at a glowing screen for a couple of hours. And a story spins itself out in front of you," Christ says on the NaNoWriMo website.

Chris and the NaNoWriMo staff began their constructively unconventional project back in July of 1999. Chris, along with twenty friends, simply began writing for the love of writing, not expecting much to come out of it:

"We wanted to write novels for the same dumb reasons twenty-somethings start bands. Because we wanted to make noise. Because we didn't have anything better to do. And because we thought that, as novelists, we would have an easier time getting dates than we did as non-novelists."

This same amusing approach is what has truly become NaNoWriMo. Their goal is to have all participants, beginning on November 1, produce a 175-page, or approximately 50 thousand word novel by November 30 at midnight. This program invites quantity not quality, which should not discourage any prospective participants or condemn the program. The writing is intentionally fast and furious; editing and laboring over each word are not allowed. Creating an atmosphere and community where writers, serious or not, can pour out their hearts and minds without fear of judgment or in fact, any reaction, is the boost that a great number of writers need. Plus, the limited, month-long window of opportunity provides a sense of hastiness and desperation which is both exhilarating and demanding. In essence, NaNoWriMo pushes writers out of the plane and forces them to craft their own parachutes. At the end, there are no rejection letters or harsh critics. The only way to find ones' self doomed to a freefall is by not pushing yourself to your limits.

Continued...

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