Thirty Days and Thirty Nights of NaNoWriMo

November 1, 12:00 a.m., marked the beginning of National Novel Writing Month (also dubbed NaNoWriMo). With this title comes the daunting task to all who choose to partake in the event: participants must write a novel of at least 50,000 words by November 30.

Originally started in 1999 by Chris Baty in the San Francisco Bay area, the project has gained a following, with over 200,000 people participating in 2010. Writers who wish to sign up for the 2011 NaNoWriMo can log on to www.nanowrimo.org, where word counts will be validated.

 Participants, or "WriMos", can write a novel of any genre in literature, but must not start before November 1, though pre-planning and organization is allowed. The initial goal of NaNoWriMo is to have an average of 1,667 words written per day, thus encouraging others to spread the art form of creative writing.

All who reach the 50,000-word mark by the end of November is declared a winner, and once the word count is verified, will receive an icon to display on the web, a printable certificate, inclusion on the list of winning participants, and a single paperback copy of their manuscripts by the self-publishing company, CreateSpace.

Some advising words of wisdom to remember while participating in NaNoWriMo are "quantity over quality"; this helps to conquer the dreadful writer's block and even progress through a plot or storyline.