For the scriptually-challenged – yes, that’s a real term – the month of November has been designated by “Saint Literature” as “National Novel Writing Month,” a month to challenge prospective writers to produce a complete novel in 30 days. The technical goal is 50,000 words, which is about 1,700 words, or 6 double-spaced manuscript pages per day. “NaNoWriMo” began in July 1999, when a group of San Francisco writers decided to see what they could do with the written word in a month’s time. As with any artistic endeavor, the purpose was merely to make a statement – whatever that’s supposed to mean. In 2000, they moved the challenge to November. Last year 256,618 people took part in the event, and 36,843 succeeded in writing a complete novel.
Some have criticized it as a waste of time and energy. Who, after all, produces a quality literary piece in 30 days? As with any art work, though, it’s all a matter of perception. Some people may read my stuff and think it’s crap. I respect their decision, as I light a curse candle at midnight on their behalf. Make of it what you will, but we writers are the voices of our respective communities. If we didn’t put words to paper or computer screen, children would go blind from masturbating too much and more people would vote Republican.
Image courtesy of “NaNoWriMo.”
Chief Writing Wolf 