The challenge: write 50,000 words in 30 days.

November is National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo). The goal is to write a 50,000 word novel (approximately 175 pages) by 11:59:59PM November 30. Valuing enthusiasm and perseverance over painstaking craft, NaNoWriMo is a novel-writing program for everyone who has thought about writing a novel, but has been scared away by the time and effort involved. Due to the limited writing window, the only thing that matters in NaNoWriMo is output. It’s all about quantity, not quality, according to the http://nanowrimo.org. This approach forces participants to lower their expectations, take risks, and write on the fly.

Chris Baty, a San Fransisco native author, started the project in July 1999 with 21 participants in the San Francisco Bay area. In 2000, NaNoWriMo was moved to November “to more fully take advantage of the miserable weather,” Baty wrote on his blog site. That year 140 participants signed up for the event, including several from other countries. The number of participants has been growing ever since.

Last November, over 200,000 people accepted the challenge. More than 30,000 of them crossed the 50K finish line by the midnight deadline on November 30.

Molly Backes, writer and teacher at Story Studio Chicago, a creative writing studio for teens and adults downtown, suggests to people interested in participating to definitely adapt the goal to their own schedules.

LZHS juniorWillow Elliot is proud to say she was among the victors for the past two years.

“I’ve never actually finished a novel for NaNoWriMo, yet I have reached the 50,000 word count goal,” Elliot said. “The main misconception with NaNoWriMo is it’s not a competition. There is absolutely nothing you get out of it, other than the knowledge that you wrote 50,000 words in a month.”

Since NaNoWriMo is not a contest, no official prizes are awarded for length, quality, or speed. Anyone who reaches the 50,000 word mark is declared a winner. Beginning November 25, participants can submit their novel to be automatically verified for length and receive a printable certificate, an icon they can display on the web, and inclusion on the list of winners.

Fiona Rolfes, junior, has also completed the 50,000 word count challenge the past two years and is participating this month hoping to reach the goal for a third time.

“I call October my 31 days of brainstorming. I keep notebooks with me full of potential ideas and spend all day daydreaming about what would work, and what wouldn’t,” Rolfes said. “Most of the time I get a really good idea and it becomes my favorite. In 2010, I outlined exactly what was going to happen chapter by chapter. Personally, it was easier to write with an outline than without one.”

Both girls said it is quite a challenge to reach the 50,000 word count, but in the end it’s rewarding.

“To overcome the challenge you just have to have a good idea, be invested, and not procrastinate,” Rolfes said. “Definitely not procrastinate.”

Since NaNoWriMo is more about quantity not quality, Backes believes that writers can begin to write a possibly successful novel, one they are proud of. 

 “If you can write at least 50,000 words in one month, then at least you have a good start. Your first draft will never be the next Great American Novel. Stop worrying, experiment and write things you never expect would happen without the craziness of NaNoWriMo.”