NaNoWriMo update

NaNoWriMo a.k.a. NaBloPoMo.  Now that would be National Novel Writing Month which actually started out as National Blog Posting Month.  November is a month of "mo's" or is that Movember. Anyway an editorial in The Star today said that last year more that 250,000 people signed up on the NaNoWriMo website  with the intent to write a novel of 50,000 words in 30 days. (Glad November is a short month :) and as The Star said "a staggering" 36,843 people completed it. That's 36,843 new novels in just one month.  No wonder you need electronic devices to store them.

I have to believe many are just drivel and the challenge does have it's nay-sayers.  Certainly a cookie cutter approach to writing - 1,640 odd words per day with forums to cheer you on, comes a little too close to the concept of yards gained in football perhaps or hamburgers sold at MacDonalds. But as the editorial goes on to say, "If an arbitrary deadline and word count... is enough to inspire many to pry themselves from their couches, turn off their TVs and spend some time cultivating the qualities of a novelist - thoughtfulness, discipline, persistence, introspection and empathy, among others - then good. That's not a bad way to spend a month."

And it's free!!!

Long live the novel and I might add - long live the longer sentence!!

Just as an aside, NaNoWriMo is organized by area and as of today 16,000,000 words have been written in the Toronto area alone. Boggles or is that bloggles the mind.

Have a novel day :)