National Novel Writing Month! From November first to November 30. A world wide challenge to write a 50,000 word novel in a month. The project started in July 1999 with just 21 participants, but by the 2010 event over 200,000 people took part - writing a total of over 2.8 billion words.
In 2008, over 119,000 people signed up, with 21,720 reported winners—up by 33% compared to 2007; over 1,643,343,993 words were written.
In 2009, over 170,000 people signed up and 2,427,190,537 words were written.
In 2010, over 200,000 people signed up and 2,872,682,109 words were written.
Rules
Participants' novels can be any theme and in any genre, and in any language. Everything from fanfiction, which uses trademarked characters, to novels in poem format, and even metafiction is allowed; according to the website's FAQ, "If you believe you're writing a novel, we believe you're writing a novel too." Starting at midnight November 1, novels must reach a minimum of 50,000 words before 11:59:59 PM on November 30, local time.
Planning and extensive notes are permitted, but no earlier written material can go into the body of the novel, nor is one allowed to start early and then finish 30 days from that start point.
Participants write either a complete novel of 50,000 words, or simply the first 50,000 words of a novel to be completed later.
To win NaNoWriMo, participants must write an average of just over 1,667 words per day.
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. No precautions are taken to prevent cheating; since the only significant reward for winning is the finished novel itself and the satisfaction of having written it, there is little incentive to cheat. Novels are verified for word count by software. It is possible to win without anyone (other than the author) ever seeing or reading the novel.
