Can You Write A Novel In 30 Days?

NaNoWriMo. Sounds kind of foreign, doesn't it? Maybe it's a small village in Finland, hidden among the pines and oaks on the shores of the Baltic.

In reality, its only possible connection with foreign lands is purely literary: it stands for National Novel Writing Month, a once-nerdy festival that is fast catching on with established and aspiring writers around the country. Now in its twelfth year, it has blossomed from 20 self-described "over-caffeinated yahoos" in 1999 to over 250,000 this year. The event has even begun to attract reasonably famous authors—Sara Gruen, author of Water for Elephants, and Amellia Atwatter-Rhodes, author of The Persistence of Memory are both NaNoWriMo participants.

The idea is pretty simple: in the 30 days of November, try to write a 50,000-word novel. Literary brilliance is not a prerequisite, but as founder Chris Baty said in a written statement, “(w)hen you write for quantity instead of quality, you end up getting both. Also, it’s a great excuse for not doing any dishes for a month."

Much of the action happens at "write-ins" large and small across the country, including several in Minneapolis.

Patch wants to know if you're participating, or if you know someone who is! What's your plot idea? How hard (or easy) is it? We want to tell your story. Email your local editor using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page.