Finishing a novel in a month is crazy
At 10 a.m. on Saturday November 1 Janna Hoskin and her group of “Wrimotaurs” will congregate at the London Fog Café to mark the beginning of National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo). They along with 100000 worldwide participants have pledged to write 50000 words in just 30 days. In over 80 countries around the world hopefuls will warm up their laptops hunch over their notebooks and gear up to write more words this month than most writers knock out in a year.
“Because it’s crazy and it’s fun and it’s a challenge” explains Hoskin one of Calgary’s municipal liaisons for NaNoWriMo. The project has been sparking a writing frenzy for the last 10 Novembers. “Everyone always says ‘I should write a book someday’ but they never do. If you have a real deadline you can push for it’s very motivational” says Hoskins.
NaNoWriMo was founded by San Francisco writer Chris Baty in 1999. It started with only 21 participants taking on the 50000-word challenge but now has thousands flocking to the project’s website and online community every November. Once there members gain access to a plethora of writing resources including extensive forums and weekly pep talks from bestselling authors like Phillip Pullman and Meg Cabot. Participants can also create a writer’s profile and update their word count throughout the month. If they make it over the word limit by midnight November 30 they are declared a NaNoWriMo winner. “It’s very rewarding to see the word count when you’re done” says Tim Mitchell who is participating for the fifth time. “When you see that 50000 you just celebrate you can’t help it. The first year I got over the line I was actually dancing in the street on my way to SAIT.”
Mitchell is a member of Calgary’s regional community of participants who have dubbed themselves Wrimotaurs. The community is headed by Hoskin and Heather Cook. Together they organize pre- and post-November celebrations weekly write-ins and word challenges with other regions.
“We’re doing a three-way [challenge] with Hamilton and Delaware and then we’re going one-on-one with Manitoba to see who can get the most words per person” says Hoskin.
Word challenges of this type help motivate Wrimotaurs to reach their goal and motivation is exactly what the community strives for. It also gives Calgary writers a chance to meet face to face bounce ideas off one another and share in the experience of frantic everyday writing. “It’s a bunch of people who know what you’re dealing with and who aren’t going to think you’re crazy for trying to do this” says Hoskin. “When we’re shut up in our little offices sitting at the computer typing constantly you end up getting a little bit cut off from the rest of the world. Which is why I always have a midway bash… it’s just a social time for people to hang out and get a break from the insanity of writing 2000 words a day.”
With so many words flying one wonders how many of them are any good. But as Hoskin explains it’s all about silencing your inner editor to let your novel finally materialize. “It lets you write without worrying about what you’re putting on the page. Those of us who are perfectionists we think so much about how to get the words right the first time that we don’t just let the story happen.”
At the Wrimotaurs’ kickoff party last week Hoskin handed out “survival kits” filled with plot-aids stickers and other goodies. The event drew almost 50 writers of diverse ages and genres. Old-timers like Mitchell met with familiar faces while newcomers received a warm welcome to the community. Although no actual writing is allowed until November 1 would-be novelists introduced themselves and their projects which include everything from young adult novels about autism to erotic bisexual World of Warcraft fanfiction. Participants this year range from lifelong aspirants like Taran Meyer who’s been writing since she was 12 to those like Trish Carmody who’d never thought of writing a novel until her first NaNoWriMo last November and is now back for more.
“I think [NaNoWriMo] has really taught me a lot about my imagination and my ability to write” says Carmody. “My creativity didn’t go away with growing up you know it’s still in there.”
