“Tell me I can’t, then watch me work twice as hard to prove you wrong.” 

— Olympic Gold medalist Heather Mitts

Every November, there’s a writer’s challenge called NaNoWriMo, an annual write-a-thon that makes you want to pull your hair out.

NaNoWriMo is an acronym for National Novel Writing Month, where each year thousands of people across the world attempt to write 50,000 words during the month of November. 

(Keep reading to read about readers’ challenges!)

At last check, there were 306,203 NaNoWriMo participants this year. “National Novel Writing Month began in 1999 as a daunting but straightforward challenge: to write 50,000 words of a novel during the thirty days of November.” Which means, if even half that number of participants reach the 50,000 word count, that’s approximately 150,000 potential novels written in one month. (In its first year, it had 21 participants.)

One writer and participant Justin Tadlock describes it, “it’s sort of like group therapy for those crazy enough to attempt it.”

(FYI!) Fifty thousand words in 30 days is 1,667 words per day.

Both experienced and inexperienced writers participate in this challenge, which first started as a challenge between friends, then quickly evolved into an international non-profit organization with programs to support writing fluency and education. And you're welcomed and encouraged to write in the language you're most comfortable with.

Tadlock describes attempting to write 50,000 in a month as a "wild ride that is only driven by grit and coffee. There are no guaranteed publishing deals or trophies at the end of the road. The reward is a printable certificate, self-pride, and a month of household chores you likely skipped out on. You may bask in the glory of an achievement few others have accomplished. Many crash and burn by the end of Week #1.” Sounds about right.

Many start writing at the stroke of midnight on November first, that’s how excited they are! 

Traditionally, NaNoWriMo explains, this challenge works best when you start a brand-new project. “It may be an arbitrary distinction, but we've seen that novelists do better (and have more fun) when they're free from the constraints of existing manuscripts.”

“Writing doesn’t have to be solitary. It also doesn’t have to be full of anguish, although it inherently is, there’s ways to get beyond that anguish,” explained Grant Faulkner, executive director of NaNoWriMo, in this article that provides the super interesting backstory of how NaNoWriMo begun. "Fun, connection, and creative exploration have been at the heart of the event since day one.” 

One participant told Book Riot how she did it.

“…I don’t really understand how I did [it]. Because that was actually a very busy time in my life. I was working two jobs, like one full time job and one part time job. Um, but then I just sort of like, committed myself to doing it and so I did it. So I would bring my laptop to work. At lunchtime I would go to the Starbucks across the street and write for like, 30 to 45 minutes,” she said. 

There were days she hit the word count, days she didn’t, and days she played catch-up, writing several thousand words on a Saturday. 

Without a doubt, in one of my many writer groups I pop into online, there are at least a handful of writers excited, and also nervous, asking each other who is participating this year. Participating in NaNoWriMo is a great way to get a first draft down on your novel, as well as to meet a community of writers. 

So, why 50,000 words? “We’ve found that 50,000 words is a challenging but achievable goal for many people, even folks with full-time jobs and children. And, though on the shorter side, it's definitely long enough to be considered a novel: 50,00 words is about the length of The Great Gatsby.”

They define the word “novel” as “a lengthy work of fiction.” But participants can decide whatever it is they’re writing. “If you believe you're writing a novel, we believe you're writing a novel too.”

In the writer’s group I like to pop into, throughout the month people proudly post their word count for the day. Some post on the days they didn't have time to write or were unhappy with their word count— and you can just feel how angry and frustrated they get with themselves. But in this space, it’s okay to show some vulnerability because, luckily, you’re surrounded by fellow writers cheering you on!

Why would writers get themselves into this? There’s actually lots to benefit from by joining this race against time, such as learning what they are capable of achieving, making actual progress on the book they’ve been talking about writing for so long, building a writing habit—like with morning pages, which I wrote about here — connecting with other writers, being held accountable to reach a target goal, and in the end, gaining perspective on the writing process.

As per the NaNoWriMo website, “It’s also a social network for writers like Linkedin is for job professionals…or Facebook is for moms… It tracks words for writers like Fitbit tracks steps… It's a real-world event, during which 900+ volunteers in places like Mexico City, Seoul, and Milwaukee coordinate communal writing sessions in thousands of partnering libraries, coffee shops and community centres like…well, nothing else.”  

Hundreds of novelists have found success in traditional publishing houses, including Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen and The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern, Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell’s and Cinder by Marissa Meyers.

So how do you win? Well, you are your competition! You “win” National Novel Writing Month by writing 50,000 words of your novel. There's no limit on how many people can win! You get a virtual bag and some swag, which are mostly discounts for other writing programs.

If you do make it to that 50,000 word count? A purple “Winner” badge with fireworks will appear in your notifications. The only obligation is to pat yourself on the back for your hard work! Then, you can revise it on your own time, to self-publish, find an agent, or keep it for yourself. (Spoiler Alert! I won't say the exact percentage, but as excited as people remain about this challenge, the percentage of winners is less than 25%.)

They welcome writers at any stage (but not any age — you need to be 13 or older.) 

And if you crash and burn after week one, only having written one word? “Even if you end the month 49,000 words short, that’s 1,000 words you wouldn’t have otherwise.”

And although we are already in November, you can still join simply by backdating a progress update. Or gather a group of friends and hold each other accountable in your own private writing challenges! 

Speaking of challenges, if you’re an avid reader, check out these reading challenges you can take part in in the New Year.