November has arrived and with it, longer nights, cooler days and fading colors on the trees. But November doesn’t always have to be about withering or fading. Sometimes, November can be about creation and the making of something long percolating, and that is precisely what NaNoWriMo is about.

Have you heard of NaNoWriMo? It stands for National Novel Writing Month and what started in the San Francisco Bay area in 1999 has grown into a worldwide phenomenon that encourages anyone and everyone to sit down and finally write that novel they’ve been meaning to all these years. The goal for NaNoWriMo is to write 50,000 words in the 30 days of November. The organization has no supposition, however, that these 30 days of writing will produce a completed, polished, edited novel. The idea is to just get those who want to write, writing every day. And because what’s life without motivation, writers who register on the NaNoWriMo site can set up goals for word counts by certain dates and earn badges to keep them motivated throughout the month.

For those of you who are curious, or prefer to set smaller goals, here is the breakdown of how much regular writing would need to happen to reach NaNoWriMo’s goal:

• 12,500 words /week
• 50 pages / week (with a standard double-typed page of about 250 words)
• 1667 words / day
• ~6.5 pages / day
• at an average typing speed of 60 wpm, that’s about 30 min/day of writing (though that doesn’t account for thinking time….)

And because our regular readers know how much I love infographics, here are some tips from NaNoWriMo in infographic form:

 

Finally, if you still need that last bit of motivation to get in front of your legal pad, typewriter, laptop, journal, etc., here are some bestsellers that began as NaNoWriMo projects:

Night Circus by Erin Morganstern

A mysterious circus comes to town completely unannounced and only at night. In it two magicians, who were born and raised exclusively to duel in the circus, will ultimately fight in a battle to the death. Unfortunately, neither of them knows this as they fall deeply in love and must balance their performances with their desires as the fate of the circus and everyone in it hangs in the balance.

Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen

In a traveling circus during the depression, Jacob meets Rosie, an untrainable elephant for whom he is charged to care and Marlena, the equestrian star who is married to one of the circus’s trainers. The three bond over their desperate situation as they struggle for survival in this 3rd-rate circus.

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

College freshman Cath has been told by her sister that she needs to move on from the beloved fandom they once both shared as they grow apart. Cath copes with the difficult transition by writing fan fiction for the very fandom her sister has turned from. This terrific YA novel is about holding on and letting go.

Cinder by Marissa Meyer

This edgy, futuristic take on the Cinderella fairy tale, Cinderella is a cyborg, a master mechanic and blamed by her stepmother for her stepsisters illness. But her life soon becomes entangled to the planet’s handsome prince, pulling her into an intergalactic struggle that will lead her to uncover secrets to her own past.

It’s estimated 500,000 people worldwide will participate in NaNoWriMo this month.  So, till next week, dear readers, know that if you do plan to write this month, you’re in good company.