CONNECT COMMUNITY
Dianne Yett (Gunma)
Finding Passion and Solace in the Pandemic This pandemic has challenged many people around the globe to reassess their day-to-day lives. It’s important now more than ever to find something that sparks joy in us. For me, that was the encouragement I received by joining the NaNoWriMo organization and community.
What is NaNoWriMo? National Novel Writing Month, or “NaNoWriMo” for short, is to writers what “Artober” is to artists: it is one month out of the year that writers from around the world each set a personal goal to write 50,000 words in the month of November. While most writers (like myself) choose to write novels, other writers can write literally anything they want, be it fiction, nonfiction, a memoir, a journal, a blog, a comic book, or a computer program. Whatever project requires words—so 94 |
long as it reaches 50,000 of them by November 30—is perfectly acceptable. That’s it! Seems easy enough, right? But, of course, writing is rarely that simple. Have you ever written a 50,000-word novel in a month? If not, then it must seem incredibly daunting! That’s where we fellow writers come into play. When you make a free account on NaNoWriMo.org, you can connect to a community of writers in your region, and around the world, who can provide you with support and encouragement. You can also find a wealth of tools and resources to help track your progress and improve your writing. I should clarify that NaNoWriMo.org is NOT a word processor, nor is it a website for showcasing your work. NaNoWriMo is also not a contest. Every writer that participates could theoretically “win” provided that they individually achieve the goal of 50,000 words. The reward for winning is the personal satisfaction of completing your first draft of a whole novel in the span of a month. That’s really impressive!
