NaNoWriMo :: NaNoWriMo Blog

I'm unemployed now, the good thing is that I'll have time to write... this year will be my first!

It was my first Nano experience this year and I won! Yahoo! I took most of Dec 'off' and recently printed my 50,122 words. Quite impressive to hold all those pages in my hands and know that I wrote every word!

What an inspiring journey! For me, I would say having the 4 day Thanksgiving weekend made a huge difference in winning. I pounded out 20k words during that time.

Thanks for creating nanwrimo, all your inspiring emails, and the keeping it upbeat and fun. I'm from Saratoga CA (live in CO now) but find we have the same humor.

Julia

This was my second WriMo, and my first win. Last year, I was a month into my marriage, and a rather frail but glowing bride. I was taking a class and I had no job, but I managed to preoccupy myself with everything under the sun so that by the end of the month, I had around 5,000 words. What can I say? I was a happy bride.

So this year when the WriMo rolled around, and I found myself back home, my marriage a year old and only 3 months of that year spent with my husband, my world a cacophony of meaningless tasks and soul-sucking people, my environment detrimental to anything remotely linked to creativity, I was sure I would fail. I wasn't even going to bother trying. I had nothing but my self-loathing and the unrecognizable pieces of my former happiness. And then I found out that the winners this year would get a free proof copy of their manuscripts, and a part of me I had left for dead came back to life.

More than anything, I wanted that proof copy with my words and my story written all over the inside of it. I was rabid and practically foaming at the mouth for it, and it became the focal point of my entire disoriented universe. And I did it, somehow, through all the other stuff I should have been doing instead and all the horribly empty days that stood before me, laughing and promising more unhappiness, more misery, and more time away from my husband. Because even if all the circumstances in the world conspired to keep us apart, nothing was going to be able to stop me from getting that proof copy.

And that's why I won.

It was the first NaNoWriMo for me. What helped were the information and messages from Chris and his office, and the local support. Two library staff guided us every week, and will continue bi-monthly into the new year.

For me, it was the try, try again scenario. This was my fourth attempt at NaNoWriMo and my only goal was not to have a zero word day. I made it with time to spare, and actually wrapped up my story. Every year before I had days where I did not write even a single word. Making it the main goal to do SOMETHING every single day, well, it's hard to write just one word. Even a 100 is a 100 less to make up the next day.

NaNoWriMo will always be one of the highlights of my year. I've been doing it for four years now... almost a veteran!

I think one of the best taglines for the experience is what you wrote in the email I just received, linked to the blog post I'm replying to now – "exploring an attractive, improbable dream."

We wouldn't do this if we didn't think it was impossible. NaNo gives people hope, returns dreams to dreamers, and removes platforms to make everything seem achievable. If you can at least START, you can finish, especially if you're a normally productive adult individual in whatever profession.

This is person. This is sometimes private, sometimes public, sometimes impossible and exacerbating and horrifying, but ultimately fulfilling. I will always love NaNoWriMo for the fact that it can bring all these people – all these goals, all these private desires, and in the end, all these accomplishments – together in one place.

We might not have dared otherwise, so thank you, Chris Baty, and thank to what has become the NaNoWriMo team, annually providing for us. Thanks for what you're going to do with our donations. Thanks for supporting creativity in the world. Thank you for taking the time to inspire us all with pep talks, getting others to write those pep talks as well, and ultimately, for writing alongside us.

I appreciate it, and I'll never forget a single year that I've endeavoured to set out and complete the NaNoWriMo goal.

The numbers are interesting, sure, but the feeling of it, the desperate lunge toward that final hurdle – that's why most of us sign on again and again to complete this challenge and prove to ourselves that we are capable of doing something extraordinary. We can achieve a dream outside our dreary worklives or whatever we're up to. So the wordcount matters. So the whole world, WRITING, matters –

But we're all still here, still working, still winning or coming so close and smiling because we finally had this courage.

So finally, all I can say is... thank you very much. Thank you.

Here's to more productivity and "wins" in the future!

For many of us, November writing is a vacation from the hum-drum life of existing.

Once you start a novel usually the characters will not let you just end their lives so you have to keep on writing. This was my fourth year and I have found that the longer I do NaNoWriMo the longer the novels get.

My first year I made 50,015 and this year I finished at 78,000. If this happens to each participant then that is one reason why there are more words each year.

Sounds like a good theory anyway, I am sure there are many reasons and that is one.

I did not win this year. I heard about nano from my writing teacher last year but had not had time. This year I remembered, found the site, and signed up by accident but decided to do it any way–– on November 8th late at night. I did not even manage to write more than 500 words until the 12th, and all that set me up to fail.
What made me fail was a series of essays I had to do for school that counted for far too much of my grade. I ended up switching between writing an essay and working on my story which did not work well.

All that being said, I finished the month off 6,000 words short. I got that far mostly from the pep talks. If not for the emailed pep talks, I may well have never made it past 35K, or even 15K for that matter. They really made me feel like part of something bigger, and gave me something to enjoy about all of this.
I did not get to go to any write ins. No, not even one. I had to do every word of my writing sitting in my room between homework from lack of a ride any where and living to far away to walk. So the pep talks and the forums where all that really kept me going, since I had no writing buddy.

So thank you for the great month, for the pep talks, and the boards. I really enjoyed this November, and you will be seeing me there next year.

This was my 6th nano. Except for the 1st, I have won every year. This year, I hit 50,000 on the 16th. Wrote the words the end on the 17th.

What did it for me? The great support from those at the Office of Letters & Light would be a great starting point.

For my region, we had nearly a 50% success rate. I attribute that to the awesome group, but also the write-ins. We had a write-in every day except Thanksgiving day. We do sprints/word count wars every night. Some people are fueled by the competition, some are fueled by the companionship.

For me, I think it is a combo of the support that you, Chris and all the others provide. The e-mails were very supportive. I think it is the community that has been built.

Keep up the good work!

Mary

Well, I don't know about everyone else, but after a dry spell of loses for the past couple of years, I was determined to win. So I bribed myself with a present if I won (Nintendo DS that I had wanted forever) and the threat of being made fun of for the next year by my friends. Plus, i got really involved this year. I was first time ML, and it forced me to be really involved, which definitely helped.

I started writing on Nov. 5 and finished with 50,166 words three weeks later. the key was the deadline. It allowed me to "imprison" my internal editor and keep him there for the process. Usually, he wants fast editing after no more than two paragraphs. It was a great experience!

Thanks for the inspiration Chris.

This year one of my active NaNoWriMo communities on LiveJournal (NaNoLJers) asked who wanted to be on a team and then my team had buddies. The teams had word wars each week for bragging rites. The community had weekend word goals (like 5k or 10k for that weekend) that people had to meet to qualify for prizes. I knew my buddies were watching my word count so I didn't feel so alone.

Weekend or not, global resesion or not, historical election or not - that wasn't it for me.

I signed up in October 2006. Later that month my wife and I hit a deer on our Harley. I spent the last part of October, November and part of December in a coma or in physical rehab. So 2006 was a bust on writing.

2007 was a bust too as I was still battling deprerssion from my head injury (see 2006)

2008 - 1st try and 1st win. I needed to do it for me. I knew I could. I just set my goal on completing it.

Personally, I have no job currently, which meant I had little else to do to fill the days! I've had a pretty abysmal year and a half, too, so writing the first draft of a novel was something I desperately wanted to do for my own self-esteem if nothing else; my motivation was therefore quite high with plenty of time to allow it. Also, the novel I wrote was a full-length version of one I was posting casually to a blog of mine, so I already had a pretty good feel for my characters and story.

I finished two days early with a final count of just over 105,000 words. I've already started the labourious process of redrafting, so time will tell now what becomes of it!

This is my third NaNoWriMo and my second winning year. I failed miserably the first year through lack of self-belief. The second year I battled on and won against all the odds, fitting it in around life etc. And this year, I almost gave up half way through. It's been a difficult year. The only way I was able to guarantee to achieve the 50k goal was to write a regular amount every day, and for one reason or another, I started to fall behind. Events in my personal life started to take over, making it impossible to write my daily target. And I started to fail.
For me, it was those emailed pep-talks that constantly pulled me through - the feeling of being a part of a huge writing community, everyone sacrificing time and effort to reach the elusive 50k. So I pulled myself together and wrote harder, wrote more, increased my daily goal, enforced a writing regime where the writing was as important as everything else .. and I did it! I achieved my 50k EARLY!
One other, very special reason for wanting to be a winner again this year, is that my daughter was doing NaNoWriMo too . She had been the person responsible for my NaNo inititation - and this year we were writing together - almost neck and neck all the way, and we would each will the other on to win.

We were both NaNoWriMo 2008 winners through sheer determination.! Yay!!

I think that as possibly, in the first years there was this incredible exponential growth. Now, total growth has slowed down to steady (rather than exponential) growth...
but the people that join are people who are serious and determined to finish!

2008 was my fourth year doing NaNoWriMo and my second year reaching 50k. The first year I reached the 50,000 word goal. The second year I went in kind of cocky and fizzled out at less than 7k. Third year real life distractions and a lack of focus kept me at a measley 10k.

What was so different about 2008?

I think for me it was going in with a determined mind and spirit and with a game plan of what I wanted to accomplish.

One of the reasons I love NaNo so much is that it prooves that if you set your mind to doing something you can get it done. And that's what it was about for me this year; challenging myself to reach that goal.

Also, as a member of the Maryland region our friendly competition with Seattle kept me motivated to keep writing every day. This year, more than any other, I felt a sense of community. I reached out to other NaNo's and we supported each other to reach our goals.

2008=NaNo success.

Determination and better prioritizing were the two factors that have eluded me in past years.

This is my third year attempting NaNo and my first win. I made a lot of excuses in past years for why I didn't have time to write (starting new full time job, new house, hosting Thanksgiving, etc.); my progress (or lack thereof) is a reflection of that. I was determined not to make this year a repeat of those past tries.

I began mentally preparing in early September and twitched through October while impatiently waiting for November 1st to roll around. My story is a sequel to a novel that is half-written, so to to satiate my impatience and to get into the proper mental frame of mind, I wrote a couple of end-of-story chapters to prepare. The first weekend was entirely committed to NaNo, and the high word count achieved encouraged me to keep going.

I made sure all "distractions" were in hand, and also broadcast that I was a participant on my blogs. This inspired friends to join, making this the first year that I had writing buddies who shared in my miseries.

I carried my laptop with me everywhere. On my lunch hours at work, I'd visit nearby coffee shops (it's Seattle so we're always a stone's throw from the java) to write. I get home pretty late and am usually exhausted, but I pushed myself to spend at least an hour each night writing.

In the end, I reached 50,000 words in about twenty one days and had 60,000 by the end of the month, which completed my novel. I slacked off during that final week; otherwise, I could have easily written more. And, most surprisingly, I found I could still have a life while still keeping my writing a priority!

I'm so grateful for this experience! Thank you! Thank you!

It wasn't me that wanted to win, but my characters.

My novel started out as a dream about a week before we were do to start. I wrote out what I thought would be the plot. Notice I said what I thought the plot would be. The dream was so strong with me that I still remembered it after a week! When I sat down at my computer and a soon as my fingers touched the keyboard, they started moving of their own volition! I was typing my characters were leading me where they wanted to go. It was amazing. Not one bit of writer's block. No fumbling for words. I wish everything I write was as easy as this novel was. I think this one is a keeper. It will be polished to a shine and set loose on the world to find a publishing home. Wish me luck everyone, as I wish all you hard working writers the same luck.
Happy Holidays
Sherry

I imagine many more people than just myself will consider the horrific economy as one reason for more winners. I mean when we can't exactly afford to eat out, drive, shop... what else is there to do? ;)

I've heard of NaNo for at least two years before this. I would see people and their status bars and think, wow. That's a lot of work. I've always lacked the motivation to do things and I hate to lose or not live up to my expectations, and so the best way to avoid that is not start something.

This year, I decided, you know what? I'm going to do it! I've been sitting on this story since High School and have this half written outline that I forgot I had. I thought about it and wrote a little in my head, but that doesn't solve anything. I decided I was ready and bit the bullet and told my f-list on LJ and they were all on board. They asked me my word counts, congratulated me when I reached goals and gave me positive support when I didn't make goals and started falling behind. They all believed in me, and so when I crossed the finish line on the 29th and made my victory post, they all popped up with sparkles and '8D' faces and made me feel that whole month was worth it, not just for myself, because I believed in me and so did they. I felt really accomplished.

I didn't find it as hard as a lot of people seem to. I think the only times I had problems was when I hit road blocks and it wasn't flowing as smoothly. Those were usually the times that, without a concrete goal, I would have stopped and ho-hummed and never went on, but forcing myself through them this time was a big milestone. By this time next year, I hope to have completed this book and have the sequel ready for the next NaNo to come!

well this is the first time i have ever done this but i was just bored and tried something for fun. it was not easy but after a while, i would just keep using my imagination and keep typing, and that helped. i would definitely do it again because it was not as easy i thought it would be but still just as gratifying and fun at the same time

When you have as much rain, drizzle, and generally ugly weather as we have in Seattle, you have two options: Go crazy, or get a hobby. Consider the possibility that we have an abundance of people choosing both paths - simultaneously; they're called writers.

I came up short this year (horribly so) ... but that's another story (novel?).

... I will be back with quieter resolve ...

Well, I'll let someone else review and analyze all this feed back to figure out what why - so here's my personal reasons.

I signed up in Oct. 2006 and later that month my wife and I hit a deer on our Harley. I spent part of November and Dec. of that year in a coma and recovering in the hospital.

Last year was still recovering and dealing with new job and depression.

This year it was, I needed to accomplish it because...
1. It helped me continue my recovering from the accident
2. I loved writing in Star Trek Sim groups, but wanted my own universe
3. Had always wanted to write a book
4. Knew I could do better than most of the stuff on TV
5. I knew I could do it

First I made it clear that nanowrimo was my project for the month.

Once started, I quickly learned to ignore my internal editor and just keep churning the words out. The resulting novel sucks, but later I might sift through it for short stories.

After a while I developed a system using a timer, the ticking of which reminded me to keep going rather than stop and think too hard. I also used it to remind me to return to writing after breaks otherwise I'd go on reading.

Since nanowrimo finished I've barely had time to write because of catching up on the life stuff that went on hold.

Still, I'm glad I found the system with the timer.

Cheers
MorvaShepley

I'm italian and I was in New Zealand in march and I bumped into your book and I bought it out of curiosity.

In october I had no idea what could happen, if I was going to write or not... then the day before the start I had an idea for the story and.... it simply happened!

In the beginning I was shy, I did not want to show my ideas, but then, suddenly, the story was involving me so much that I could not do but write what the whole project imposed me (it was not just a character, it was the whole world of the story that obliged me to go on).

I have to thank you! When I was a child and a teenage I used to write a lot, then I quit. This november I started again and it's like going on a bike. Once you have known how to, you cannot forget!

Thank you! See you next year and... as many of my friends have been quite curious about it, I bet next yera some of them will be part of the thing!

P.S.: I have to thank even who suggested me to use "write or dye". Running I think helped me let ideas flow!

This was my 4th year doing NaNo but my first win. For me it was the fact that it was the first year I didn't get horribly sick with the flu during November. And I learned a new writing technique that had alluded me for years...keep writing. When I got lost or confused in my story I would just line break and start somewhere else in the story. I kept going. I wrote almost every single day and after Thanksgiving I was in the green almost every single day. I finished with 51k words despite my computer crashing the day after Thanksgiving and having to reformat. I'm very proud.

You can thank my friend SJ for getting me into this! I'd never heard of it before but she said Give it a whirl and it looked fun so I did!

It's so freaking liberating writing without editing, losing the whole "what would someone else think?" mindset and just GOING FOR IT! You can produce so much when you're not constantly checking it over.

For me, having to fit a daily word count in around my shift work meant I really made an effort. The last week of November I was on my eight day block at work so I managed to hit 50K towards the end of the last week of November, which was cool. And very satisfying. And now I have 55K worth of ms to edit and rework and do something with!

What's more - I bunged about 35K worth up on the Authonomy website for a giggle and it's done really well for an unedited first draft. In fact, Harper Collins are putting the pitch in a brochure to wave at other editors and publishers. OMG - that took me quite by surprise! Part of an unedited first draft! Clearly has some potential...

So Chris, what you said about exploring dreams is so true! I love my job (I'm a CSI) and it does take over my life, but it's also given me writing material. I've taken leave for all of February - my NanoNovel is going to get my time then and we'll see where it ends up.

I will try to be back next year but I might also be sitting forensic exams at Uni so we'll have to see!

Thanks for the fun, the time, the motivation, the chance!

When I began writing years ago I wrote 13 unpublished novels. I was living in Hawaii and left all the novels when I learned my brother was dying in Ohio. When I returned home all the novels had been lost. After that I began writing nonfiction books. I did write The Man Who Loved Funerals in three days with the International Pulp Writing 3 Day Contest and a few romance novels with a friend. I kept wanting to write a novel but a strange writers block stopped me. NaNoWriMo freed me and I wrote Dancing On Water.
thank you so much.
Maryanne Raphael

I'm pretty sure that the only reason we hit suck a dramatic spike was because I entered. 1/1 is 100%, even higher than our average of 18.3%.
If only everyone was like me?

This is my twelfth year as an English teacher and first year with a section of creative writing. When I found out a couple of weeks before school started that I would be teaching this class, I had NO CLUE how to go about it. I spoke to a few other English teachers and did some oneline research, which is when I discovered NaNoWriMo. Teaching inner-city high school has its special joys and frustrations - one of the frustrations is the number of students who read and write significantly below grade level; one of the joys, the willingness of my students to work.

When I first introduced the idea and had all of the students sign on the website one day, I think they thought I'd lost my mind. The class has students from all grade levels, so I set minimum word counts per grade level: 9th = 10,000; 10th= 15,000; 11th=20,000; 12th= 25,000. At first, the students were a little intimidated by the word counts, but most soon got into the swing of things. Of the 34 students in the class, 17 of them met their words wounts and 5 of then exceeded their word counts. I posted the chart, created certificates of achievement and of participation and had a little party the first week in December - all of the school administrators signed the certificates, and the principal attended the ceromony.

I could not be prouder of my students who really did an excellent job. Even students who did not meet their word count wrote more in the month of November than they ever have before - especially the 9th graders.

I'm really looking forward to next year.

Angela Cobb
Compton High School

What kept me from signing on in the past was always my fear of having to turn down a translating job during November. This year I decided to bite the bullet...and on October 24, a client approached me with a well-paying job, but he apologized that it had to be finished by October 31. Is this some kind of message from on high or what?
OK, I'm slaving away on the translation and still have far to go. Now it's October 30, and I have to take time off to take my dog to the parking lot of our Regional Council, where the vet will be giving rabies shots. This is most inconvenient, especially since I've just wasted an hour and a half looking for an elusive translation in all my dictionaries and all over Google. One of my neighbors, call him Sam, is everyone's guru when it comes to grammar (the topic of my translation). Casting my eyes heavenward, I suggested that it would be nice if Sam just happened into the parking lot.
You know the rest. Except that I only started nanowrimo on November 3, but had it not been for Jinja's rabies shot, it'd've been lots later than that!

This is the first year I've competed. Funny thing is I'd never heard of it until about a week before the contest. I happened to come across a link to the website on Writer's Digest. I went to the NaNoWriMo website and read a little, saw Chris Baty's book - went out and bought it the very same day - and got really inspired. Writing has been a dream of mine for a very long time. I don't think I would have ever known I COULD write a complete novel without finding Chris's website, buying the book and taking on the NaNoWriMo challenge. Thank you so much!! I hit 50,000 words on Nov 31, at about 8:00 p.m. - at 2:00 pm I had about 5,000 to go and did not think I would be able make it. Sheer determination and Chris's inspiring words helped me through it - and luckily my family was willing to put up with me and my crazy endeavor.

Thanks ~ Frog_Flowers

This year, I did NaNo with a ton of friends from this one site I frequent. The entire thread is of us encouraging each other, sharing our woes, complaining, and most importantly (at least in my eyes) we threatened each other with (virtually) dire threats about flinging poo, waking up homeless if we didn't make our daily word count (Thanks, Luna! :P haha), and anything else that was ridiculous and came to mind.

I think this year's difference is that we actually DID do it together.

(and, to set my euphoric perceptions aside, it's probably also just that more and more people hear about this event every year. I know I tell everyone about it.)

My motivation was age. Turning 66 in less than two months, I wanted to be sure if next year never comes; I did it. Also, I have important information and a unique concept for getting people involved in the concerns for victims becoming survivors of domestic violence/rape sexual assault. I write suspense novels involving the issues, emphasizing women who become strong and are overcomers.

I wrote a book on the journey of a victim becoming a survivor. In my passion to write I have completed nine novels and now the NANOWRIMO novel. Using real life events of the underground and advocacy for victims, I was able to get that "one more time" inspiration from the encouragement and passion of the November experience.

I have just put two books into professional editing for publishing. My NANOWRIMO was 70,008 words in 21 days. I hope you will see me next year; and you will if I still have a breath in my body and a thought I can control in my mind.

Thanks to the staff of the NANOWRIMO for excellent results due to excellent committment on their parts; and a manic work ethic I am sure.

I have placed this book on your first of the 50,000 words I have not heard from anyone about this, I put it up there just before thanksgiving, and never heard from anyone. what is wrong? thanks

This year was my first NANOWRIMO - I only found out about it in October via friends on a creative writing course. I did it as a personal challenge - I'd only ever written short stories before and wanted to see if I could write more than 4000 words! I did, I wrote over 61k and finished on the 25th. It was our university NANO group that kept me going but I found the NANO pep talk emails did tons to spur me on.

Many thanks to everyone at NANOWRIMO - will definitely be doing it next year too.

I couldn't get a full time job this year - semi-jobless gave me so much time to write it was a piece of cake to get the word count. And it felt more productive than playing video games.
If there are a lot more people in the same boat, that would contribute to NaNo's high success rate.

This was my first nanowrimo, having been persuaded to do it about 3 days before it began by a fello nanowrimo writer. She ranted to me about how good it was, and as someone who starts to write lots of things, but often leaves them, to start on yet another one, the idea appealed to me; the permission given to write badly, to not get so hung up on plot holes and just get a rough draft finished in a month.
However I'd have never got through it without her constant support, we were e-mailing everyday seeing how eachother was doing, discussing plot problems and bouncing ideas off each other from our perspective stories. We had writing sessions, using msn to keep tabs on each other, it helped spur on the word count when I knew someone else was doing the same thing at the same time. And if I ever had any weird moments of not knowing how to continue, it was good to have someone more experienced to give me tips on how to continue.
Also the pep talks were a big help, they always seemed to come at just the right time and they were certainly a factor on me being a 'winner'.
Another thing that helped me was giving myself a daily target to reach, I generally aimed for 2000 a night, but as time went on and I gained momentum this went up to 2500, then to 3000. I work better with short term aims : )

I'm already itching to edit, but am giving myself a bit of time away from it and instead doing a bit of notemaking and sketching in preparation for the edit.

Congrats to everyone who passed the finish line. Seven people in our writing group chose to participate in NaNoWriMo for the first time this year. We e-mailed each other daily, pushed each other over hurdles and all passed the finish line. The inspiring e-mails sent out from NaNoWriMo were perfectly timed. Each one I opened covered exactly what I was struggling with that day. Having writing buddies definitely helps to keep you going. I believe we each have a story which will be worth working on for publication. It will be fun to read the outcome at our critique sessions. Surely DFW has enough writers to challenge Seattle next year. . .

Have a double hernia right after election day. That gives you lots of leisure time during November. Plenty of time to write 2,000 words every day. You can write while you reflect on the meaning of the election, the mess we're all in, and the terrific opportunity we all have to start over to make a better world.

I think the 5 weekends did help, and next year we'll need a big hand, as November starts on a Sunday so there's one day less at the weekend for us to do our writing! Chris we'll need a big push!

I only took part because I happened to see an item on the local news here in the UK (West Midlands) and I'm mad enough to seek the unusual. Also as a carer I needed something to take my mind off the house adaptations they were doing for my young disabled son - I know, I know, it's as if I didn't have enough on my plate, but it kept my mind off most of the worrying, although my suddenly going blank for a week didn't help. It was a bit like stage fright, I couldn't think of anything, even though I could talk about disability and caring till the cows come home!

So next year, how about an extra boost for NaNoWriMo by NaNo issuing a press release to intending participants so we can all pass it on to our local and national media? That's what some national support organisations do - issue a press release for members to email, send, or pass on to anyone they know who has a bit of clout and that get's a bigger profile for the organisation!

And thanks to the MLs and everyone else who started things off and kept things on the boil. We couldn't do without you.

So, let's make it an even bigger 2009!

This was my second year participating in NaNoWriMo. Last year I was only able to get to 10,000 words; this year I was determined to reach 50,000 no matter what. I didn't want to wait another year to try again. I work out full time and am a mother and a wife to a middle school science teacher, so life is a bit hectic in my house. I was only able to write maybe three days a week, but I made the most of those days. By 2am on the last day, I reached over 51,000 words. :) For me, it was just sheer determination.

This was my second year participating in NaNoWriMo, last year I wrote a mere 5000 words this year I won. The difference for me this year, accountability to others. I told my kids and my son was the best coach anyone could ask for. He checked my daily word count, assisted when I felt stuck and reminded me that I could do anything if I set my mind to it. He also threw in my face my own words of wisdom that if you make a commitment you must uphold it. Thanks to my son I earned my distinction as a NaNo "winner". It was a great creative endeavor and I am thrilled to have a hunk of words to work with.

Just a phrase...
NaNoWriMo rules!!!

I just wanted to tell you how I used this in my classroom. I teach a middle school EBD, self contained class. For the month of November everyone attempted to write as long of a story as possible. I had one child make it up to 2000 words, approximately. The rest made it over 1000. I was thrilled. For the month of December we are editing our novels.
In my class journaling is and part therapy part education. The Novel this year, worked out kinks in both areas.
I myself made a very poor attempt at a novel which turned into a 37 line free form poem. Then I lost interest. So my students did better than I did, which delighted them.
Thanks for the inspiration,
Brenda

This was my first NaNoWriMo. The weekend start did help, but my normal writing pace allowed me to be a winner. Several friends of mine also won, but two of them had become recently unemployed and had a LOT of time to work on it.

It was the e-mails without a doubt. I don't know if you had as many last year, because I'd not done it before. They made me continue my ridiculous story at the beginning. They made me do enough so I didn't want to give up.

Thankyou.

I came upon this challenge in mid-November while surfing the website of my local library. I had heard of this several years ago but I did not know it was an annual event.
My novel in progress has been stuck in idle, so I plugged all of my work in and added some more, alas - starting midway through the month made the mandatory word count a daunting task. However - it did kick start my brain and I have been making notes and doing background research for said novel.

Per Chris's letter I already do wrestle bears of a financial, social, emotional, and spiritual nature - and that takes time from my writing. The bears will have to hibernate for awhile so I can passionately write this winter. Magical forces will turn this hobby into a habit.

For me, it was the first NaNo.
I joined, because some friends of mine had participated during the last year and were always very enthusiastic about the event.
Besides, I needed to do something for myself.

At the time Nano started, I was totally wrapped up in work and thoughts about the real world, money and other "grown- up things".
I felt, like I just HAD to do something, anything creative, and Nano felt like a great opportunity.

I wrote almost every day. It helped a lot to watch my friends' wordcounts to keep myself going.
I'm still not finished with the book, but I'm working on it on a dail basis.

I'm already looking forward to next november.

Free your mind and the rest will follow ;) !

Best wishes to everyone at Nano and all fellow- participants,

Sylvia from Munich