This little entry is to give you a brief history of what NaNoWriMo is. That way, you can have something to distract you from the men participating in No-Shave November. There's only so much hair a human being can take. Now, without further ado, here's a brief history of NaNoWriMo.
First off, some of you are probably wonder what the hell NaNoWriMo is. NaNoWriMo is the abbreviated version of "National Novel Writing Month." Writers of all kinds take this month to challenge themselves to write as many words as they can in a month. Others take it literally and try to pump out a novel in that month. This doesn't take editing into account. Otherwise, I could see it being National Novel Writing Winter; which really doesn't sound bad at all. I'd be game.
The very first NaNoWriMo took place in San Francisco in 1999. A group of 21 people got together, probably brought a lot of junk food, and made a night of it. They wrote like crazy. After they were done, and everything was edited, they published what they worked on that month. In their words, it wasn't really horrible, but it wasn't all that great either.
In the second year of NaNoWriMo, things really took off. A professional website was built for the event. Those 21 people participated the year before took the URL and sent it out to friends, who sent it out to their friends, making the number multiply to 140 people participating. They weren't just from the California area either. Some were participating as far as Canada.
This second year was the year where the guidelines were born. Mainly the main guidelines...
1. Must be original work.
2. Cannot co-author a book.
3. Must be a novel
4. Must be submitted in the nanowrimo website. (Though I must admit, the website guideline is new to me.)
As the years went on, NaNoWriMo grew more and more. The third year saw over 5,000 participants with the help of blogging. A PayPal account was set up to accept donations from participants, and the creators started making revenue by coming up with T-shirt designs and mugs. The media was also catching wind to this literary revolution. Anyone from The Los Angeles Times to CBS News was latching onto the story of a new revolution in writing.
For fourteen years now, NaNoWriMo has been gracing November with its presence. November tends to be a miserable month, so NaNoWriMo is a way to help with the miserable weather. I, myself, discovered this little gem two years ago when I stumbled upon a friend's facebook. I'd seen the word plastered across her facebook so many times I finally went to her and asked her about it. Intrigued, I decided to try it. If nothing else, it would prompt me to finish Prophecy, what you all know as Masked Omen. (Which I have no trouble promoting anywhere I go! CreateSpace and Amazon are where to buy them! Go forth and buy the book!)
And that is the story of NaNoWriMo! Of its origins, of course. If you want to read more about the history of NaNoWriMo, or if you want to sign up for the webstie, itself, just click on the colored NaNoWriMo.
And, of course, your awkward picture of the day!
In the second year of NaNoWriMo, things really took off. A professional website was built for the event. Those 21 people participated the year before took the URL and sent it out to friends, who sent it out to their friends, making the number multiply to 140 people participating. They weren't just from the California area either. Some were participating as far as Canada.
This second year was the year where the guidelines were born. Mainly the main guidelines...
1. Must be original work.
2. Cannot co-author a book.
3. Must be a novel
4. Must be submitted in the nanowrimo website. (Though I must admit, the website guideline is new to me.)
As the years went on, NaNoWriMo grew more and more. The third year saw over 5,000 participants with the help of blogging. A PayPal account was set up to accept donations from participants, and the creators started making revenue by coming up with T-shirt designs and mugs. The media was also catching wind to this literary revolution. Anyone from The Los Angeles Times to CBS News was latching onto the story of a new revolution in writing.
For fourteen years now, NaNoWriMo has been gracing November with its presence. November tends to be a miserable month, so NaNoWriMo is a way to help with the miserable weather. I, myself, discovered this little gem two years ago when I stumbled upon a friend's facebook. I'd seen the word plastered across her facebook so many times I finally went to her and asked her about it. Intrigued, I decided to try it. If nothing else, it would prompt me to finish Prophecy, what you all know as Masked Omen. (Which I have no trouble promoting anywhere I go! CreateSpace and Amazon are where to buy them! Go forth and buy the book!)
And that is the story of NaNoWriMo! Of its origins, of course. If you want to read more about the history of NaNoWriMo, or if you want to sign up for the webstie, itself, just click on the colored NaNoWriMo.
And, of course, your awkward picture of the day!
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