Posted: 11/1/06 Section: Features

Media Credit: The Associated Press Participants of 2005's National Novel Writing Month in San Francisco, Calif., celebrate the competion of the 50,000 word novel, Nov. 30, 2005. [Click to enlarge]

Imagine trying to write a 50,000-plus word novel in one month. That would come to roughly 1,700 words or about five or six pages daily, which might not seem so bad until work, school, family and social life are equated into the picture. Still sound reasonable?

For the National Novel Writing Month organization, better known as NaNoWriMo, it's nothing short of a good challenge.

Created in San Francisco in 1999, NaNoWriMo is an outlet for writing connoisseurs and fans alike to get the opportunity to write a novel, meet new people and have fun. Starting Nov. 1, the organization encourages its writers to be as creative and imaginative as possible while trying to complete a 50,000 word fiction novel by midnight on Nov. 30.

With participants in 257 U.S. cities and 31 countries, Champaign-Urbana has its own chapter of eager and ambitious writers to boast, led by Municipal Liaisons Beth Anderson and Amy Stevenson, local volunteers who help organize NaNoWriMo groups.

"One of the things I really enjoyed when I first started was being in touch with people that were literary-minded," said Anderson, a third-year participant. "A lot of the people who try it aren't afraid to do new things."

During its last meeting before the competition started, the participants exchanged plot ideas, which were nothing short of imaginative. From creating mythology to science fiction involving chinchillas who implant microchips in peoples' brains, the creative juices flowed at the discussion table.

Despite being labeled a "contest", NaNoWriMo is anything but.

The Champaign-Urbana group holds write-ins two to three times a week during the course of the competition. Write-ins are a way for group member having trouble with plot points to seek advice from other members and to help with writer's block.

"You wouldn't think it would as useful as it is sharing your ideas with other writers," said Stevenson, a fifth-year participant and lab technician at the University. "But it is encouraging and a good resource."

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