One Month, One Novel

Got a novel in you but don't think you have the time (or discipline) to get the words out of your head and heart and onto the written page?

If you think creativity likes company as much as misery does, check out this National Novel Writing Month web site. For the month of November, you can join others to meet a tough deadline: finish a novel in a month. The goal is to write a 175-page, 50,000-word novel by midnight Nov. 30.

As the web site says, NaNoWriMo is a novel-writing program for everyone who has thought fleetingly about writing a novel but has been scared away by the time and effort involved. It's a kamikaze approach, stressing quantity over quality, to force reluctant writers to get words down on paper, step back, and then edit.

The best part is the community of writers called "Wrimos" who meet throughout the month to offer encouragement and advice to each other. Last year, there were 59,000 participants, and nearly 10,000 of them hit the 50,000-word mark by the month's end.

A creative, talented friend tipped me off to the site, along with a spinoff called Drawmo, where would-be sketch artists will try to post a sketch a day on a Flickr thread.

Here in the East, November brings colder, darker days, and both these projects offer some soul-stirring nourishment during what can be a bleak time. My friend says she's not sure she'll post a drawing a day on Drawmo, but she has bought herself a new sketch pad and some freshly sharpened pencils.

What about you? If you need some encouragement to nudge a long dormant novel or art work to fruition, November could be your month.