Dark Dimensions #9

NaNoWriMo 2012

NaNoWriMo 2012

Written by GradyRichards

November is here, and writers all around the world are dusting off muses and cracking knuckles to get started on their next great novel. That's because November is National Novel Writing Month (or NaNoWriMo to us participants). The task may be daunting, but the challenge is simple: write a novel in 30 days.

Impossible, you say? Not exactly, though it certainly isn't easy. For those of us with jobs or classes to attend, writing 3,000 words or more a day—every day—for a month is a difficult goal to accomplish. And yet millions of us do it every November.

Luckily for those of us who lose our inspiration or motivation, there are many other writers out there willing to support us in our dash for a one-month-novel. By joining NaNoWriMo.org, you can get involved with other writers—locally or globally—and encourage each other to meet your thirty day goals. On the website you will find forums, meet-up events, even NaNoWriMo merchandise to flaunt around. But the website is just a tool; the real goal is your writing.

So have you been knocking around an idea for a new horror novel? I know I have. Let's take this challenge to sit down and bang out a manuscript this November, to achieve in a month what many can't achieve in a lifetime. Your novel doesn't have to be great, it doesn't have to sell a million copies in two hundred languages. But it does have to be written from November 1-30. Work out a strategy, set weekly goals, and get writing for NaNoWriMo 2012 so you can brag to your friends that you conquered a novel in thirty days.

And because we horror enthusiasts behind Dark Dimensions are avid NaNoWriMo supporters and participants, feel free to share your progress on the Dark Dimensions message board. Brag, talk trash, or seek some support. Just let us know that you are taking part in this annual challenge with us.