And so it Begins

From: Steve Smith
To: (Undisclosed Recipients)
Subect: National Novel Writing Month
Date: April 8, 2006

You're receiving this e-mail because
1. You expressed some interest in participating in National Novel Writing Month,
2. You allegedly expressed some interest to somebody else in participating in National Novel Writing Month, or
3. I decided that you should participate in National Novel Writing Month.

Anyway, to refresh everybody's memory, National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) is a concept wherein participants attempt to write the fifty thousand word first draft of a novel within one month. It's supposed to take place in November but, for religious reasons, we're celebrating it in May.

NaNoWriMo exists because the most common problem people have in attempting to write a novel is that they'll get stalled somewhere, trying to get some passage just right. When you only have one month to get the thing done, getting things just right is a luxury you can't afford.

What I need from you is the following:
1. A yea or nay on whether or not you're in;
2. A yea or nay on whether or not you want posting rights on http://onemonthproject.blogspot.com, which will be this project's homepage, on which I'll post people's weekly word counts, and on which participants will be welcome to post online diaries of their NaNoWriMo experiences, and such-like;
3. An agreement to send me your word count for public display every Sunday of May; and
4. The names and e-mails of anybody else you think might be interested in this.

If you're in, I strongly recommend acquiring a copy of Chris Baty's "No Plot? No Problem!". Mr. Baty is the founder of NaNoWriMo, and his book is the definitive guide on how to succeed (it's also pretty funny). I'll be posting summaries and excerpts from the book on the One Month Project as the month goes on, but there's really no substitute for the real thing.

In any event, here's what participants need to know for now:
1. You may do all of the prep work on your novel you like, but you may not actually start the novel until May 1. Baty actually recommends that you not do too much prep work, lest you become too attached to your novel in advance of it being written, and too unwilling to make it shitty (unwillingness to churn out shitty writing is your enemy in NaNoWriMo).
2. As soon as you decide that you're in, you should brag to as many people as possible that you're writing a novel in May. The desire to avoid being the subject of jokes whenever the word "novel" is mentioned for the rest of your life provides something of an additional incentive to do this thing.

Good? Good.


Steve