As November begins, you’re probably getting over your candy hangover, waiting to gorge yourself on turkey and hit the stores. You may not know that November is host to a multitude of lesser-known but still exciting holidays.

From National Alzheimer’s Disease Awareness Month to National Cake Day, November has something for everyone. However, one holiday that holds a special place in creative hearts like mine is National Novel Writing Month.

An unconventional “holiday” if ever there was one, National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) began in July 1999 as an online competition, launched by freelance writer Chris Baty, who moved it to November the next year “to more fully take advantage of the miserable weather.”

Since its inception, the celebration has grown to support a large community, with hundreds of thousands of aspiring writers participating over the years. Most famously, is author Sara Gruen, who originally wrote Water for Elephants for this competition.

The rules are fairly simple. The competition opens at 12 a.m. on Nov. 1, and closes at 11:59 p.m. on Nov. 30, by which time, submitted novels must be at least 50,000 words. Authors can write in any language and any genre, from historical romance to science fiction. Writers can also get creative with the format ‒ writing fanfiction, epic poems or even a metafictional work that draws attention to the novel’s status as a work of fiction.

In addition, the site has teamed up with self-publishing outlet, CreateSpace, which gives winners five free copies of their manuscript to keep, sell and possibly parlay into a career.

National Novel Writing Month may be young and not have the stature of Thanksgiving but it’s a fun exercise that allows aspiring writers to stretch their creative muscles in a short period of time. If you’ve ever wanted to write a novel, treat yourself.

You can visit the official website at: http://nanowrimo.org/

******

Who: Aspiring novelists … Chris Baty

what: National Novel Writing Month

when: November

where: where is Baty?

why: ??? to promote new writers

how: by submission … how is it judge?

future: when are winners announced??

reason: to promote new writers

impact: ??? what is the impact on whom? 400,000 participants 2015

scope: novel contest …

countermove:

history: 1999 …but did anyone get published of the 16 previous winners?

Pierce Brenner

Entertainment Assistant

A&E

Headline:National Novel Writing Month: The Best November Holiday You’ve Never Heard of.

Word count: 335

As November begins, you’re probably getting over your candy hangover, waiting to gorge yourself on turkey and hit the stores. You may not know that November is host to a multitude of lesser-known but still exciting holidays. From National Alzheimer’s Disease Awareness Month to National Cake Day, November has something for everyone. However, one holiday that holds a special place in creative hearts like mine is National Novel Writing Month; that is, if they have heard of it.

An unconventional “holiday” if ever there was one, National Novel Writing Month began its life in July 1999 as an online competition launched by freelance writer Chris Baty, who moved it to November the next year “to more fully take advantage of the miserable weather.” Since its inception, NaNoWriMo has grown to support a large community, with hundreds of thousands of aspiring writers participating over the years. Most famously is author Sara Gruen, who originally wrote Water for Elephants for this competition.

The rules of NaNoWriMo are fairly simple. The competition opens at 12 a.m. on Nov. 1 and closes at 11:59 p.m. on Nov. 30, by which time submitted novels must be at least 50,000 words, but writers can go further if they wish. You can write in any language and any genre, from historical romance to science fiction. You can also get creative with the format, writing fanfiction, epic poems, or even a metafictional work that draws attention to the novel’s status as a work of fiction.

In addition, the site has teamed up with self-publishing outlet CreateSpace, which gives winners five free copies of their manuscript to keep, sell, and possibly parlay into a career.

National Novel Writing Month may be young and not have the stature of Thanksgiving, but it’s a fun exercise that allows aspiring writers to stretch their creative muscles in a short period of time. If you’ve ever wanted to write a novel, treat yourself.

You can visit the official website at: http://nanowrimo.org/