100 sites for fiction writers: #25 - National Novel Writing Month

This is an ongoing series looking at websites that can be of help to fiction writers with their craft and career.

National Novel Writing Month

November can be a crazy month for some fiction writers and those who want to be writers. Since 1999, thousands have taken part in National Novel Writing Month (also known as NaNoWriMo). The very first such month was in July, but it was moved to November starting in 2000.

Are you not familiar with National Novel Writing Month? Here are the basics: Writers from around the globe sign up at the website, then make a pledge to write 50,000 words of a novel in the month of November.
Quite simple, though writing 50,000 words in a month is a hefty task for most people. If you reach the 50,000 words in one month, then you submit your writing for verification. Once your work is verified to meet the length of 50,000 words, you are given an electronic award which you can put up on your blog or website. There is no single winner because everyone who reaches the goal is considered a winner.

But that doesn't mean you have to wait until October or November to visit the NaNoWriMo site. This website has plenty to offer throughout the rest of the year, especially for beginning writers.

If you'd like to pick up some tips and ideas about writing, you probably want to pay a visit to the Forums. There you can learn much, but you can also just hang out and have a good time.

If you feel you need a boost in your confidence, head over to the Pep Talks area to receive some advice from authors.

Are there children in your house who show an interest in fiction writing? You might want to check out the Young Writers Program at NaNoWriMo.

If you'd like an online retreat, a digital place to get away from world and just write, write, write, there is also a NaNoWriMo writing camp called Camp NaNoWriMo.

And once you have completed a novel, what do you do then? For suggestions check out the I Wrote A Novel, Now What? section.

Whether you are a budding novelist or an old pro, this site can help keep you motivated and help to keep you in your writing seat and those fingers typing. Don't wait until near the end of the year to visit the NaNoWriMo site. And there's plenty more at the site than what I've mentioned, so don't forget to check it out.