English sophomore Katie May wants to write a novel. But unlike most great American authors, she will try to do it in a month.
November is National Novel Writing Month, and May will join others across the country in writing a 175-page, 50,000-word novel beginning Nov. 1 and ending at midnight Nov. 31.
May said she learned about National Novel Writing Month from a friend at American University who e-mailed her the Web address to www.nanowrimo.com.
“Because of the limited writing window, the only thing that matters in NaNoWriMo is output,” the Web site says. “It’s all about quantity, not quality. The kamikaze approach forces you to lower your expectations, take risks and write on the fly.”
Melissa Goslin, a graduate student in English, said she participated last year, and though it was a good experience, the novel was “horrible.”
May said her strategy is to write 2,000 words a day for 25 days and spend the last five days editing and revising.
“I’m really excited about it,” she said. “I was doing a lot of writing last year and not so much lately, so I think it will be a challenge.”
Chat forums on the site allow participants to meet with others in their area, and Goslin said they also allowed for friendly and motivating competition about word counts.
In 1999, six people finished novels with the number rising each year – 29 in 2000, more than 700 in 2001 and around 2,100 in 2002, according to the site.
And though the site says its main motivation is to get people writing, some of the works have exceeded the mantra of quantity over quality.
Pinnacle Books published Jon Mertz’s 2001 National Novel Writing Month book, “The Destructor,” in March 2003. Also, two 2002 participants sold their manuscripts to publishers, according to the site.
The site has a suggested donation of $10 to help cover hosting and administrative costs, but participants do not have to pay to join.
National Novel Writing Month might not produce May’s first bestseller, but Jennifer Nuernberg, a graduate student in English, said it could be a great way to get ideas for the future.
Goslin and Nuernberg read some of the their work aloud and gave students, including May, tips about other ways to start writing at a brown bag lunch at the Women’s Center Wednesday.
“If you are interested in writing, don’t wait until grad school to start,” Nuernberg said. “Identify yourself as a writer now.”
Goslin said it is important to her to have a time and space dedicated to writing.
Goslin and Nuernberg stressed the importance of reading often and about anything. Goslin said keeping a reading journal, where she would respond to things she read that day, helped her discover why and how certain writers create emotion and effects in their work.
Nuernberg also said throughout working on her thesis she carried a journal.
“I’m much more descriptive [as a result],” she said. “Everything around you becomes material.”