Part writing
boot camp, part rollicking party, this November USA-based National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), which is
actually an international event, celebrates its 18th year of encouraging novelists
to get cracking, through the largest writing event in the world.
This year,
NaNoWriMo expects nearly 500,000 people to start a 50,000-word novel guided by the theme: Your Novel, Your Universe.
Grant
Faulkner, Executive Director of NaNoWriMo, says. “Too many people think they’re
not a ‘creative type,’ but to be human is to be a ‘creative type’. NaNoWriMo
teaches you to believe that your story matters, to trust the gambols of your
imagination, and to make the blank page a launching pad to explore new
universes. That’s important because when we create, we cultivate meaning. Our
stories remind us that we’re alive, and what being alive means.”
Last year,
NaNoWriMo had 431,626 participants from six continents – numbers were
unavailable for entries specifically from Asia - and more than 40,000 met
the goal of writing 50,000 words in a month.
This year,
participants will be inspired by weekly “pep talks”, from published authors,
including Jenny Han, Alexander Chee, and Maggie Steifvater. NaNoWriMo has also
partnered with USA-based We Need Diverse Books to provide participants access to advice from authors including Heidi Heilig and Nita Tyndall.
If NaNoWriMo wants diverse books, let's make sure they get some, from Asia!
