OFFICIAL SITE

• Founded: 1999 in San Francisco
  Bay Area by Chris Baty and friends
• Participants in 1999: 21
• Finishers in 1999: 6
• Participants in 2008: 119,301
• Finishers in 2008: 21,683
• Words officially logged in 2008: 1,643,343,993

WHY WAIT ANY longer to write that novel you've had percolating in the back of your mind? National Novel Writing Month — also known as NaNoWriMo — begins today, and it offers the perfect excuse to take time out of your busy schedule to flex your literary muscles.

The challenge: Write a 50,000-word novel in 30 days.

Last year more than 119,000 people worldwide took up the gauntlet by officially registering at the NaNoWriMo site, but only 21,683 of them (18.2 percent) actually met their 50K goal. Among them were four current Uni students: sophomore Maia Gersten and juniors Jack Feser, Katy Metcalf, and Charlie Newman-Johnson.

In fact, the School Library Journal recently published an article about NaNoWriMo that featured comments from Newman-Johnson and Gersten about their novel-writing experiences.

The site's slogan — "No Plot? No Problem!" — emphasizes that any participant who writes a 50K novel by 11:59 p.m. on Nov. 30 wins, although the only awards actually given are an official "Winner" Web badge and a PDF certificate of completion.

But awards aren't the point of the challenge.

"They're not looking for the Great American Novel," explained Uni librarian Frances Harris.

Instead, the goal is to get people "writing at length rather than just the little bits and bytes in our e-mail messages," Harris continued. "It isn't a death-or-life purpose, but it's a great one."

How it all started

NaNoWriMo began on a modest scale in July 1999 when San Francisco Bay Area resident Chris Baty and 20 cohorts decided to devote that month to what Baty later described as a "noveling binge."

"Novel writing, we had discovered, was just like watching TV," said Baty in his brief history of NaNoWriMo. "You get a bunch of friends together, load up on caffeine and junk food, and stare at a glowing screen for a couple hours. And a story spins itself out in front of you.

"I think the scene — full of smack-talk and muffin crumbs on our keyboards — would have rightly horrified professional writers. We had taken the cloistered, agonized novel-writing process and transformed it into something that was half literary marathon and half block party."

Energized by that initial experience, Baty and his friends continued the experiment, putting it online in 2000. A year later, NaNoWriMo had gathered steam. By any measure, the results since then have been impressive:

• 1999: 21 participants and six winners (i.e., people who reached the 50K goal)
• 2000: 140 participants and 29 winners
• 2001: 5,000 participants and more than 700 winners
• 2002: 13,500 participants and around 2,100 winners
• 2003: 25,500 participants and about 3,500 winners
• 2004: 42,000 participants and just shy of 6,000 winners
• 2005: 59,000 participants and 9,769 winners
• 2006: 79,813 participants and 12,948 winners
• 2007: 101,510 participants and 15,333 winners
• 2008: 119,301 participants and 21,683 winners

One reason for the program's success is the way it values quantity over quality.

"Because of the limited writing window, the ONLY thing that matters in NaNoWriMo is output," according to the official site. "It's all about quantity, not quality. The kamikaze approach forces you to lower your expectations, take risks, and write on the fly.

"Make no mistake: You will be writing a lot of crap. And that's a good thing. By forcing yourself to write so intensely, you are giving yourself permission to make mistakes. To forgo the endless tweaking and editing and just create. To build without tearing down."

Baty is now executive director of The Office of Letters and Light, an Oakland-based nonprofit group that runs NaNoWriMo. The organization's goal is to provide people with the structure and encouragement they need to tap their creative potential.

NaNoWriMo at Uni

In November 2007, Linda Song — then a Uni senior — took part in the challenge and wrote a novel inspired by a 19th-century classic she had read in sophomore English.

"It's like a modern-day kind of 'Frankenstein' from a teenager’s point of view,” she told Gargoyle editor Shivani Khanna, who wrote about Song's accomplishment in an article titled "30 days and 30 nights."

Newman-Johnson eventually stumbled upon the article while he was visiting the Gargoyle site and became intrigued by the prospect of writing a novel of his own.

"I decided that if she could do it I could probably do it too," he said.

Not many teenagers are willing to take the plunge.

"Time [is a challenge] because of the homework load and all the extracurricular activities that Uni students are involved in," Harris explained. "[NaNoWriMo] requires a willingness to write without looking back. I think that would be a challenge for anybody, but for a perfectionist Uni student, that would be a special challenge."

Metcalf, who plans to use this year's NaNoWriMo to write her second novel, says the key is to enjoy the experience and not look upon it as another chore.

"Writing a novel really isn't as big of a deal as most people think it is," she said. "Last year I wrote every day and finished a couple days early. When I was stressed, it calmed me down; when I was in a good mood, my writing was wonderful and I felt even better. Even though it was a time drain, I really enjoyed it."

Not everyone was able to equal Metcalf's pace.

"You're supposed to write 1,600 words a day, and a lot of days I would write nothing," recalled Gersten. "By the end of Thanksgiving break, I had 45,000 more words to write."

A lack of inspiration pestered Newman-Johnson, who wrote about how two graduate students’ lives change when terrorism strikes their school.

"Fifty-thousand words is still a lot," said Newman. "Teachers are really piling on homework when we need to be finishing."

The attractions of NaNoWriMo — and some advice from veterans

On the flipside, NaNoWriMo offers an escape from the pressures of all that schoolwork.

"To students who participate, it unleashes the creativity or it gives them the permission to write, and write, and write, and not worry about intense editing pressure, so they can just spit it out," Harris said. "It's a good exercise because it's different from what they were usually asked to do for school."

NaNoWriMo gave Gersten a chance to write about two sisters who lead a tragic life before arriving in the afterlife.

"I had this dream once, and I'd always thought, 'Oh this would be such a great story,' but I never had time to write it," said Gersten. "Then I thought, 'I can do NaNoWriMo and I can finally write my story,' so that's what I did, and I had lots of fun with it."

Writing 50,000 words must earn you a pile of dough, right? Wrong.

"There's this awesome T-shirt [that I bought], and there's this certificate I printed myself, but it's mostly a sense of accomplishment," said Newman-Johnson. "My sense of accomplishment last year is knowing that this year I would be able to write a decent novel."

And the ink doesn't stop there. In October 2008, the self-publishing company CreateSpace teamed up with NaNoWriMo to offer winners a single, free paperback proof copy of their manuscripts. Winners have the option to use the proof to sell the novel on Amazon.com.

The quantity-over-quality approach has pitfalls, though.

"I'd like to publish this one, but it needs a lot of editing first," said Gersten. "Writing just to get words didn't give me such great-sounding sentences. And I had a lot of interesting plot quirks that need to be sorted out."

Any advice for future contenders?

"Not getting behind on your word count," said Newman-Johnson. "Pick a stride where you're sure you'll get 50,000 words out of it. Don't lose sleep over it. You can always either not finish or catch up during Thanksgiving break, and Thanksgiving break comes pretty much at the end."

Metcalf offered these suggestions:

a. Write every day. You're less likely to get behind, and you'll get yourself into good habits.

b. Have a plan. If you're making up your story as you go along, it will get disjointed and you'll be less happy with it.

c. Don't give up! If you have a really good novel idea on the 15th that you like so much more than what you're working on, write it down and save it for next year, but DON'T START OVER. There will always be an idea that's a little bit better than what you're working on, but if you keep restarting, nothing will ever happen.

d. Write spontaneously. Write at coffee shops and in barns and underneath trees and on roofs. You're more likely to be creative and have fun.

e. Don't worry! Don't look at your word count or page number. Write what feels right, and you're sure to finish.

To help first-timers, Metcalf and Newman-Johnson are organizing a Uni writers group for this year's participants. The group will meet once a week, probably on Fridays. Metcalf also plans to blog about her efforts.

NaNoWriMo officially began this morning right after midnight. To get things started, Metcalf and Newman-Johnson have organized a write-off: Whoever writes the most words in the first hour of NaNoWriMo will win a cake.

Harris, for her part, applauds any student who participates in the monthlong project.

"I think it's very Uni to take on something like that," she said, "so I think it really fits our particular student body. It hasn't really been on the radar because it's so ambitious."

Tips from NaNoWriMo Founder Chris Baty for the First Week of Writing

Excerpt from Maia Gersten's novel

Lani's sobs caused me to take a quick glance at her, before hiding behind the wall again. Her blue eyes were more frightened than usual, and her brown hair was up in a messy ponytail. Hot tears streamed down her face, stinging the cuts on her face from which I assumed the men had given her.

READING: Maia Gersten
Maia Gersten reads an excerpt from her 2008 NaNoWriMo novel, "A Ghost's Journey."
Click to listen (2:56)

Luckily, Lani was fully clothed, but cuts were still visible all over her body. I had never heard her sob so emotionally before. My heart began to bleed as I heard my little sister beg for mercy through her tears.

"P-p-please! S-s-stop! I-I'll do whatever y-y-you want! J-J-just let me live! Please!" Lani's voice cracked as she made her plea to her assailants. They simply laughed.

"Mitch, whadya think we should do about this?" The short man on the left asked the lead man, Mitch.

"Hmm," Mitch said as he moved the gun to different angles, still pointing at Lani. I saw Lani flinch every time the gun switched positions.

"I say …." I heard the gun click, and I covered my mouth to hide my gasp.

"We carry out our orders."

I tried to shut my eyes and cover my ears as quick as I could, but I was not fast enough. I heard the gunshot, loud as a clap of thunder, then the sickening sound of the bullet passing through Lani's body. I heard her scream out in pain, and then I heard the thunk of Lani's body hitting the floor. I saw blood splatter on the floor near me, and the spreading pool of blood from my sister's body. I couldn't help what I did next.

Witnessing what I had just witnessed, was so much worse than being told the news of my parent's murder. Try as I might, I couldn't stop the scream from building up in my chest then bursting through my mouth.

Alerted to my presence by my scream, the men proceeded to drag me out from behind the wall. The man with the light brown hair, the possible cute one, gripped my arm so tight, I cried out. He threw me to the floor, making me land in a pool of my sister's blood. This just made me cry and scream even more.

"Quit your hollering!" Mitch said as he kicked my side. His kick was harder and stronger than Barbara's, and I winced in pain, screaming out again.

"I told you to stop that!" Mitch yelled as he kicked me again, this time in the head. I moaned from the pain, then heard the dreadful click of the gun preparing to fire.

"Oh, God! P-p-please! D-D-don't! P-p-please!" I was reduced to begging for mercy, just as Lani had done.

Did my parents react the same way as Lani and I had? Crying, whimpering, pleading, and begging for mercy? Or were they strong, and stared death right in the eyes? Did they feel this overwhelming fear that encompassed my entire being as I realized my life would be over soon? Did everyone feel this right before they died?

I tried pushing myself up to all fours, and also tried to turn around so I could face my death face to face. But I found I barely had the strength to move, let alone turn around. I was left whimpering and begging to the staircase in front of me.

"You and your sister are so alike. You both beg for mercy like little babies. But I got a little something to tell you, missy."

A shot was fired, and hit me in my back. I screamed out in pain, as the bullet pierced through my skin, bone, and muscle. Never had I felt pain like this before.

"I never give mercy." Mitch finished talking, and then fired one final shot into my neck.

Please let it end quickly, was my last thought as the bullet shot into my neck, killing me. The world around me turned to black, and I died.

From the novel "A Ghost's Journey" by Maia Gersten

Excerpt from Katy Metcalf's novel

“Um … yeah …” he managed softly. A helicopter flew by overhead, the muffled
propeller beats echoed for a moment after it had passed. “The truth is, Val …”

“Yes?”

“The truth is I didn’t want you to go.”

“Well, yes, you made that quite clear.”

“No, I’m not done. I didn’t want you to go because …”

“Mmm?”

“I didn’t want you to go, Val, because I think I’m in love with you.” He breathed in sharply.

“Oh, Nikolai, do you really mean that?”

“Of course! I’ve never meant anything more.”

“Nikolai … I feel the same way.” She turned for the first time to face him, and her eyes were as blue and clear as a calm sea, and her cheeks were flushed. He knelt down next to her and bent forwards, closing his eyes, and slipped a hand around her waist. Valentine smiled slightly, and …

The sound of drunken shouting not far away woke Nikolai up. He shrugged his jacket over his shoulders in the yellow streetlight, and stood to leave. Stairwells were no good for sleeping. His hand tingled slightly with the dream–memory of Valentine’s skin, but she was somewhere else, far away. He frowned, pulled his jacket closer to his body, and began to walk.

From the novel "All the King's Horses" by Katy Metcalf

Excerpt from Jack Feser's novel

The door was very old and made of a rough wood that was so rotted and water stained that it was almost black. The knob was a huge hulk of rusted iron, warped and twisted by age and perpetual damp. Johnathan tried the handle and cursed; it was locked. He pulled a lock picking kit out of his back pocket. He had only a few minutes to pick the lock before the alligator came back and ate him. Luckily for him, the door was very old, and when his lock picking failed, he was able to kick a hole in the rotten wood of the door and open it from the other side.

As he walked through the door, he noticed several things. One, he realized that his earlier conclusion was correct, and he had found something really weird. The second was that he was about to be hit by a huge, hairy man with a really big stick.

From Jack Feser's untitled novel