National Novel Writing Month

November 1 2007 marks the beginning of the eighth annual (Inter)National Novel Writing Month, which means that there are still two weeks for you to sign up before the madness begins!

Every year, thousands of ordinary people from around the world (many of whom are writers, but even more who have never written anything before in their life) take part in NaNoWriMo, a hands-on writing adventure in which participants are asked to write a 50,000 word novel in 30 days. Pressure much? Don't worry: there are no losers. No official prizes, either, but on the other hand, you might just learn how to turn off that nasty inner editor who is stopping you from getting all those words down on the page until they're absolutely perfect ... you're going to change it all when it's finished, anyway. Write now, edit later.

Needless to say, NaNoWriMo is hugely community-driven. No one understands your novelling woes better than those of us who are going through the same thing. As usual, we will be holding a local kick-off party at midnight on November 1 and other write-ins throughout the month. Last year, we ran an unofficial writing competition with the team from Illinois, US. We're demanding a rematch this year, and every writer counts.

Visit http://www.nanowrimo.org for more information. Be sure to check out the Perth, Australia forum and say hi to the local community. Or email Perth's Municipal Liason, Elaine, at perth_australia@nanowrimo.org. See you in November!