NaNoWriMo writers race against time

The mission: to write 50,000 words in one month. So far 24 students at George Mason University have publicly accepted that challenge, according to Laura Scott, academic coordinator in the English Department.

The National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) is an event occurring around the country during the month of November, challenging participants to write a 175-page novel by midnight on Nov. 30.

“It’s a way of finding a writing community for people who may not have access,” said Scott.

The Mason English department has been involved with the event for four years, although students in any major are encouraged to participate.

“Writing a novel in a month inspires incredible confidence in seasoned and first-time novelists alike,” said NaNoWriMo’s national program director, Lindsey Grant.

The event is the world’s largest writing challenge with 165,000 participants last year. There are no judges or prizes. An additional aspect making the event unique is that the writing project generally focuses on quantity, with quality coming as an end result.

“When you write for quantity instead of quality, you end up getting both. Also, it’s a great excuse for not doing any dishes for a month,” said the event founder Chris Baty.

According to Scott, people tend to start energized but hit a wall in the middle of the month, and by the end of the event they have either reenergized or given up.

Mason alum Greg Hill (BA Sociology 09’) is participating in the writing month although he has not started writing yet.

“I start this weekend and go from there,” Hill said. “I wanted to express certain creative writing ideas I had in the past.”

As the days tick away and December gets closer participants will be feeling the pressure. According to Scott the challenge is an “athletic event for your mind.”