NaNoWriMo time.

Many of you are probably familiar with this blog, since I've made one for the last two years running. Honestly this is probably what the bumping system is meant for now, but I haven't written a new blog in so long.

NaNoWriMo is an online, annual event which takes place throughout the month of November. It stands for National Novel Writing Month, and it is exactly what it says on the tin.

The aim of the game is to write a novel in a month. You set the word limit, you set the quality, you write whatever the hell you want to. Vomit onto your keyboard, it doesn't have to be good.

That's the great thing about NaNoWriMo. It doesn't need to be good in the slightest. Nobody will be judging you for creating a crappy story, because there's always gonna be loads which are much worse. The idea is to write a novel, not a good novel.

As such, there is no need for planning the details of the 2nd paragraph in the fifth page of the seventh chapter, no need for carefully building your dazzlingly handsome protagonist, and certainly not detailed plotting of the magical land of Aerodius. You are finding out your story as you write it, just go with the flow.

There's the Young Writers' programme, which is eligible for people aged 17 and under, or there's the main site, which is available for all ages. Note that just because you are 17 or under it does not mean you are not allowed to participate in the main one if you so choose.

The only difference between the two is the word goal. On YWP, you can set a word goal as low as you feel comfortable with, whereas on the main site you must aim for at least 50,000. It's up to you really. Both sites have thorough and populated forums on various topics on creative writing, so you have no excuse to be going through a writer's block in November. These forums are populated throughout the whole year, not just November, so even when the event is not going on it's still a valuable resource if you like this kind of thing.

The challenge is self-imposed, and flexible enough that you can be as serious or casual as you want. If you want to just sit back and write some wacky story that makes no sense, with no real worries about the writing quality, then there's a 'dare machine' on the front page of the YWP site, which will give you a random topic idea to write on for the next paragraph or chapter.

If you're dead-set on writing the next best-selling fantasy romance comedy tragic sci-fi epic, then that's OK too, you can use the time limit and personal word goal as motivation to finally get it onto paper. There are regular pep-talks and advice from already published authors, as well as individuals who went through the challenge last year and simply want to share their thoughts.

Throughout the month you can regularly update your account with details of your progress, so you can access statistics and see a fancy graph of your word-count over time. Fancy graphs are motivating.

Once you're done typing your glorious masterpiece, you literally copy/paste your entire novel into the provided online word-counter, and sit back and bask in the afterglow of NaNo that is having just written an entire novel in a month. Pretty rad.

You also get some "I completed NaNoWriMo" web badge and a PDF certificate or something, but they're not that amazing. Really you're in it for the achievement. Plus, it never hurts your chances at getting a job when you point out that you have in fact written an entire novel in the course of a month.

NaNo is a great way to let go of your inhibitions and try things that you may otherwise be too critical or harsh to consider decent. Once it's finished, you can close your novel and never look at it again (you'll probably never want to see it again anyway by this stage), or you could decide that you're actually onto the next Lord of the Rings here, and refine your story to become an absurdly popular and successful series of young detective romance demigod comedy dramas.

That's the great thing about NaNoWriMo. It's totally up to you. If you don't plan on leaving your room for a month, you should consider signing up, and seeing if you're up to the challenge.