By: Stephanie Blair Photo Editor
National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) is a creative writing Internet sensation started by author and Stanford professor Chris Baty in 1999.
What started as a project undertaken by 30 people has now grown in both renown and participation, clocking in at over 325,000 registered “wrimos” around the world last November. In fact, participants can be found on six of the seven continents.
As stated on the official NaNoWriMo website, NaNoWriMo is “a fun, seat-of-your-pants approach to creative writing.” However, it’s not just a fun annual event; NaNoWriMo is also a 501(c)3 non-profit organization.
While companies such as Evernote, Kindle Direct Publishing, and Nook Press officially sponsor NaNoWriMo, participants are given the opportunity to fundraise for the non-profit programs as well.
NaNoWriMo has three nonprofit programs: Camp NaNoWriMo, the Young Writers Program, and the Come Write In (CWI) program.
The purpose of these, nanowrimo.org says, is “to empower and encourage writing and vibrant creativity around the world.”
Camp NaNoWriMo is a month long “virtual writing retreat” meant to help writers complete projects at any time of year, but with the same support and structure as NaNoWriMo.
“The Young Writers Program promotes writing fluency, creative education, and the sheer joy of novel-writing in K-12 classrooms,” the website states. More than 2,000 classrooms receive free classroom kits, writing workbooks, and other educational materials to assist in this effort.
The CWI program, which had 849 centers last year, is NaNoWriMo’s way to connect neighborhood spaces such as community centers, libraries, bookstores, and coffee shops with “wrimos” to create safe and supportive writing spaces.
CWI locations receive a “Come Write In kit”, which includes a window cling, a poster, and bookmarks to help promote the event. Additionally, NaNoWriMo connects CWI locations with others who are hosting events through an online forum, and local volunteers to help publicize, co-host events, as well as keeping the center informed about other events in the region.
This year, Western’s Writing Center, located on the third floor of the APSC, will be holding weekly meet-ups every Wednesday at 5 p.m. for “wrimos” on campus as a CWI center.
Among this year’s participants are “BookTube” stars Kat O’Keeffe (youtube.com/Katytastic) and Sasha Alsberg (youtube.com/abookutopia), as well as The Journal’s Managing Editor Katrina Penaflor, author of “Under the Surface,” and Staff Writer Emily Pate here at Western.
Although the month has already started, all who are interested are encouraged to join in. NaNoWriMo happenings, and more information, can be found on facebook.com/nanowrimo, twitter.com/nanowrimo, and nanowrimo.org.
