NaNoWriMo 2006 signups begin.

Madison.

It's October. Though that certainly means a number of things: market produce undergoes a significant shift after the first frosts; blankets move from the closet to the foot of the bed; leaves begin to change colors, reds and golds that look brilliant in the evening sun. It also signals the impending arrival of National Novel Writing Month¹, the month-long writing fest that takes place every November.

For those who are unfamiliar with it, a few basics:

• NaNoWriMo takes place every November. This is its eighth year, and an estimated 75,000 people are expecteed to take part. This is in contrast to the mere 21 participants in 1999's inaugural event.
  
  
• The goal is to write a novel - defined as a fictional work of 50,000 words or more - during the 30 days of November. All of the actual writing has to take place in November, but associated activities, such as research, writing outlines, etc., are allowed at any point. Since just about everyone² writes their novel on a computer, the NaNoWriMo website takes care of the official wordcount verification.
  
  
• There is no prize for winning. Sure, you get a downloadable winner's certificate, an icon you can put on your website, and a purple wordcount status bar on the NaNoWriMo site, but the primary reason to attempt it is to succeed at a personal goal. Lying about it and fooling a word-counting robot aren't difficult to do, but that's like cheating at solitaire.
  
  
• This is a definite quantity-over-quality experience. In my experience, wooden characters, hackneyed story elements, horrendous spelling and grammatical errors, and abandoned plot threads are par for the course. Avoiding one's inner editor and writing for writing's sake is a critical key to success. Though I'm usually happy to lend out my manuscript after the event, I'm always sure to point out that it's awful. It's truly, truly awful, and that's an unavoidable side effect of the compressed time frame.
  
  That said, I can happily say that, of the past three times I've attempted this, I've succeeded twice. They may be pure schlock and rather incomplete, but I've written two novels.
  
  
• So many people attempt this that local groups have sprung up all over the world³, facilitated by the NaNoWriMo website forums. In addition to online and local support from fellow participants, there are forums devoted to tapping the vast collective brain of the WriMo community, like the 'Character and Plot Realism Q&A', which is where you can be sure that someone knows the answer to your obscure question⁴. Or can at least make up an answer convincing enough to keep you from having to do any actual research.
  
  
• It's both maddeningly difficult and giddily fun, sort of like a runner's high. For those willing to give it a shot, I wholeheartedly recommend No Plot? No Problem! by Chris Baty, the man whose marginally crackpot idea this was in the first place.

As for what I'll be writing this year, I haven't a clue. Every year, I end up batting around a series of half-formed ideas that get brushed aside once November arrives. Previous years' efforts have included: robots; car crashes; magical storytelling; road trips; hired assassins; and nattily-dressed terrorists. Among other things.

This year could have anything: zombies and post-apocalyptic wastelands; western-style gunfights and train robberies; space alien invasions; or awkward family holidays. Perhaps all of them. I have no idea what direction the novel will end up taking. I only know that it'll be hastily written, unashamedly formulaic, and both hilarious and cringe-worthy by the end.

I'm okay with that. For those who are also okay with that, I can only ask that you give it a shot.

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¹NaNoWriMo, for short; NaNo, for shorter. Those participating are called WriMos. Yes, I'm aware that it doesn't make perfect sense, but it works well enough.

²I'm one of the few not writing on a computer. I use my Olivetti traveling typewriter, which, despite its various problems, is my preferred fiction-writing tool.

³Yes, everyone at NaNoWriMo knows about the "National" thing and the vast array of international participants. It just rolls off the tongue so much better that way, in both its full and truncated forms.

⁴Such as: Could a chimpanzee drive a go-kart? What about an orangutan? Let's say it were running on biodiesel; would the smell of french fries be a serious impairment to the chimpanzee/orangutan's driving abilities?