NaNoWriMo

NaNoWriMo is one of the biggest writing events of the year.  Well, at least that’s what it seems to be.  According to their website, in 2021, “427,653 writers participated in [their] programs, including 90,561 students and educators in the Young Writers Program” (NaNoWriMo).  In that same year, for Camp NaNoWriMo, “51,507 Campers tackled a writing project […] novel or not […]” (NaNoWriMo).

However, what are NaNoWriMo and Camp NaNoWriMo?  On a broad scale, they are a virtual writing event.  NaNoWriMo is an event that takes place every year from November 1st to November 30th, and participants attempt to write a total of 50,000 words, which is the standard or average length of a novel.  (Also, for NaNoWriMo, you’re writing 50,000 words in a new novel.)  If you were to write every day, which is the aim of this event, you would be writing approximately 1,667 words.

Some people write more than 50,000 words.  For example, if they’re writing a fantasy novel that takes place in another world, their novel might be approximately 80,000 words.  Thus, rather than writing approximately 1,667 words per day, they may write approximately 2,667 words per day.  Additionally, if you’re doing anything other than writing 50,000 words in a new book, you’re considered a NaNoWriMo rebel.  For example, if you write a screenplay or decide to edit your novel, then you would be considered a NaNoWriMo rebel.

Camp NaNoWriMo happens twice a year.  Once in April and another in July.  However, Camp NaNoWriMo is slightly more lenient than the regular NaNoWriMo (or NaNo for short).  For Camp NaNo, you can do whatever you want.  What I mean by this is that you can either edit your novel, write an 80,000-word novel, edit poems, or you can set your goal to write for 50 hours that month.

When you win NaNoWriMo, you win some prizes, and you get a digital certificate that says you won.  You would have to manually put in the name of your story and your name, though.  However, one thing you win is a 50% discount code for Scrivener, which is “[…] the go-to app for writers of all kinds, used every day by best-selling novelists, screenwriters, non-fiction writers, students, academics, lawyers, journalists, translators and more. Scrivener won’t tell you how to write—it simply provides everything you need to start writing and keep writing” (Scrivener).  Some people use Scrivener for just planning their novels.  Others use the program to write their manuscript.  Some use the application for planning and writing, whereas others use Scrivener for a completely different reason.

You can get Scrivener on macOS, IOS devices, and Windows.  You can download the trial version of the application.  According to Scrivener, “The trial is exactly the same as the full version but will stop working after 30 days of use. (If you use it every day, it lasts 30 days; if you use it only two days a week, it lasts fifteen weeks)” (Scrivener).

The latest version of the application, it’s expensive.  The Standard Licence for macOS and Windows costs 84.99 CAD, and the Educational Licence costs 72.24 CAD.  Finally, for IOS, it costs 19.99 (it doesn’t specify on their website what currency it’s in).  However, you can purchase Scrivener as a bundle, which would be for macOS and Windows.  They state that “[…] you will receive a separate licence for each platform […]” (Scrivener).  The bundle price is 135.98 CAD.  Additionally, these prices are before tax.

I have an older version of Scrivener, and I bought it after I won one of the NaNoWriMos.  I’ve done multiple NaNoWriMos and Camp NaNoWriMos.  They’re difficult but fun.  I usually don’t write over 1,000 words a day, mainly because I’m busy with a lot of other things.  This year I’m not doing NaNoWriMo, though.  If you’re doing NaNo, though, please feel free to let me know in the comments, and if you are, what’s your project about?

Spray Paint Magazine

Spray Paint Magazine is an online literary and visual arts magazine that falls under Linton Press, and we aim to give artists a voice.  Submissions for Issue Two open and close the same day as NaNoWriMo (November 1st to November 30th).  For this issue, the theme is memories.  Below is what’s taken from our website.

“Memories. We all have them, whether good or bad, and we want to hear about them. Submissions can be fiction or nonfiction, and we accept poetry, prose, and visual art pieces.”

Finally, you can view our submission guidelines here.

We look forward to your submissions!

About the Writer

Angel-Clare Linton is a poet, writer, editor, and publisher. She is also the founder of Spray Paint Magazine.