Each year, writers across the nation eagerly await National Novel Writing Month, where they tackle the challenge of writing a 50,000-word novel in just one month.
NaNoWriMo is not only the title of the month-long program but also of the nonprofit organization that established it. McNamara is a representative for the Chapel Hill region of NaNoWriMo.
“You just write everyday, which is really good because it gets you in the habit,” McNamara said. “A lot of people do it because they feel like they don’t have time to write. Part of the point of NaNoWriMo is no one really has time, so you find these little pockets in your day where you can sit down and write.”
To kick off this year’s NaNoWriMo, DSI Comedy Theater hosted an event Saturday for participating writers in the region to meet and enjoy an improv show prior to their writing session.
With support from the local writing community, these writers will meet throughout the month at various locations to write and as a way to motivate and inspire one another.
Daniel Wallace, distinguished novelist and professor at UNC, said NaNoWriMo came along after he started writing but recommends that people take advantage of it.
“The great thing about this month, though, is that you have the experience of intensive thought and writing devoted to one thing, and that is going to be really beneficial to any writing that you do after that,” Wallace said. “I would encourage everybody to do it.”
Wallace said he believes the main objective of these writers should be on writing rather than completing a novel, because rushing the writing process can oftentimes compromise quality, depth and critical character development.
