Many people have seen the letters NaNoWriMo somewhere on the Internet, on someone's notebook, or even on an online forum. But what does it stand for? NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month.

So what is NaNoWriMo? In the month of November, writers from all over the globe are challenged to write 50,000 words in thirty days. It sounds challenging, and it is, but it's also a lot of fun. While 50,000 words is a lot, if the writer keeps up with the daily word count, they only need 1667 words a day to complete the 50,000.

There is no competition against other writers. It is a challenge purely for fun and to test yourself as a writer. Many places you can go to meet ups with other NaNoWriMo writers. If you cannot get to any of those, the forums are always open as well. Or you could create your own group with friends and family that are interested.

NaNoWriMo also has a branch of Camp NaNoWriMo. Camp takes place during both April and July. What is different about Camp is that you set your own word goal, whereas NaNoWriMo itself is strictly 50,000. Camp is also open to writing other things such as short stories or a book of poems. NaNoWriMo is more geared to having you write an actual novel. But, of course, you can always break the rules if you feel like it.

Why would you want to participate in NaNoWriMo? Writers need practice. Writing only gets better when you write every day. To take 30 days and write an entire novel will really help a writer's writing skills. It also gets a writer in the habit of writing every day.

Also, to have the feeling of being able to finish a novel is pretty good all in itself. To be able to say "I finished a novel" even if it is the first draft, is a wonderful feeling and accomplishment.