Historical & Current Events dictionary
NaNoWriMo
Or National Novel Writing Month [ nan-oh-rahy-moh ]
What is NaNoWriMo?
NaNoWriMo is the popular short way of referring to National Novel Writing Month, a month-long writing challenge.
The traditional challenge of NaNoWriMo is to write 50,000 words of a new novel. However, some people simply use it as an opportunity to devote time to writing a novel (either a new one or a work in progress) or just to make some time to write.
Many people chronicle and discuss their progress online, often using the hashtag #NaNoWriMo.
The name NaNoWriMo is also used as the name of the nonprofit organization that was established to promote the challenge and to encourage writing and creativity among young people.
Are you participating in NaNoWriMo? Read about tips for how to start writing a book.
✏️When is NaNoWriMo?
NaNoWriMo takes place each year during November.
Where does NaNoWriMo come from?
The event that became known as NaNoWriMo was started in July 1999 as a writing challenge in which participants submitted their results for verification—with those who wrote 50,000 words or more being deemed “winners.” The challenge was moved to November in 2000. Participants now track their own progress.
Examples of NaNoWriMo
Who uses NaNoWriMo?
Did you know … ?
- Writing 50,000 words during the 30 days of November averages out to about 1,667 words per day.
- Hundreds of thousands of people have participated in NaNoWriMo since the first event in 1999, which had 21 participants.
- Many novels written during NaNoWriMo have been published, including many notable ones, such as The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern and Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen.
What are other words used in discussion of NaNoWriMo?
Note
This is not meant to be a formal definition of NaNoWriMo like most terms we define on Dictionary.com, but is rather an informal word summary that hopefully touches upon the key aspects of the meaning and usage of NaNoWriMo that will help our users expand their word mastery.