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Final NaNoWriMo post this year
Dec. 3rd, 2005 07:49 amAt the end of the month, this is the email Chris Baty (one of the guys who came up with the concept, and the one who's made it as huge as it is today) sent around. Take note of the figures in the second paragraph. Really - if you're not sure you can do it, TRY it next year. It's kinda like sex - after the first time, it gets easier and you know more and its more fun!
"Dear Writer,
Well, there it went. Another NaNoWriMo has passed into the history
books.
It was a year of biggests and firsts. We had a record-setting number
of participants (59,000), a blockbusting number of winners (9,700)
and an impressive number of mornings when we woke up to find the site
hadn't imploded or otherwise misplaced portions of itself (27).
Thanks to your generosity, we also raised more money than ever
before. Our bills for the year are paid, and funds are tucked away to
launch NaNoWriMo's 2006 event. Even more thrillingly, we raised at least
$8000 for our Libraries in Laos project. By the time sign-ups for the
next NaNoWriMo begin, there will be four or five new book-filled
spaces spread throughout the country; places where Laotian kids can go to
discover the magic of reading.
All of which is well and good, but it begs a certain important
question. Namely: What the heck do we do now?
It's a great question. And I have a suggestion.
I suggest we spend the next eleven months exploring a few other
appealing, impractical items on our to-do lists. Because the secret of
November's success is both simple and transferable: You were able to
write a book because you allowed yourself to write a book. And in the
coming weeks, after you've caught up on sleep and re-acclimated
yourself to normal life, I hope you'll sit down and make a list. It's the
most powerful list on the planet, and it's the one entitled: "What I'm
going to allow myself to do next."
See you in October, novelist.
Chris
NaNoWriMo"
If you were a NaNo-er (and even if you weren't) and you want to contribute to the libraries in Laos, I think it's still possible to donate.
Oh, and yes, I'm still plugging away at the story, but not at the rate I was during November. Have to get on that, I think. There's a lot of work to be done on it yet, for it to be finished. (and then there's last years to work on and finish!)
"Dear Writer,
Well, there it went. Another NaNoWriMo has passed into the history
books.
It was a year of biggests and firsts. We had a record-setting number
of participants (59,000), a blockbusting number of winners (9,700)
and an impressive number of mornings when we woke up to find the site
hadn't imploded or otherwise misplaced portions of itself (27).
Thanks to your generosity, we also raised more money than ever
before. Our bills for the year are paid, and funds are tucked away to
launch NaNoWriMo's 2006 event. Even more thrillingly, we raised at least
$8000 for our Libraries in Laos project. By the time sign-ups for the
next NaNoWriMo begin, there will be four or five new book-filled
spaces spread throughout the country; places where Laotian kids can go to
discover the magic of reading.
All of which is well and good, but it begs a certain important
question. Namely: What the heck do we do now?
It's a great question. And I have a suggestion.
I suggest we spend the next eleven months exploring a few other
appealing, impractical items on our to-do lists. Because the secret of
November's success is both simple and transferable: You were able to
write a book because you allowed yourself to write a book. And in the
coming weeks, after you've caught up on sleep and re-acclimated
yourself to normal life, I hope you'll sit down and make a list. It's the
most powerful list on the planet, and it's the one entitled: "What I'm
going to allow myself to do next."
See you in October, novelist.
Chris
NaNoWriMo"
If you were a NaNo-er (and even if you weren't) and you want to contribute to the libraries in Laos, I think it's still possible to donate.
Oh, and yes, I'm still plugging away at the story, but not at the rate I was during November. Have to get on that, I think. There's a lot of work to be done on it yet, for it to be finished. (and then there's last years to work on and finish!)
