And therefore it's time for the NaNoWriMo challenge. If I'd found out about this sooner I'd have posted earlier, but in short, the challenge is to write a 50,000 word novel within the 30 days of November. Why? Because. Does it have to be good? No, not at all. It just has to be 50,000 words long. And despite the word "National" in the title, it's actually international, and foreign language novels are welcome too. (They just thought NaNoWriMo sounded better than InNoWriMo; personally I think the latter sounds better.)
The reasoning is basically that a lot of people would like to "one day" write a book, but will probably never take the time to actually do so. Another reason is that most people when they do try to write, go back and edit a lot and get frustrated at quality. This isn't about quality. This is about getting it written. Quality is for December. The FAQ also mentions "fringe benefits":
I'm sure it's not for everyone, but I say, what the heck, give it a go.We love the fringe benefits accrued to novelists. For one month out of the year, we can stew and storm, and make a huge mess of our apartments and drink lots of coffee at odd hours. And we can do all of these things loudly, in front of people. As satisfying as it is to reach deep within yourself and pull out an unexpectedly passable work of art, it is equally (if not more) satisfying to be able to dramatize the process at social gatherings.
Here's some comments from the sign-up email:
Surely I can drag one or two of you into this. Give it a shot! We can even bounce ideas off each other here.1) It's okay to not know what you're doing. Really. You've read a lot of novels, so you're completely up to the challenge of writing one. If you feel more comfortable outlining your story ahead of time, do so. But it's also fine to just wing it. Write every day, and a book-worthy story will appear, even if you're not sure what that story might be right now.
2) Do not edit as you go. Editing is for December. Think of November as an experiment in pure output. Even if it's hard at first, leave ugly prose and poorly written passages on the page to be cleaned up later. Your inner editor will be very grumpy about this, but your inner editor is a nitpicky jerk who foolishly believes that it is possible to write a brilliant first draft if you write it slowly enough. It isn't. Every book you've ever loved started out as a beautifully flawed first draft. In November, embrace imperfection and see where it takes you.
3) Tell everyone you know that you're writing a novel in November. This will pay big dividends in Week Two, when the only thing keeping you from quitting is the fear of looking pathetic in front of all the people who've had to hear about your novel for the past month. Seriously. Email them now about your awesome new book. The looming specter of personal humiliation is a very reliable muse.
3.5) There will be times you'll want to quit during November. This is okay. Everyone who wins NaNoWriMo wanted to quit at some point in November. Stick it out. See it through. Week Two can be hard. Week Three is much better. Week Four will make you want to yodel.
And we're talking the good kind of yodeling here.
Either way, I know for a fact I have the writing skill not to have it come out like total crap. My problem has always been a lack of willpower to get started in the first place. It's the same reason I've never seriously learned to draw better. 
And if a bunch of people know you're doing it, you're suddenly at least a little more motivated not to fail. 
