For many around the world, this is a day of excitement and anticipation – and perhaps a little fear. No, not Halloween; National Novel Writing Month. In a writer’s calendar, November is that thirty-day period when all else is abandoned to assemble 50,000 words – preferably in the form of a novel.
Writing that many words in a single month is no small accomplishment – and NaNoWriMo participants use all the resources they can to reach the goal. While “What are you writing about?” is a common question among these writers, “What are you using to write?” follows close behind. The answer is a wide array of technology that includes novel-geared writing software, mobile devices, cloud storage, and even social media.
The writing software used is nearly as varied as the genres of novels that are written for this month of “literary abandon.” While many prefer to use the familiar standards of Word, Notepad, or other basic word processors, there are also those who wouldn’t attempt NaNoWriMo without a few more novel-friendly features. Popular software like Scrivener and Storyist include tools for storyboarding, goal-tracking, and more for writers who prefer that extra structure and organization – and both are offering special trial versions for November.
Beyond software, the crazed writing that is NaNoWriMo gets even more creative with technology. For novel-writing on the go, many writers are turning to their smartphones and tablets, including the iPad – pairing these mobile devices with cloud storage services like DropBox to sync with a computer. And social media isn’t left out of the fun, either – National Novel Writing Month participants seek further motivation to write (and quick increases to their word count) through Twitter by following other participants, taking on Word Sprints (@NaNoWordSprints), or challenging their NaNoWriMo “buddies” to Word Wars.
Whether they prefer the latest gadgets and technology or just the standard paper and pen to create their literary masterpieces, it’s sure to be an interesting month for novel hopefuls. To those who have already started, and for all those who wait anxiously for November 1 to get here, good luck and Happy NaNoWriMo.
(Photo via Flickr)
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