This is for all those who are pounding away on those projects -- just a little pep talk from the folks at National Writing Month. (Remember? The challenge to write a 50k word novel in a month?) Apparently, there are some already done. Go to www.nanowrimo.org and check it out... -------- Original Message -------- Subject: NaNoWriMo Newsletter, Chapter Four Date: Mon, 24 Nov 2003 15:32:47 -0500 From: [log in to unmask] Dear Novelists, Hi there, and welcome to the final week of National Novel Writing Month! In this NaNoWriMo Newsletter: 1) Holy crap, we only have one week left. 2) The future of the forums. 3) NaNo t-shirts galore. 4) The last NaNoWriMo pep talk. 1) Yep, there's less than one week of NaNoWriMo remaining. As we head into the home stretch, the first winners have begun appearing on the legendary Winners Page. To these speedy, talented folks we say: Well done. And: Please send us any extra words you may have lying around. For those of us who are blessed with the challenges and joys (ahem) of slower-paced novels, we still have six expansive days to make it across the 50,000-word finish line and upload our masterworks to the site for validation. All writing stops at midnight, local time, on November 30th, and all novels must be validated by 11:59:59 pm Pacific time on that same day to be considered NaNoWriMo winners. For instructions on uploading, check out our Technical FAQs page. November 30th is also the deadline for updating your word count and novel excerpt to the site. Whatever number and excerpt you have in your profile at the end of the day on the 30th will be displayed in your profile until the end of time. Or at least until the whole escapade begins again on October 1, 2004. 2) I've been getting emails from some folks asking about the fate of the forums post-November. Barring an asteroid collision or an attack on our server by knife-wielding, forum-hating monkeys, the message boards will remain open in their current incarnation through January 15th, 2004. A which point they'll be scaled back to just the regional lounges and a handful of general noveling lounges. 3) Our larder of NaNoWriMo tees has just been restocked with all shapes and sizes of this year's fine, fine shirts! If you've ever wondered how to get the good-looking barista down at the neighborhood coffeeshop to ask you probing questions about your creative gifts and literary influences, a NaNo shirt is the answer. All profits from the shirts go towards paying the costs of this year's event. So order away! And then order again! All major credit cards accepted. Here's the link to our T-shirt Emporium: http://www.nanowrimo.org/index.php?s=5 4) Week Four Pep Talk: The End is In Sight, and It is A Beautiful End Indeed Well, it's been three long weeks on the writing trail. Apart from the monitor tans and worrisome after-effects of our all-junk-food diets, we're holding up pretty well. And as more and more participants cross the 50,000-word finish line, the energy of the event has begun building again. Every year, Week Four kickstarts some of the most amazing out-of-left-field victories ever witnessed in the field of high-speed noveling. For those of us who are lagging, who have been behind the entire month, this is an epic week. We've been trailing. We've been down. Not because we're inept or lazy. But because, consciously or not, we have been waiting for the pressure to achieve suitably terror-inducing levels before we really dig in. It may seem like a dumb and stressful approach to writing, but it's just human nature. We snooze in front of the TV until the chips are down, and then we say: Ok. Enough is enough. It's time. And then, grabbing one last handful of Doritos, we get up off the couch and fling ourselves into the fray, tackling ridiculously oversized challenges and pummeling them into submission. We do it at work. We did it at school. In fact, just about everything we've ever accomplished that we're proud of, we pulled off at the last minute. Humans are natural underdogs, tenacious fighters who inevitably save the best for last. We're late bloomers, maybe. But we bloom nonetheless. So here's the plan for this week: Bloom. If you've already crossed 50,000-word line, head on to 70,000. Use this crazy collective energy to flesh out your book; take it farther and make it better. And if you, like me, are somewhere far below 50,000, know that the week of our heroic, come-from-behind victory has officially begun. This is not just something we'll do. It's something we are. We're last-minute writers, quick-witted storytellers, and procrastinating dreamers. Dreamers who are wide awake now, and flying towards the finish line. Is this going to be a tough last six days? You bet. Can we do this? Oh, man. We were born to do this. Best of luck to everyone. I'll see you at 50,000! Chris NaNoWriMo www.nanowrimo.org <<To remove yourself from the National Novel Writing Month email list, go to Edit Your Account from the Authors & Novels page and select "No" under the "Send Me the Newsletter" option.>>