In my last post I tried to explain something about the November madness of National Novel Writing Month and why I’m going to participate. Now I’d like to tell you a little bit about the organization that coordinates all this creativity.

The mission statement for NaNoWriMo.org reads, “National Novel Writing Month is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that believes in the transformational power of creativity. We provide the structure, community, and encouragement to help people find their voices, achieve creative goals, and build new worlds—on and off the page.”

NaNoWriMo.org is dedicated to giving writers room to develop their writing talents. Volunteers around the world help create this dynamic community. They establish writing events like Camp NaNoWriMo, and the NaNoWriMo Young Writers Program. They work closely with libraries, community centers, and local businesses to provide safe writing spaces. They raise funds to be able to send Young Writers Program writing kits to teachers and classrooms for free; to get the word out to potential writers; and to keep supportive, helpful forums open year-round, answering questions and providing community for aspiring writers.

I believe in words and reading and writing (and of course revising and editing). It’s what I do and one of the core passions of folks I hang around with. Even if you never become a famous published author, putting your story down helps you to grow into who you want to be. It helps you to see where you’ve come from or are headed to. Or it helps you to build that fantasy world you (and others) can escape to just for fun. Or it opens your eyes to the world around you, giving you insights about people and events and how you fit in.

I will be using November to broaden my horizons by writing in this year’s NaNoWriMo. I invite all of you to join me. I will be keeping my word count on my blog, to hold myself accountable.

Support NaNoWriMo.org with a donation here, if you are or are not a writer. Encourage creativity in the world