National Novel Writing Month, or NanoWriMo, occurs in November of each year. The goal for the contest is to complete a novel in thirty days. The writers commit to writing 50,000 words in one month, which is split into about 17,000 words a day (8 pages double spaced).

The contest exists for those people who say, "One day I'm going to write a novel." It is one sure way to finish a novel quickly so that the editing part can begin.

Last year there were 70,000 winners in the competition. Meaning that 70,000 novels were written in the month of November alone.

I am currently a creative writing student at the University of Chapel Hill. One of my friends who is also in the program decided that as a student, November is a stressful month. From Thanksgiving to studying for exams, writing a novel just doesn't seem plausible.

So we have decided to have a mock-NanoWriMo in July. The competition started last night at midnight and will continue until July 30th (there are only 30 days in November). There are four of us now that have decided to dedicate our time to creating something from scratch in thirty days and completing it. I will keep you posted on our progress throughout the month!

If you are interested in learning about NanoWriMo, visit their website at http://www.nanowrimo.org .