Worldwide Call for Literary Aid: National Novel Writing Month

I'll ask it straight up: Ever wanted to write a novel? This upcoming November, you can. And, to make it even better: you can do it for a cause.

National Novel Writing Month is a fun filled, month long event in which people from all over the world band together and each attempt to write a 50,000 word novella about anything of their choice. The primary goal is word count, and not content, which means there may just be elongated descriptions of everything and anything, from the dirt on the floor to a thought about a melon. Serious or hilarious, sexual or child like, each novel begins to take on characteristics of its own that makes its creation worth the world to its author.

But, National Novel Writing Month is not only about the writing. It's writing for a purpose. National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo, is, in itself, a non-profit organization. The program has running costs, server costs. Money raised for NaNoWriMo is used directly to offset the costs of the wonderful programs they have.

One such program is the laptop rental program, in which people who do not make enough money to have a reliable computer can rent a laptop for the month. The cost of shipping, storing, and maintaining these computers must be offset by donations. In addition, NaNoWriMo sends materials to each of its leaders in different regions - freebies, flyers, posters - to advertise and make the events such as the Kick Off parties more enjoyable.

NaNoWriMo also attempts to support K-12 schools and teachers. It has a youth program and secure website just for that group. Teachers can apply to NaNoWriMo for help in introducing the program into their classroom. The program itself forces anyone participating to become better writers. If a more educated and literate youth is what you're looking for: support NaNoWriMo.