Insignia finalists will be posted soon, but today, I’m announcing yet another contest. And depending on how it goes, this might be your last chance to win an ARC of CRESS!
Many of you know that I’ve done NaNoWriMo multiple times in the past, and that I have a tendency to give myself these insane goals that result in my word count tallying more than the recommended 50,000 words—70,000 words is about normal for me, but in 2008, the year I wrote Cinder/Scarlet/Cress, I came in at 150,011 words.
Well, this year I’m feeling the need to be overly ambitious again, and so I thought: Let’s make a game of it!
I am challenging you, Lunartics and Novelists, to write more words than me this November.
If you succeed, you’ll win a prize. You could even win… a signed ARC of CRESS.
I’ve been trying to figure out the best way to host this contest and make it fair, so pay attention!
To Participate in the Write Like Crazy NaNoWriMo Challenge:
1. Sign up to write your novel at www.nanowrimo.org.
2. Add me to your buddy list: http://nanowrimo.org/participants/aliblade22
3. Write as many words as you possibly can for the next 30 days! Write like crazy! Write like the wind! Write like you have never written before!
4. While you’re at it, keep track of how many words you’re writing using the web site’s tracker.
Note: I will not be publicly tracking my word count throughout the month. I’m going to leave you in the dark, so that you’ll never know if you’re ahead of me or not. I figure this is the best way to keep people honest.
So, while you are in competition with me, you’re also in competition with yourself. What are you capable of? Let’s find out!
5. On November 30, validate whatever you have written using the NaNoWriMo web site, which will give you your official word count. I will also upload my work and receive my official word count.
6. On December 1, I will announce my end word count. If your word count is higher, comment to the post and link to your NaNo profile as “proof.”
Prizes
– Everyone who submits their NaNo word count and who did, in fact, write more words than me, will win a prize. What that prize is will depend on how many of you there are. (If only five people write more words than me, the prize will probably be really cool. If there are a hundred of you, it will be decidedly less cool, but you’ll still get something.)
– The person who writes the most words will win a signed ARC of Cress—on the condition that they did, in fact, write more words than me.
– If nobody writes more words than me, I will be sad.
Rules
– To be entered, you must have me on your NaNo buddy list, you must track your words throughout the month, you must submit your work to the NaNo word counters before the end of the month, and you must comment to my December blog post with your final, official word count.
I know that’s a lot to ask, but it’s the only way that I can make this as fair as possible.
– Open internationally.
– I do not care what you write. Please do not ask me if it’s okay if you write one novel or multiple novels or fanfiction or short stories or poetry. It’s your NaNo, it’s your writing, do what you want. Just rack up those words!
(That said, for heaven’s sake, please don’t use non-NaNo-related words that you just happen to write that month, like every email or tweet or facebook post.)
– Be honest. The nature of this challenge is somewhat based on the honor system. Yes, I am aware that there are ways in which people can cheat, but I am asking that you please don’t. I want this to be fair to everyone, and that can only happen if everyone is honest about what they accomplish, so that the people who really do put in the most effort will be the people who win.
Agreed? Agreed.
– Have fun! This is meant to be a fun challenge for everyone, to help motivate, inspire, and encourage. I know that I’m capable of doing amazing things when I really put my mind to it, and I hope that by the end of the month, many of you will realize that you are too.
Let’s do this, everyone! Happy writing!