By Allison Mudge

Daylight savings time. Mid-terms. Holiday shopping. November can often be a stressful, even depressing month. When could be a better time for National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo)?

Every November, NaNoWriMo founders encourage aspiring writers to participate in a competition of the same name. The challenge: Write a 50,000-word book – roughly the equivalent of 175 pages – within the month.

Erin McLaughlin, a freshman computer science and English major, accepted the challenge for her third consecutive year. She learned about NaNoWriMo in 2003.

“A couple of friends on the Internet were talking about it on LiveJournal,” McLaughlin said regarding how she became interested in participating.

She did not finish her first two attempts, one of which was about the end of the world, the other an “Indiana Jones-style adventure story.”

“I’ve always come up against major blocks near the end of the month, so I get close to 40,000 words and then have to stop for some reason or other,” McLaughlin said.

McLaughlin’s current novel is a Victorian-era story about vampires. But for her, the writing process is more than just a month long.

“I spend the other parts of the year that aren’t November coming up with ideas,” she said.

Writers had the entire month of November to complete their novels, but it must be typed – not pasted – into the site’s word count program. McLaughlin emphasized the importance of developing a daily writing routine.

“Every day before I go to bed I sit down for an hour and just write,” she said. Though some days the words come more easily than others, McLaughlin tries to make sure some progress is made every day to keep her on track to meet the deadline.

“I try to get something down, ’cause once you start with the day, you don’t write anything, then the next day you don’t write anything, and it just snowballs ’til you’ve got nothing at the end of the month,” she said.

The first NaNoWriMo took place among 21 friends in July 1999, in the San Francisco Bay Area, according to the organization’s Web site, www.nanowrimo.org. NaNoWriMo moved to November in its second year because it seemed more sensible to stay inside and write during a month with less desirable weather, according to the site.

With the help of a Web site, the second NaNoWriMo attracted 140 participants. By 2004, that population had increased to over 42,000 – close to 6,000 of whom hit the 50,000-word mark, according to the site.

During NaNoWriMo, writers can participate in online forums in addition to receiving support from liaisons, usually former contestants, in the area.

NaNoWriMo values “enthusiasm and perseverance over painstaking craft,” according to its the site. Because of the one-month writing period, the only thing that matters is reaching 50,000 words.

McLaughlin echoed this sentiment and recommends the competition to other would-be writers.

“It doesn’t have to be good, ’cause you’re writing a first draft and those are never good,” she said. “Usually the major issue people have with writing is they try to make every word they put down perfect.”

“It’s all about quantity, not quality,” the site says. “By forcing yourself to write so intensely, you are giving yourself permission to make mistakes. To forego the endless tweaking and editing and just create.”

When McLaughlin sits down to write, she does not reread or edit what she wrote during previous sessions.

“I pick up right where I left off, but as soon as December comes I’ll start editing heavily,” she said.

The novel is never really due, McLaughlin said.

“The goal is just to get 50,000 words of your first draft done by Nov. 30 and then after that you’re on your own to finish it,” she said.

Writers were able to submit their manuscripts to the Web site starting Nov. 25.

“You’re really just submitting it to a program they have that just counts the words and just verifies you have 50,000 words,” McLaughlin said.

McLaughlin finished her still-untitled novel Monday night and submitted it to NaNoWriMo’s word counter.

“I’m pretty proud because I haven’t finished the other years so it was a nice accomplishment,” she said.

There is no prize for the best novel written during NaNoWriMo, but the sense of accomplishment that comes with completing a novel may be all aspiring writers need.

“[Contest organizers] don’t read it,” McLaughlin said. “It’s more something you do for yourself.”