National Novel Writing Month

Two years ago, I learned about Nanowrimo. I had wanted to try novel writing and had all kinds of story ideas in my head, but no concrete plan on how to write it all down. Nanowrimo provided the exact format I needed: just write - every day- and see if you can reach the goal of 50,000 words. I now have one novel under my belt and am searching for an agent, and a second novel in progress.

During the month of November, the Office of Letters and Light has a team of "cheerleaders" who encourage all the participants in Nanorwrimo. Their pep and positive attitude sure encouraged me to keep striving toward that finish line of 50,000 words.

This last november I participated in one of their writing programs, and it was so much fun! they were there periodically giving me tips and boosts of confidence to keep on going until i reached my goal! it a great organization!

I have participated in NaNoWriMo, sponsored by the Office of Letters and Light, for four years. It's just what I needed to motivate me to write regularly and to improve my writing skills. Thanks to NaNo, I've met writer friends, joined local groups, completed novels, and sold several magazine stories and poems. I look forward to November every year, and hope to continue to participate for years to come.

I am thankful to The Office of Letters and Light for their service to help encourage and challenge me through the process of writing a 50,000 word first draft of a novel in 30 days. It is impressive to me the amount of support they were able to give through the organization.

When I first heard of NaNoWriMo, I thought, what a wonderful idea it was. And then I participated, and realized that the structuring of Nano, helped me actually sit down and write more than just a dab here and there, but encouraged me to write not only during November, but to continue to write after November came to a close. It put me in touch with others who all helped encourage each other to write.

This was my second year with NaNoWriMo, and I greatly enjoyed the fast pace and the encouragement brought about by the members who participated. It was a fun experience and I will be participating again this year.

The Office of Letters and Light (OLL) host NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) every November. A fledgling novelist, my first title took me 7 years to write. The month-long NaNoWriMo event challenged me to write a 50,000-word novel in one month.

To my amazement, I completed this challenge by the deadline. I am now editing this 56,000-word novel that I will publish next month. Without the Office of Letters and Light and its NaNoWriMo contest, I never would have pushed myself nor believed in my ability to write a novel in only one month. Now, I'm writing one novel every quarter. I have the Office of Letters and Light to thank for my new career.

I was impressed that, throughout the contest, OLL staff and prominent authors wrote encouraging e-mails - challenging participants to achieve daily and weekly goals. Though a self-motivated contest, the cheerleading and enthusiasm was helpful.

I was surprised to see how linked together all the regional centers were. It was extremely easy to register, get started, and maintain a presence within the OLL's contest network. They hosted several writing sessions at physical locations near me during the contest. It was all quite helpful.

I strongly urge you to support the OLL. It is doing terrific things for writing communities around the world.

I am willing to answer any related e-mail inquiries. My e-mail address is: l.c_cooper@hotmail.com

With kind regards,
LC Cooper

I have participated in National Novel Writing Month for four years now, and it has always been a wonderful experience. (And I finished each time!) I would never have thought I could write so much so quickly, and just get so much done. It's easy to put things off, or just never get started at all. And having to start a new story is great, as it gets me exploring something new, and it's amazing where it can go by the end of the month.

The Office of Letters and Light has been a great motivator to write. The regular emails are inspiring, and the boards are a great place to meet other writers for encouragement, suggestions, critiquing and feedback.

My daughter has participated in Script Frenzy. She's only in middle school, so she didn't write a full length script. But she fell in love with writing, and now, almost a year later, she's still at it. She takes writing materials wherever she goes. Whatever she decides to do, these writing skills can only serve her well.

Through NaNoWriMo , The Office of Letters and Light encouraged me to attempt and achieve the" impossible;" to begin AND COMPLETE a 50,000 words manuscript in one month. They encouraged, cajoled, shared, and exhorted until the very last minute What they gave me was the gift of confidence and added a whole new dimension to my creativity. This was an epic adventure that I fully intend to attempt again.

The Office of Letters and Light programs have provided me with so much insight into my own abilities and writing styles. The enthusiasm and participation from everyone has helped to encourage me to go for a dream I've had since I was a little girl. The advice is unmeasurable. I have participated for two years now and am looking forward to many more.

This is absolutely one of the most amazing things I have ever done. That may sound dramatic, especially to people who don't enjoy writing. But National Novel Writing Month gave me the motivation and courage to achieve a dream of mine. I've already participated for the two years that I've been aware of this organization, and I can't imagine not continuing every November.

This organization has been enormously influential in helping to encourage people to write - and therefore, read. Literacy and creativity are undernourished in today's fast-paced, technological world. Kudos to the Office of Letters and Light for keeping both the creative and competitive spirit alive!

I am forever grateful for The Office Of Letters and Light NANOWRIMO. Without it, I would never have realized that I could indeed write a novel in 30 days. It was possible. It didn't take me years to write. It was one month. And I've done it twice. I take my writing much more seriously now. The support is wonderful, the ability to compete and inspire are fulfilling. I just love them, not a little, but a lot.

I have wanted to write fiction since I was a teenager. One of my friends suggested that we participate in the 2010 Nanowrimo. I agreed, because sometimes it is easier to agree than to say no. I wasn't expecting much, but in the end, it was a truly enlightening experience.

That being said, I think the most worthwhile thing is the young writer's venue offered by the Office of Letters and Light (OLL). If they find the experience even half as worthwhile as I did, then OLL will have contributed to the development of many young authors.

Nanowrimo helped me to discipline myself to finally write the novel I had been thinking about for awhile and kept telling myself I would write one day. Well, November proved to be the thirty days it took to write it. It was very helpful to have a deadline. I liked the neat award certificate, too!

This was my first year with NaNoWriMo. I am so glad that I was able to write the first draft of my story and I know I wouldn't have been able to do it without NaNoWriMo. It's an amazing program and it was great to be able to participate in it.

My experience with the Office of Letters and Light comes from my participation in their annual writing project, National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo for short. 2010 was my first year of participation, and I have every intention of doing it again when November 2011 rolls around, as the experience helped me in a lot of ways. As a writer, I have found many obstacles standing between me and completed novels: lack of determination, lack of ideas, writer's block, and a whole laundry list of other issue that only writers can truly understand. NaNoWriMo helped me address each and every one of these issues. The NaNoWriMo approach to writing continues to influence my writing to this day. It has improved my confidence tremendously - I say to myself, 'If I can do this in a month, imagine what I could do in a year!' Since NaNoWriMo, my productivity in writing has been at an all time high, and I truly believe I have NaNoWriMo to thank for it. The experience made me take a good long look at my writing, it taught me valuable time management techniques, it taught me to avoid procrastination, and most of all, it was just plain FUN.

I heard about NaNoWriMo on the internet and was excited when I checked it out. They said I could write a novel in a month and I decided to give it a try. It was lots of fun and I did in fact write a novel--I won! It was exciting, discouraging, and a lot of work, but NaNoWriMo helped me keep at it when I got discouraged by interacting with other people who had the same problems and reading the hints supplied by the group.

The Office of Letters and Light is a truly amazing nonprofit organization. Without the help of National Novel Writing Month, Script Frenzy, and the Young Writer's Program, writers everywhere would be floundering in their own self-doubt and fear of starting a project. The members of this organization truly understand the needs and desires of writers, and they reach out to non-writers everywhere as well, encouraging a wiser, more united world by allowing people to access and utilize their creativity.

NaNoWriMo helps writers of all ages, different levels of experience and all shapes and sizes. It gets us writing and, after all, that's what we're here for!

I've participated in several National Novel Writing Months and one Script Frenzy put on by the Office of Letters and Light. What a fantastic challenge! The story behind this organization is an inspiration in itself, but that is far from where the inspiration ended. With the annual Nanowrimo events, the Young Writers programs, and Script Frenzy the OLL is opening doors and expanding the horizons of so many people who would have otherwise been in the dark when it came to such wonders as speed writing.

I found out about Nanowrimo from a couple of my friends, and decided to try it last Nov'10 as part of the "Finish-the-da**-book" resolution I have had for 3 years. Nanowrimo really benefited me in pushing along this goal. No only was there the pressure to write no matter what, it was also really helpful to have received good advice along the way from fellow Nanowrimo-ers suffering the same struggle. To top it off, I actually managed to finish the book! I'm now in the dreaded phases of editing, and I have Nanowrimo to thank for helping me to do it.

I did NaNoWriMo this year for the first time, and it was amazing. I loved it! This organization is so great for aspiring writers because it lets you throw away your internal editor, your inhibitions, your fears and lets you just write with encouragement and a huge community of others who have gone through exactly what you did that month. It was a commitment, sure, but it was a good commitment. HIghly recommend all writers to do this! It was so much fun!

It was with the help of the Office of Letters and Light, through their NaNoWriMo program, that I wrote my first novel. I could never have got as far as I did without the friendly community they nurture or the encouraging pep talks every so often. I am very grateful to them for their help.

This was my first year participating in NaNoWriMo and the opportunity The Office of Letters and Light provided was fantastic. Thanks to them I have a first draft of a novel - as do thousands of other participants. The kindling they provide for worldwide creative endeavors is consumed by the passion of the folks they serve. Thousands of people spent last November writing and becoming better communicators. And it was all free - what an amazing service this organization provides.

The Office of Letters and Light is providing inspiration and support for aspiring writers everywhere. I have participated in National Novel Writing Month since 2004 and completed the 50,000 words each of those 7 years. Writing is a solitary occupation and support is not always easy to find. The OLL programs not only provide inspiration and support directly to participants but have also set up forums where users can interact and give support, advice, and constructive criticism to each other. In 2010 my 9 year old son joined me as a participant in the Young Writers Program. He reached his writing goals as well. OLL programs are great for teaching writing, and inspiring and supporting writers.

NaNoWriMo has done a lot for me. And I'm sure that is has done this for a lot of other people, too. Whenever I would write, I would keep all of my ideas cooped up inside and only write a sentence after, like, an hour of sitting in front of my computer. Now NaNoWriMo has broken down that barrier, and I can write freely with ease. And I can't wait to go back next year ^.^

OLL has been a great assistance to me for two years now with their sponsorship of the NaNoWriMo writing contest. Having them there to tie everyone together is a wonderful help in keeping the motivation necessary for writing in mind.

I stumbled across OLL before the start of the 2009 Nano year. Because of OLL I have successfully completed two novels and have been able to confidently approach publishers for representation. The OLL is a great support to people throughout the entire Nano challenge and throughout the rest of the year by keeping the forums running so that us Nanoers can discuss and recieve help for our 'out of season' writing projects. OLL helps promote literacy and should have the full backing of any pro-literacy group.

NaNoWriMo '10 was my first NaNoWriMo and I'll always remember it! I managed to complete my first novel, something I've been meaning to do for as long as I could remember. Just the other day someone reminded me about being a great author and I was able to tell them "Well, I might just be now that my novel's ready for print". Yep, through The Office of Letters and Light's great incentives (Free Proof copy with CreateSpace), I'll have proof of my victory and I was introduced to a great oppertunity to publish my book.

As an aspiring writer, it can often be difficult to simply sit down and write. I have participated in NaNoWriMo for the last two years and I intend to continue as long as possible. It's the kick in the pants a procrastinator needs and offers all writers guides, forums, links to helpful resources, and a great sense of community.

Without such a supportive program that involves writers from all over the world to chat, word war, get advice, share experiences, and of course vent frustrations, it is highly unlikely that I would have finished 50k words of two novels and continue working on and editing them in hopes of marketing them.

Getting published is my dream, and NaNo (and therefore the OLL) is helping give me the tools to do so. It's become a goal rather than an unreachable dream. I cannot speak highly enough of this program; it has helped me immeasurably. I have come to look forward to November with a mingled sense of dread and anticipation, but always know that the ride is worth every second.

I have always wanted to be a writer. I've loved to write for what feels like forever. Since I knew how to pronounce the word, "author" was the answer to the inevitable adult question, "What do you want to be when you grow up?" I wrote short stories, poems; I even started a newspaper for my family members and friends.
But a novel? That was just WAY too terrifying. I tried my hand at it once, at the tender age of 12, and never ended up finishing it. But a few years later, I was reading an online friend's blog when I came across the term "NaNoWriMo". I was immediately curious as to what it was - anything writing related is a new opportunity in my eyes. When I went to the website, I found out that it was "National Novel Writing Month" - write 50,000 words in a month and you get a fancy certificate and a whole novel to work with. I was entranced. I studied the website for a few minutes and then signed myself up. After a tumultuous, busy November, I finished my novel at 50,0135 words.
That was three years ago, my first win of NaNoWriMo. Now I have three winners certificates hanging on my wall, three novels, and the ability to outline and write other things outside of the month of November and the structure of NaNoWriMo.
NaNoWriMo's parent organization is The Office of Letters and Light, and it is to them that I extend my thanks for teaching me that diving right in is the best way to go about anything. Editing my fourth novel currently, I just might get that dream of being an author someday, thanks to OLL.

I am both a client and a donor of the OffIce of Letters and Light.
They started off as a small group of friends who decided to write a novel. They set aside one month and set themselves a deadline to write 50,000 words. Eventually their small group grew, and now thousands of people join NANOWRIMO every november.
The Office of Letters and Light provides assistance to people who dream of becoming authors. Their website hosts many helpful forums for writers to exchange ideas. But they do more than just that.
They founded the young writers program which helps to foster a love of writing in young teens. Along with that, they also conduct a book drive every November to help spread a love of reading as well.

We are most creative when we have a structure to work within. And accountability. I did NaNoWriMo for the first time last year and was amazed at what I could accomplish when I silenced (repeatedly and often loudly) my inner editor and just wrote. The support and encouragement from the NaNo folks and Office of Letters and Light was invaluable - and the tools they provide were also very helpful. After a month break, I picked up my novel and started to read through it, and realized I actually have the beginnings of something here. What an amazing experience!

Who in the world could encourage me to write 50,000 words in one month? The Office of Letters and Light did. Through encouragement, ideas, and organized meetings, I've written three novels.

I loved using their website and interacting with everyone on line.

I hope to have one published in the near future and I would be no where that without OLL!

I love National Novel Writing Month. I have participated and donated for the last seven years. I encourage everyone I know to try it, because even if you don't "win" by completing your word count, you still win by seeing how much you can accomplish if you just set your mind to it. I even published one of my novels written in November with a professional publishing house, which was a dream come true.

What Nanowrimo and the Office of Letters and Light do is build dreams. They help everyday people set goals and do something they could never do otherwise. And through their work with young people, they get dreams of writing started. In this age where information is everything but illiteracy seems to be everywhere, this is huge for the young people they work with, and for society at large.

I was skeptical of the NaNoWriMo "write-a-novel-in-thirty-days" pitch, but I had dreamed of writing a novel for so long that I just had to try. Through their pep talks, encouragement, and ability to encourage me not to take myself overly seriously, I gained confidence and completed the rough draft of my first novel.

That was in 2008, and that novel has since been self-published. I have completed two more writing sprints through National Novel Writing Month, and I look forward to taking part in NaNoWriMo every year. NaNoWriMo builds confidence, encourages people to live up to their dreams, and networks writing wannabes all over the country - and world.

I would recommend National Novel Writing Month to anyone who ever had a dream to write - even if they never wanted to be published. The experience has been invaluable to me in my growth as a person and as a writer.

The Office of Letters and Light spearheads an annual competition (festival, more like) called the 'National Novel Writing Month', more often called 'NaNoWriMo'. It was a catalyst in my writing career, and helped me find a passion for writing that I had never known before. A 50,000-word novel in one month does sound daunting, and many do try and fail. However, once the immense task was completed, I felt different -- not just from the ache in my fingers, but also because I grew as a person, a writer, a scholar. Not only did the NaNoWriMo help me develop excellent writing skills, but it also aided me in finding a new passion, a new purpose in life. The novel that I had been planning to write for years -- but never got around to it, as most people don't -- was finally written. I will not hesitate to recommend this event to writers of all ages, from casual bloggers to professional writers.

I was a first-time NaNo-er this November and the experience was great! I had never written so much in such a short time...or really at all.

I found out three weeks in that my brother was also participating, which was amazing. I hope that we both do it again this year.

Nanowrimo has helped me write three novels so far. The Nanowrimo project is a worthwhile creative writing program to encourage writers of all levels, abilities and ages to create art. It promotes international cooperation between writers from all over the globe as they strive to meet their writing goal within this unique writing community.

Last October I was challenged by a friend to participate in the NaNoWriMo event in November. I screwed up my courage and wrote a 50,000 word novel for the sheer joy of writing. In the throws of my creative excitement, I submitted some query letters for a novel I had already completed. Amazingly enough, I received a response three weeks ago from my query. I would not have had the commitment to submit a query, much less write an unedited book without the support of The Office of Letters and Light. Will I consider looking toward publishers for my novels? Yes. Will I participate in next year's NaNoWriMo? You had better believe it. A wonderful organization, a wonderful experience that gave me the faith to continue to write. I thank them.

I have participated in the Office of Letters and Light's free creative writing programs twice now, and each time, it has always left an impact on me. The first time, I realized that it was possible to write a 50,000 word monstrosity in a month. The second time I participated in National Novel Writing Month, I met more people who cheered me onto finish and are cheering me on now to try to get it published.

Knowing that I can write a novel of 50,000 words in a month has also encouraged me as I begin to work on my senior thesis. I have three months to write this, and it will be less than 50,000. I know I can do this!

OLL provides peptalks as new authors and old join in this high-velocity noveling creative process and every person I have met through this has been nothing but supportive.

I began writing with this group 3 years ago, and have completed a novel every year (or at least the first 50,000 words). One book is being published next month, another within another few months, and the third is still under work. The Office of Light and Letters is just that: encouragement daily to keep wirting no matter what during the month and a light at the end of years or thinking about writing but not doing it. The experience for me of doing WriNoNaMo was truely life-changing, because with that first novel, I realized I had the words and the dedication to follow the dream I had had all these years. I credit them with the fact that I now call myself a writer to others. The work they do with youth is wonderful. The more young people who can experience the joy and confidence that comes from being successful at their writing will change their lives. I truely believe this. So, in essence, this NP needs and deserves help. I donate every year, but they can do greater things as the funding increases.

I'm another one of those people who has always wanted to write a book, but is also a demanding self-critic and anxious about criticism from others. Maybe this means I'm not cut out to write a novel, but you know what? NaNoWriMo (a project of the Office of Letters and Light) gave me the opportunity to let all that go and feel confident that whatever I write is fine and deserves to be written.

"Silence your inner critic!" "Write with abandon!" NaNoWriMo encourages. I've won the challenge 7 of the 7 years I've participated and I've gained more confidence each year. I share my work with others now, see improvement in it, and have bragging rights to having written 7 50,000+ word novels!

With the support of the Office of Letters and Lights, NaNoWriMo has also introduced me to fellow writers from all over the world, people with the same dream, as well as to other writers in my neighborhood and city. I've grown leaps and bounds through these connections--my writing is better, and I have willing readers and critics, cheerleaders, and friends I might never have made before.

And, I've had the opportunity to take part in book drives and fundraising for special projects, like building libraries around the world.

But, perhaps most important to me, I've donated to programs that encourage young readers and writers, and I can't think of any more lasting legacy in this world than to instill the love of reading and writing in young people. If you can read you can do anything. You can learn anything. The world is yours.

I've always called myself a "writer" but all that I had to prove that were a stack of unfinished short stories and a handful of bad poetry. Someone mentioned NaNoWriMo in passing and I was fascinated by the idea of writing 50,000 words in one month - maybe I could actually finishe something!

I took on the challenge, despite working two jobs and having a family to take care of. Sometimes it was insanely difficult to sit down and pound out 1,776 words for that day, sometimes I had to double up, and sometimes the words flowed so easily it was like my novel was writing itself. Through it all, the forums and all of the great people I met there, helped me through it. When I was discouraged, or stuck somewhere, or I just needed a name for my protaganist's pet, there were people there who were going through the same thing and who were ready and willing to help. I liked to think that maybe I helped a few people along the way as well.

I did it, I won NaNoWriMo. I didn't get a parade or a bunch of fancy prizes, but what I got was so much more. I got a work that far exceeds anything I have ever done before, even though it needs plenty of polishing. I got the hope that maybe I really was a writer. I got confidence and joy and so many things that I cannot even put into words.

I reccommend this to anyone who just wants to have a really great, really fun adventure in writing!

I am an art teacher in a low income middle school. Many of my students struggle with Reading and Writing skills. For the past 4 years, my students have written, edited and published their own novels through the Young Writers Program. I have witnessed amazing transformations through this program. I have students that were disengaged and at risk for being retained or possibly dropping out, who discovered a love of writing, reading and learning through the process. Most importantly, my students build confidence in their ability to accomplish any goal and it translates into other areas of their lives. And every year, former students, now in high school, return to join our Novel Writing group.

The fact that it is a free program is amazing and essential. My school and my students could never afford to pay for the curriculum, free proof copy and awesome website. I am so thankful for the Office of Letters and Light and I have an army of students behind me that would say the same.

The help I got from being a part of NaNoWriMo was mostly spiritual... in that it boosted my confidence as a writer to know I had written two complete novels. Writing has always been a huge part of my life, but now I have something to show for it, and I have ample bragging rights.

I can't say enough good things about Nanowrimo, sponsored by The Office of Letters and Light.

I have participated in Nanowrimo for 6 years now and it has changed the way I approach almost everything. The approach to creativity encouraged by Nanowrimo, the idea that doing it without the expectation of perfection the first time round, has opened doors my own mind. Too often I, like many people do, would procrastinate. It had to be right even before I started. Nanowrimo taught me that if I wanted a novel, it had to be written. Otherwise it was only an avenue of creativity I had never wandered down. This road led me from the novels I wrote to other aspects of my life. I'm a do-er now, not a procrastinator. My mind has changed, and all for the better.

Would I have published a novel without the encouragement of The Office of Letters and Light, via their NaNoWriMo program? Honestly, probably not. I started writing novel-length fiction as a teenager, but mostly set aside my creative writing after I got married and started raising a family. The rare efforts I made to continue my writing were unfocused and unproductive. I hesitated to try NaNoWriMo, feeling I could not possibly fit in the time necessary to win, but I have done it four times starting in 2006 and I have won each time.

More importantly, the novel I wrote for NaNoWriMo in 2009 ("Lesson One: Revolution!") is now published and available as both a paperback and for the Kindle reader. And most importantly, a creative pursuit that has always been important to me but ended up "on the shelf" for years is now part of my life again. I truly value everything the NaNoWriMo program offers, and I have the highest praise for The Office of Letters and Light for conducting this highly effective program each year.

I have participated in NaNoWriMo once before, but I didn't win. It's a very friendly environment that promotes getting to know people, and asking for help when you're stuck or you want suggestions. Everyone there encourages you and helps you become a better writer. It also helps with deadlines. Most people shrink back in fear of deadlines thinking that they're never going to get it done. NaNoWriMo teaches you that you can do it, those deadlines aren't as bad as you think they are. If you can write 50,000 words in 30 days, you can pretty much write anything you want in a limited amount of time.

I came across a mention of NaNoWriMo while I was reading, and checking it out was one of the best things I have ever done. This organization motivates people to accomplish their dreams, and that is an invaluable service. I know that I will be participating in this wonderful event again this year, and the next, as will all of the members of my family and a good number of my friends. This organization is a gem, and is worth supporting.

I have enjoyed NaNoWriMo more than I have any other writing contest. I love how the challenge is with one self, yet one always has the NaNo crew behind them. The news letter are always so uplifting and the other authors are ready at all times to inspire. I share my time with NaNo with everyone that I come across and will get as many as I can to join me come November. I am very proud to have my winner badges on my sites. I hope that NaNoWriMo is around for a very long time to come!!!

Sincerely,
Robin Renee Ray

My friend introduced me to NaNo this year and I actually wrote a 50,000 word novel!!! Every time I tried to write a novel, I always got lazy and stopped. NaNoWriMo encouraged me to keep writing and I did! It's amazing and it makes you feel good about yourself. It was stressing, but it's better than starting ten pages then stopping. NaNo is the best writing experience I've ever had.

I first discovered The Office of Letters and Light through a magazine article which referenced its annual writing event, National Novel Writing Month. I thought anyone who wanted to write an entire novel in just 30 days must be crazy, but was curious enough to look at their website. What I found was a thriving, vibrant, diverse writing community that not only supports adult authors and would-be-authors, but also provides resources to classrooms to help young writers find their own voices. I have personally participated in NaNoWriMo for the past four Novembers, and to say that the experience has been life-changing is not an overstatement. Through online resources, Twitter feeds, and local write-ins, I have found the encouragement I needed to finish two novels. Even though I did not complete the challenge until my third year, I wrote more in each of my first two attempts than I had in years. I cannot say enough good things about this organization and the way they encourage and support creative writing. I am proud to be a Wrimo, and cannot imagine NOT spending each November ingesting large amounts of caffeine and writing 50,000 words alongside the folks from the Office of Letters and Light!

I've been writing for years, but it wasn't until I participated in NaNoWriMo this past November that I was able to finish something I'd written. I wrote a novel, and it never would have happened without the constant support from The Office of Letters and Light. They sent encouraging emails almost daily, with tips and pep talks from famous writers. It was the first time in my life that I felt like I was truly a part of a community of like-minded souls - a community of writers. If I hadn't participated in NaNoWriMo, I don't think I ever would have finished a story. They do truly amazing work encouraging developing writers.

This was my first year as a Wrimo, and I have only positive experiences to share. The month-long deadline served as a perfect motivation for a process that normally takes a lot longer, and it was fun to do with friends. While it's quality, not quantity, that counts, this contest was fun and a great writing exercise. It was well organized and the website was easily navigable. Overall, NaNoWriMo left no room for complaints.

I have participated in The Office of Letters and Light's Nanowrimo contest the past three years, and each has been a great experience. I am an avid writer and write all the time, but even so, the Nanowrimo really helps me to focus my productivity. Best of all is the social aspect. I find tons of advice and support on the forums; both other members and the administrators are helpful and kind. I especially enjoyed the "word war"which makes for some fun friendly competition and good personal challenge. Nanowrimo introduced me to a community of writers, whereas before it was a very solitary pursuit for me.

As a middle school teacher, I've seen lots of struggling adolescents deal with the typical middle school angst. Office of Letters and Light provides a structured outlet for kids who can't verbally turn to anyone else vent through writing. I've seen this literally be a life saver. As an adult, I appreciate National Novel Writing Month--also an outlet. Outstanding, and much needed, all around.

I do not remember how I came across NaNoWriMo, that is, National Novel Writing Month, but I have never been sorry that I have. When I started writing, I did not know a soul that did the same. I was 17 and I wasn't writing fanfiction. I needed a way to connect to people, to feel like I wasn't completely crazy in my need to write something original, in my desire to one day see my name in print.

NaNoWriMo connected me with writers all over the world. Their forums allowed me to read about people in the same situations as me, to respond to them - it got me excited about writing instead of feeling like it was a deep dark pit I was unwittingly wandering into. I found friends on there and this year, my third year, I actually went to a NaNo meet near me. It was incredible to see people from my area who actually wanted to get together, who wrote, just like me.

NaNoWriMo is also the reason that I have seen my name in print. I have won two out of the three years I've put into it and one of their prizes is a glorious proof copy of your novel. That little copy was 'proof' to all the people that thought I was wasting my time. I even went and ordered a few more copies, paying for them myself and selling them to friends and coworkers who were just as excited as I was.

I may not be a professional writer, I understand that I still have many areas that need work, but I wouldn't be anywhere near where I am today if it wasn't for the Office of Letters and Light who put eons of work into making NaNoWriMo all it is. Without them I would be left in my deep dark pit, staring at a blank page for a month instead of belting out 50,000 words.

I heard of NaNoWriMo, made possible through the Office of Letters and Light for the first time in 2010. I chose to participate. It was one of the most exciting and educational experiences I've had in decades.

During the month-long process, I learned I can write a basic 50,000 word novel. I learned that about the time I was ready to stumble or throw up my hands, there was a message of encouragement awaiting me.

Not only were the messages encouraging, they fun and light-hearted. It was better than having a stiff, formal message; they personalized it for us, one writer to another.

This move convinced me that I can and do. What I can do is up to me, be it writing a novel or skywriting a message.

The Office of Letters and Light is an incredible organization devoted to helping writers and other duties inherent in that endeavor. Without them, I don't know if I'd have known what to do when things got difficult and challenging afterward.

They didn't stop there. They offered opportunities to learn about editing and revising that basic novel. They offer information about publishing and self publishing and more.

They are an invaluable asset to the experience of being a writer.

My 12 year old daughter and I were first time participants in the annual NaNoWriMo put on by the Office of Letters and Light. It was a fantastic experience, linking us with others all over the world and inspiring us to reach our artistic goals. I cannot think of a more efficient, inspiring means to encourage written artistic expression than through this annual event. And, I put my money where my heart is and donated to the cause as well. NaNoWriMo provides a valuable public service where I simply know of no alternative -- and I am a member of an author's association. Believe me, there is just no comparison. If supporting the arts in a responsible, efficient, world-reaching way is a priority, thatn this is a charity worth supporting.

As a young author, I found that the Office of Letters and Light (which is behind both NaNoWriMo and Script Frenzy) has greatly helped me as a writer. Both of these programs helped me branch out and meet my goals, and even introduced me to a writing community which I would not otherwise have discovered. I am very grateful to the Office of Letters and Light for the inspiration it provided me.

The Office and Letters and Lights sponsors one of the greatest annual writing events--National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo as we participants call it. Without this amazing program many writers who like to procrastinate (myself included) would not finish the dimonds in the rough manuscripts that keep us writing.

This year it's the fourth time I write in nanowrimo. I adore it ! It helped me with my writing, and permitted me to try to crete novels shamelessly. What I'm the most grateful for is that I can take part even if I'm not anglophone : I'm french...
Thanks Nano.

I love NaNoWriMo! They have motivated me to write a whole entire novel in thirty days--not just one time, but twice in a row! I now look forward to November like I look forward to Christmas.
I love the NaNo atmosphere, community, encouragement, enthusiasm, and pretty much everything about it! NaNo makes novelwriting a crazy, wild, fun experience and I'm so thankful for everything that they do.
I love getting encouraging e-mails, lurking in the forums, watching the videos, reading the blog, and taking advantage of all the other great features that NaNoWriMo offers during the month of November and beyond.
I've also done Script Frenzy once and greatly enjoyed that experience as well.
I love what the Office of Letters and Light does to encourage people all over the world to write. I believe that anyone can write a novel or screenplay; it just takes a little bit of motivation and a healthy dose of fun--and that's exactly what OLL offers.
Thanks, OLL, for all you do! Keep on rocking!

OLL offers a very special program every November that encourages people to follow their dreams and sit down and work out a 50,000 word novel in one month. It gives them the distraction of meeting writing deadlines without worrying over how good what they are writing really is. NaNoWrMo is ans awesome program where it is not about getting the ideas out, putting them in a coherent order and and just proving to yourself that you can do it. There is always encouraging messages for those who do not get courage and support from their family and friends to follow their dreams. I love participating in NaNoWriMo every November. I love the challenge it offers.

I heard about OLL's NaNoWriMo in 2007, and I started participating in 2008. The amazingly simple and counterintuitive idea of writing a novel in a month, worrying about quantity not quality, opened up new horizons for me. Since then I have participated (and won) every November, and I have gone on to other writing projects. NaNoWriMo truly helped me fulfill a dream of mine, to be a writer.
In 2008 I was in Berlin for the year, kind of miserable and lonely. Participating in NaNoWriMo there helped me not only write my novel, but also connect with others who were involved in the same kind of activity, and tremendously lessened my isolation.
The structure of NaNoWriMo has also inspired me to go on and set up other such structures for myself, so that I could push my writing life forward in a way I had never been able to do before.

2010 was my very first year participating in Nanowrimo, and I never thought I'd complete a 50,000 word novel in 30 days, and achieve the honor of being a Nanowrimo winner, but I did.
The structure of the program and the guidance and encouragement that comes from the Nanowrimo team, allows any aspiring author to put away their fears and just do it. And by golly, I did do it.
While I am definitely someone who achieves what is necessary to get the job done, it is typically because it is for work, not for the sheer sake of doing it, like writing a novel.
I now believe that it is possible for me to write a novel, a good novel and become a published author, simply because I took the Nanowrimo challenge, and with the support of the staff and a ton of other like minded folks, I did it, I got it done. I won...and I can't wait for the next one, because i have a brilliant idea for a mystery novel...

I have so many stories just sitting unfinished on my hard drive, but none of those are my NaNo novels. NaNoWriMo gives me the motivation and inspiration to actually finish something I've started. It's a huge help!

I have participated in NaNoWriMo, sponsored by the Office of Letters and Light, for 2 years now. Both times I "won" -- writing a novel of over 50,000 words in 30 days. Before this I had been trying to write a novel for 30 YEARS! In college I took a class on how to write a novel and that started me off, but I never managed to get past the first 1 or 2 chapters. Now I know how to write a novel and I am working on my third. NaNoWriMo taught me to ignore my inner editor during the first draft and just write (the editing comes later). I donated to the OLL both years because I think it's such a great organization. The people who run it have such a friendly, positive attitude. The message boards on the site are very supportive. I really think this is a wonderful organization.

I learned to reorder my thinking from NANOWRIMO. I had to restructure how I work and how I plot. In so doing, I was able to finish a book idea I had unsuccessfully struggled to get on paper for four years. I found that my brain rewired itself, and the skills I learned helped me to edit an old manuscript that needed 35,000 words trimmed in a month, the same time limit I had structured myself to work with for NANOWRIMO. I now know that I can indeed write on a deadline, and if I get the contract I am hoping for, I KNOW I can reach their deadlines also. I would not have had the confidence to send off the query letter on the old manuscript without this successful experience. I intend to enter every year from now on, to keep the synopses strong and firing.

I used to write, long ago. Then I stopped. And I stayed stopped for a decade and a half.

And then I heard about a program sponsored by the Office of Letters and Light: NaNoWriMo.

OLL and NaNo brought me back to writing, helped me find my words, made me remember what it was to be a writer. They gave be back a part of myself I thought was long gone.

NaNoWriMo put on by OLL makes my fall. I love the challenge of writing with a whole host of other participants and getting to know both them and myself through this fabulous program. The whole team is really supportive and knowledgeable, and they run some amazing forums and workshops and games for us writers to socialize and take a break from our writing frenzy. I love doing this, and I give money every year because I want it to always be around! 2010 was my third year participating, and I know I'll be doing it for years to come.

NaNoWriMo is awesome. I'm not sure I can put it any better than that. The excitement, the dread, the rush of inspiration, and the final exultant victory -- I never would have experienced any of it without the Office of Letters and Light had they not established NaNoWriMo. I also never would have finished my first novel that I'm truly proud of.

This is a great program--I have been doing the novel writing month for three years, and it totally jump-starts my creativity. I work with kids at a hospital too, and when I told them about the novel writing month they were really excited. I think this more than any program I have seen brings the idea of being able to write and create to people in an accessible and fun way. It fosters a love of writing and a love of reading in the best way possible.

The Office and Letters and Lights sponsors one of the greatest annual writing events--National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo as we participants call it. Every year, a bunch of crazy people get together and write a 50,000 word novel in 30 days. That's right. 30 days!
It sounds like insanity, but in fact, it is pure creative magic. Ever since I participated in my first NaNoWriMo 5 years ago, I was inspired to pursue my dream of being a professional writer, and I look forward to each November now more than any time of year.
The Office of Letters and Lights supports us writers with ideas for stuff to do when we get stuck, really inspiring pep talks from famous writers and the Office of Letters and Lights staff, and gives us an awesome website where we can track our progress and join groups in our area for online and in person support.
The Office of Letters and Lights also hosts similar programs for young writers and screenplays. They are doing a huge service to the future of literature and entertainment in our country. They ROCK!

The Office of Letters and Light caught my eye on the Internet two years ago, and I followed a link that asked me if I had always wanted to write a book. I signed up for NaNoWriMo in April of that year, and in October, I received a notice in my email that the time was drawing near for NaNo to start. I started getting excited, nervous, and inspired to finally commit to doing the impossible and write my novel. I had never written a book before, but always dreamed of it. As November 1st approached, I got more and more nervous. What should I write about? As I explored the NaNoWriMo site, I learned that it didn't matter so much what I wrote about as long as I wrote. The word count was what mattered, and nobody had to see my novel if I didn't want them to see it. So with no idea of what my book was going to be about, I started pounding away on November first. One word after another flowed from my fingers, and it was an incredible experience. The story took on a life of its own, and it was almost like I couldn't wait to sit down and write to see what was going to happen next! I finished my book a week ahead of the deadline, and spent the rest of the month and December working on the editing and revisions. I was excited to see my book in print, and took advantage of the free offer from Create Space for a proof copy. It was a lifelong desire that became a reality. In 2010 I wrote my second book, also through NaNoWriMo, and I am taking my time with the editing process this time. It was great fun, but nothing can beat the feeling of finishing that first book. NaNoWriMo made it happen.

I have participated in NaNoWriMo three times, winning twice. It has been an exercise that has greatly improved my productivity by pushing me to write without doing critiques in my head as I go. As an English teacher, I also have an appreciation for the young writers program -- anything to build excitement in the younger generation for the written word. The NaNoWriMo program is well-organized and makes it easy to be a participant. The ongoing encouragement lifts the spirits when you are ready to throw in the towel. Kudos to all of the NaNoWriMo people who believe that there is something worthy in us that needs to be on paper (or on the computer in this case).

For years the Office of Letters and Light have helped inspire me to put ideas onto paper and fashion a story. These people are fantastic at ensuring the websites run smooth and the forums are full of interesting conversation at the crucial month of November. They deliver their inspirational messages directly to your email, inspiring children and adults alike to do things that we would otherwise always put off for that 'one day' that may otherwise never come.

Thank you for your support, and the organisation of pep talks by published and famous authors.

Although I have been writing for most of my life, I hardly ever finished anything till I participated in NaNoWriMo in 2010. The event gave me the goal and the encouragement to not only write, but to complete something!

With my hubby's intense support, I reached 50,000 words in the first 3 weeks, and finished my novel. Since then, I have gone on to research publishing and agents, and have engaged test readers to give me feedback before editing the novel and sending it to an agent.

Without NaNoWriMo, I would probably still be floundering about with dozens of half finished products. But with them, I have an actual product that is being improved upon and, hopefully someday, sold!

The NaNoWriMo project is a beautiful thing. What a simple but powerful concept - to exploit the enigmatic power of deadlines to incite a flock of timid aspiring writers to exceed their own expectations. The Office of Letters and Light empowers writers to write more and write better. More importantly, it empowers non-writers to start writing in a nothing-to-lose, cut-loose-and-go-for-it environment in which one can't possibly do wrong. in the course of discovering that their novels don't flat out suck, at least a handful of participants are bound to discover that they've accomplished something truly great. Such a deceptively simple platform can serve as the staging area for downright revelatory writing experiences for invaluably talented writers. This can only mean good things for our culture.

It sounds like a scam, doesn't it? Join our program to achieve a goal, do all the work yourself, and succeed, we'll give you a pat on the back and a certificate with your name on it. Riiiiight. How much is this going to cost me? I can do this on my own.
But it doesn't cost anything. And there are 200,000 other crazy people trying for the same goal. A goal that promotes literacy and art and communication. And the program is there to give you support, encouragement, ideas, tips, and expertise in doing what, for so many would-be novelists, has heretofore been impossible: writing a book.
Yes, I could do this on my own. Except I haven't. I could set a daily goal to write. But I'd probably fall short. Some of us need structure. Some of us need encouragement. And some of us need what the great philosopher Mary Poppins called "an element of fun." You find the fun and snap! The job's a game. Before you know it, the month is gone and the job is done. Well, 50,000 words done, anyway. But that's more than I had done before.

I started writing at a very young age, but only first participated in National Novel Writing Month, as hosted by the Office of Letters and Light, last year.

Despite the fact I've only been involved once, I cannot express enough gratitude to the Office. I met new people, was inspired to write and was often amused and given support by those who had no reason to amuse or support me.

The fact that the Office of Letters and Light exists to do those things is no doubt a major reason I finished my 50 000 word novel and truly endorsed my love of creative writing.

The two years I've participated in the Office of Letters and Light's NaNoWriMo have changed my life. After decades of creative block, I was inspired and supported and pushed to get back to writing. And it worked! The whole set-up is marvelously supportive, making it possible to inject the hard work of writing into one's regular life. My NaNoWriMo novel from 2009 is out now, and 2010's is in the process of revision. What's more, I'm now strong enough to write regularly on my own, outside the structure of NaNoWriMo. To me, it feels like a miracle!

The Office of Letters and Light promotes literacy and creativity through their Script Frenzy, Young Writers Program, and National Novel Writing Month programs. These programs are free, and are an invaluable service to aspiring writers everywhere. The program websites offer tools and forums where writers of any level can find support and encouragement.

I stumbled upon NaNoWriMo almost by accident. I thought about doing it, but was afraid I'd never be able to make a goal like that (50,000 words in 30 days). The next time I thought about it was early November of the following year. I just knew I couldn't do it in 15 days if I didn't think I could do it in 30, but I signed up anyway. What did I have to lose? It turns out, I had a lot to gain. Confidence. Focus. Skill. Friends. Contacts. I completed that challenge, and the following year as well. The experience gave me the confidence to finish and (successfully!) submit work for publication. I don't think it would have happened without OLL.

The experience both years has been so exhilarating that I cannot foresee a time when I won't want to participate. I donate and buy merchandise each year, to do my small part to support this wonderful organization.

The Office of Letters and Light is an amazing organization. They have done such an amazing job promoting creative writing, as well as supporting those just starting out and I believe that they really do deserve so much more credit than they already get. Through the Office of Letters and Light, so many people have been able to discover their love for creative writing. Without organizations like this, our society would truly be lost.

Despite the notion that a good novel cannot possibly be written in thirty days, National Novel Writing Month is one of the highlights of my life. In my sophomore year of high school, I came upon the site for this 50,000-word challenge and was perplexed as to why anyone would do such a ridiculous thing. Now, this is my third year of participation in this event. Again and again, it challenges my conception of the impossible and hardens the idea that there is always enough time in a day for what you love. It tells me that nothing is impossible and opened my mind to the limitless possibilities that exist for me. It is an affirmation of the inexplicable joy in the thought process. In thirty days, I undergo a metamorphosis. Now, as secretary of a writing club, I introduce this event to others so that they can grow, too.

In 2010 I participated in The Office of Letters and Light's National Novel Writing Month activities. The experience was awe inspiring! The challenge of writing 50,000 words of original text in 30 days was something I thought I could not do. But the organizers were so enthusiastic about the proposition, I figured why not give it a try! I did. And with the infrastructure of support and practical advice I made it to the end.
Literacy is changing worldwide. The printed word is, to me, precious. The power of the novel form enhances us generation after of generation. The exchange of ideas about the human condition is imperative! Everyone has something to share. The mission of this organization is to show us amateurs what we can accomplish. It fosters belief in one's ability. Who knows the importance of someone's ideas if they are never expressed. The Office teaches us to look for new avenues and bypass our shortcomings. It's a terrific endeavor for which many of us are extremely grateful.

The Office of Letters and Light serves a critical role in the encouragement of creative writing throughout all levels of society. Their cheerful, regular encouragement through emails, and the friendly, exciting atmosphere their site fosters through forums and writing buddies, can encourage even the most shy, green writer to push forward and explore their own imagination through the written word. They've even got classroom programs, both for college level and for younger writers.

Making sense of one's plot is akin to making sense of one's life. Sometimes you just need a little outside perspective. OLL's NaNoWriMo gave me that. In fact, they've inspired me to try to write rough drafts in NaNo-fashion more often than just once a year. I'm planning three rough drafts in 2011 because I was so inspired by the planning and writing success I had last November. I'm an indie author, and I know I wouldn't be nearly as successful or excited about my future if it hadn't been for NaNo's "shut up and write" philosophy.

A friend asked me to join her in a NaNoWriMo contest and I was expecting to be disappointed. I thought that there was no way to write a novel in one month. I was very happy to learn that I had been wrong. I wrote over the 50,000 words required to "win" the contest, and now I have a free paperback copy of my hard effort, thanks to the Office of Letters and Light. Seeing my work in book form has been inspiring, and I plan on entering the NaNoWriMo contest again next year, and the year after that....until I am too old to write because my hands shake or my mind goes. I love NaNoWriMo that much. Every part of my experience was grand, right down to the website, incentives, distractions, guidance, and community the Office of Letters and Light provided for the NaNoWriMo contestants.

This was really a wonderful experiance for me. I write generally for a hobby, but this challenge just offered such an interesting oppertunity that I felt that I HAD to push myself, HAD to see how far I could go. 50,000 words and countless hours later, I finished the NaNoWriMo and I've never felt better and more confident about my ability as a writer.

The community was amazing, which was at first one of the bigger things that drew me into it. If it wasn't for the continuous NaNoWriMo emails connecting me to the community (and, in turn, reminding me about the project!) I probably would not have been as interested. It wasn't just a solo thing -- we were all in it together, and meeting a common goal was just very satisfying.

I have suggested this to numerous writer friends of mine in hopes that they'll participate next year. :)

Three years ago (in 2008), I first participated in the Office of Letters and Light's annual event called NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month). The program's goal, to write a 50,000-word novel draft through the month of November seemed daunting to say the least. I was comforted by the fact that about 150,000 others would suffer along with me, including the founders of the OLL themselves.
That year I gave up in the first week, another one of the many participants that fail to complete or "win" NaNoWriMo each year. I failed not because of any fault in the event's design but because I vastly underestimated the effort it took to write a novel. That "failure" should have been it. I should have just given up and not even have bothered to attempt the same feat next year as it was obvious that I was incapable of writing a novel draft in a month. However I forgot that I would still receive emails from the organization, mostly pep talks and notices from OLL. One of these emails was a pep talk from Meg Cabot, one of my favorite young adult authors. Skeptical, I read the pep talk anyway, and it was as the name implies peppy. I don't remember exactly what it was in that email but I didn't feel so bad about not winning NaNoWriMo. In fact I was so motivated that I wanted to try again next year.
So in 2009, I wrote and wrote until I thought I was going to go insane. I kept receiving weekly pep talks and notes of encouragement from the OLL and won NaNoWriMo again (even the way the OLL refers to completing the task, as winning, magnifies this already extraordinary accomplishment). Two NaNoWriMo wins under my belt compels me to write this review today.
It is not just the program itself that has improved me but the way that the Office of Letters and Light approaches it. Their attitude is, even if you're not sure of where you're going with your plot, go there anyway because you will discover something about your plot, your characters, and yourself that you did not know existed. The weekly pep talks, as I mentioned before are great additions to the program, as I got restless from time to time and needed to be encouraged as to why I was doing something so ambitious. The participants in the forums also motivate each other to do better, to go farther with their manuscripts. It's a beautiful thing to read the "Adoption Society" forums (in which someone can 'leave' a small plot device, name for a character, etc. for other participants to 'adopt') and see the "thanks!" from someone who has been helped.
The OLL's NaNoWriMo program gave me confidence as an author that I had previously lacked, especially when I started college this spring. Whenever paper writing stressed me out I would think to myself "you've written two novel drafts and you're worried about writing an eight page paper?". This thought propelled me forward to continue my paper (the eight page paper to which I refer gained an A- grade, something I partially attribute to NaNoWriMo's 'just write' attitude). The organization truly cares about its participants and wants them to achieve great things, whether or not they win NaNoWriMo that year. Without the Office of Letters and Light and their NaNoWriMo program, I would not have become the confident writer and person I am today.

I've participated in the past two Nanowrimo events put on by OLL. The events were great, and they encouraged me to start and write most of two novels. The community there is great, and they are a great source of writing tips and information for those who are new to writing.

All the programs that the Office of Letters and Light run are fantastic. They encourage people young, old and anywhere inbetween to put that novel or script they've been dreaming of for years, sometimes even decades down on paper for the first time. To just get through a first draft of it, helping them realize that things don't need to be perfect the first time you do them. You don't expect to be the best baseball player the first time you pick up a glove, why should you expect to be the best writer ever on the first thing you ever pen. They deserve so much credit for convincing people to write stories no matter how ridiculous and for showing the world that anyone can write a story.

NaNoWriMo helped me write my first book. It was something that I'd wanted to do for years and, as soon as I heard about it and peeked on the website I was hooked.
And I've been hooked for the past few years.
I've told hundreds of people about it.
And I've told them not just because I know some of them always wanted to write a book, but because I believe we all have the potential to be creative, to use our energy in positive ways, in ways that are beneficial not just for ourselves but for others too.
And NaNoWriMo proves not only that each one of us CAN do it. But that we can do it TOGETHER.
Sure, we end up not meeting the vast majority of the people participating every year. But we know they're there. We know that they are going through the same pains, the same joys.
We know we are not alone.
And that is an incredibly important resource.
It's one of the things that makes us human.
Thank you guys and gals.
I'll see you in November.
If not before...
Peace.
pedro.

I had always wanted to write a novel but I usually wrote a couple chapters and didn't have the motivation to write more. I had heard of nanowrimo before from some posters at my library, but being barely 13, I'd assumed that writing a novel in a month was a task for a "real" adult. But I got onto the nano site and discovered that teenagers were welcome to join and there was even a forum section devoted to teenage nano-ers. I signed up, pulled four other friends and classmates into the program with me, and even though we didn't all finish, November was an amazing experience for all of us. For me, 1,667 words a day wasn't really too bad, and knowing that millions of other people were going through this month with me increased my motivation and really helped with my writing skills. The novel I've written is painful to read - personally, I hate reading it myself - but the fact that I can - and did - write 50,000 words in 30 days gives me the courage to do bolder things. When out of ideas I would frequent the forums, where you can pick up literally thousands of abandoned plot bunnies, and I discovered a lot of support just waiting online. Not only did the global self-competition offer support for writing, it also improved my fluency - ideas come to me much faster now. I'm planning to do April's Script Frenzy with a buddy, and I'll definitely do nano next year too. I'm also planning to go to the locally organized write-ins and meetings. Not only has nano improved my writing skills, but it has also offered me constant support via the forums and my regional MLs. I'm immensely grateful to OLL for orchestrating such an event.

I've been a participant in National Novel Writing Month, one of their programs, for three years now. Each time I learn something new about myself as a writer, myself as a human being, and of course about my characters through the process of writing a novel. It's an entirely different feeling to write so quickly than it is to sit and ponder characters' actions before committing them to paper. While most of what I write in that state of flow is pretty bad, or just plain weird, sometimes the most brilliant moments can come out of putting my thoughts down no matter what they are, and NaNoWriMo helps me to get back to that feeling. It might not help me write a draft I intend to publish, but the writing I do during NaNoWriMo is still very important to me.

I don't know what I'd do without The Office of Letters and Light and specifically their National Novel Writing Month program. I've taken part in the program for years and just recently became a volunteer Municipal Liaison for my local region. The resources provided on the NaNoWriMo site were incredibly useful and the opportunities it made available for me were unlike any I could have found without it. The prizes that they offer to writers who make it to their 50,000 words in a month really get people excited and motivated to write and I know they were a great incentive for me.

Thanks to nanowrimo I wrote my first novel. I am a physician with loads of material and ideas, however no one motivated me quite to the extent that nanowrimo did. I now have a 75000 word novel on which I just completed my own rewrites. It is ready to start taking off around the world. I am so grateful for the opportunity and the encouragement. Please don't stop now!

National Novel Writing Month has been one of the most exciting experiences in my life. I've been participating for four years in a row now and have no intentions of stopping. What NaNoWriMo provides is total and complete motivation to complete a piece of work you will treasure forever. It has a great community of friendly, helpful and lively people who only help to encourage the creative process. I look forward to November every year, and consistently have a blast each time. It is impossible to describe the excitement and satisfaction of the process -- I can only recommend you try it for yourself. Each year I set new goals for myself and each year I've been reaching them -- no, surpassing them because of the kind of atmosphere NaNoWriMo provides. Writing 50,000+ words in a month will make you a better writer and a happier person -- even if you are a little exhausted at the end!

I have participated in National Novel Writing Month and Script Frenzy for five years now, since I was twelve years old. I decided to try this crazy thing called writing novels, and when I began my research, I found this website, and more importantly, the forums that go with it. I hesitantly ventured in, and immediately found myself welcomed. The Office of Letters and Light and the other participants have never been anything other than friendly, welcoming, and accepting of me, even when I was a twelve year old newbie.

National Novel Writing Month has changed my life for the better. I can honestly say that I am the strongest writer in my grade because of my experience writing for Nanowrimo, because these programs finally gave me enough strength to take the plunge into fulfilling my dreams of writing. Without them, I'm sure that my plots would only be scribbled notes on scrap paper and daydreams.

The Office of Letters and Light operates the National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) each November. I participated in NaNoWriMo this past November 2010 for the first time. At first the idea of writing 50,000 words in one month was overwhelming, but I took the challenge and succeeded. From that experience I gained confidence to write whatever I want when before I doubted my abilities. I also came away with so many writing ideas and projects that I am still wading through all of them. OLL offers encouragement to writers of all ages and a place to share our projects and ideas. Without OLL, I would never had the courage to continue with my writing.

The Office of Letters and Light changed my life. I'd leave it at that but it does make for an awful short review. I'd been working on the same story for six years and cried, and weeped, and worked myself into a hole that I didn't know how to write out of. So I put it away and lament about never finishing my first, only, true novel. Then November came and I decided to try this thing called Nanowrimo, thanks go to 'I Should Be Writing' for suggesting it too, that The Office of Letters and Light puts on. I have never been so encouraged to pour my heart out into words in my life. NEVER. The motivation the organization creates kept me moving all through November.
And I found… I could write a book. And I could sit down everyday and work on it. And I could finish a book. The biggest thing I took away, other then the 52,320 words I wrote, some in a hospital while waiting for an overdue niece to be born, I could write everyday and my story was better for it. I discovered I am a writer.
I have not stopped writing since either, well there was a small break where I slept a whole day, and it is an amazing feeling to almost be done with the novel that I've been working, pandering, dabbling on, and glorifying for years.

Finishing NaNoWriMo helped me be more confident in other areas of my life too. It has helped me finish things, and realize my creative dreams. When I moved to a new city, I immediately had the makings of a social life too with the meet-ups organized in each city. Even for those who don't win, it can be a positive experience to be part of a supportive, fun community. Watching other people do it, makes the goal within reach.
My 'novels' aren't always worth showing to people, it's true, but a) they are rough drafts and b) it's good practice without the pressure to write well that can bring on writer's block.

I participated in Nanowrimo the past two years and after each time I got this sense of accomplishment that I was a writer, even the first year when I didn't succeed in my goal of words. I felt good about my writing in a way I hadnt in a very long time, and thus made me feel like I could write well again. This organization is very VERY important ot boosting self-esteem and helping people set goals when it comes to their creativity.

Before I found out about the Office of Letters and Light and their non-profit campaign NaNoWriMo I never had faith in my writing. Now, besides being a winner during my first year of the contest, I feel like I can officially call myself a writer and have much more confidence in my writing. I think what this non-profit organization does is very important to struggling and new writers, and I appreciate what they do year after year with this contest in November. They deserve to be recognized for they encouragement, amazingness, and kindness that just flows from their office.

I participated in NaNoWriMo for my first time last year, and I wrote a 50,000 word novel. I must say, I found the people there to be very kind, and I know I could never have written my first novel without them.

I participated in NaNoWriMo and completely enjoyed the experience. The constant help on the forums, as well as the motivational emails sent out greatly inspired me to continue writing, even when my inspiration was flagging. By pushing me to continue, my writing style grew and flourished, even throughout my novel for the challenge, and the change is very evident.
I loved participating in the challenge, and hope to again next year!

I participated in 2009 and 2010 in NaNoWriMo. I am an older, somewhat isolated woman. I am shy, live out in the country far from family, and don't have neighbors with like interests.

NaNoWriMo opened up a world to me; a world I had within me. The OLL folks encouraged me every day to see that world and to make it blossom. They gave me tools to give myself pride and to join up with similar people.

I am truly grateful for the opportunity they gave me.

I'm a writer, or so I have often said, but most of my writing is aborted before I get going. Through their "National Novel Writing Month" Campaign, the Office of Letters and Light gave me the encouragement, incentive, and community to make the push all the way through the writing of an entire novel, which I was able to polish enough to feel comfortable submitting to a well-known novel contest. Their partnership with businesses and community resources also introduced me to new tools and opportunities that I would probably not have had the gumption to find on my own. I have been impressed and inspired by the OLL and I imagine that I will continue to have wonderful things to say about them the more I learn about and benefit from the work they do.

The Office of Letters and Light is an amazing organization. They put on not only Nanowrimo, but also Script Frenzy in April--both of these annual writing sprees have helped me realize my dreams. The youth version of NaNo meant so much to me as a kid--I wrote four novels before I turned 13! My writing ability (and, my grades in school) improved immensly during that time. This past November, I saw my dream of completing a fantasy novel come true. Without the OLL, this wouldn't have happened.
Not to mention the charity they support to bring books to the less fortunate!
Overall, the OLL freaking ROCKS!

Every year I look forward to NaNoWriMo, and I check the Office of Letters and Light's blog each week for the fun and useful information. This organization encourages people to go for their writing dreams, provides a supportive forum to help them along the way, provides printable free workbooks for the Young Writer's Program, which my son has benefited from the past two years, and proves to us each year that we CAN do what we set our mind to, as long as we are diligent and bullheaded enough to give it a try.

NaNo is AWESOME!!! So empowering and positive and inspiring....I've done it two years straight now, and won both times. I would never, never have accomplished that without the great energy, good humor, and go-for-it cheerleading of the Office of Letters and Light!!! WOOT!!

Nano Wrimo.
When I first heard those two words I thought they were plain gibberish. Perhaps something a little kid would utter when trying to say something obscure. But when October came around I was hit in the face (metaphorically of course) with an message from one of my online readers asking if I was going to participate.

I thought 'Hey, 50,000 words in one month might be a bit hard, but why not?' Why not indeed. I decided that 2,000 words a day was a decent goal and set myself to write the best book I could write. I began to get active in the Nano Wrimo community learning new ways to stunt my inner critic until January and even did something I never thought of doing.

I took up the traveling shovel of death and killed a character off with a shovel.

I would' ve liked a few more spontaneous ideas, like the traveling shovel of death, and perhaps a chat room to communicate better with my Nano soldiers. But I really can't say that the community would be better with them, just that I would have had more social contact while locking the door every time I had a new idea.

In the end I finished with a jumbled up 50,000 words that outlined a crazy novel. Despite loosing my social life and having my mother (who I don't live with) constantly harping at me for staying up all night writing for a month I can say I'm please with what I have achieved.

I don't think I would've even thought of this story if not prompted to write a novel in a month. Now I've already have gotten offers from agents to try and get it published. I owe this to Nano Wrimo.

Thank you,
K.

In 2010 I signed up for NaNoWriMo, and at the end of one month I had successfully completed the first draft of a novel. My progress was accountable to others participating in the challenge, and the accountability is what spurred me on. NaNoWriMo is a personable, well-organized, and popular organization which promotes fiction writing. I recommend it to any writer, regardless of experience level.

I'm 60 years old. I just wrote my first novel.

I never imagined that was possible.

The Office of Letters and Light makes the joy of writing available to many, many people through intelligent and often very funny coaching and encouragement.

And, they raise money to make that experience available to young people. And of course I donated to that.

They provide great value to the overall community by letting loose creative potential that is often buried. Forever.

This gives me great hope.

Through the Office of Letters and Light I have participated in Nationa Novel Writing Month a total of six years in a row. For two of those years, OLL lent me an AlphaSmart to participate in the contest on. I fully believe that I wouldn't have been successful those two years without their help. The programme is amazing, and I have made several life long friends by participatig in the programmes that they are in charge of. The money that is donated to them is used to fund bringng the joy of writing to schools in the United States as well as to fund schools and libraries in third world countries.

I heard about the NaNo Novel writing challenge from an on-line friend, and looked it up. I did manage to write my 50,000 word novel. I wrote a complete novel and felt great about that achievement. Without the encouragement and advice I got from the site, I never would have gotten the confidence boost writing that bundle of words gave me.

I participated in NaNoWriMo last year and wrote my second novel. As a result of the participants, the forums and the assistance provided, I now have my first novel published, I have presented it at a literary review, and I have an interview on a local radio station soon. My book is in several local bookstores, and I have received excellent reviews so far. The experience is so exciting and without NaNoWriMo, I can't say for sure that I would have seen this project come to fruition. Next year, my 11 year old daughter hopes to participate as well!

In 2008, my entire family participated in NaNoWriMo and we all finished. My two boys at the time were 15 and 18, and they finished! It was exciting to them to realize that they could, in fact, write a novel. Their grandfather is a novelist, and so am I; but this experience gave them confidence in their own skills.

As such, I've become a donor to the Office of Letters and Light. I believe the art of the written language is changing; if the OLL can keep kids interested in writing, then perhaps the change will be all for the better. I don't know - I do know that the world can always use another writer. Bless you guys for doing what you do!

The Office of Letters and Light runs NaNoWriMo, an incredibly fun, supportive way for aspiring writers and published authors to cheer each other on to writing a full novel in a month.

I've met so many writing friends and critique partners through this program. I've won NaNoWriMo two years in a row now by writing more than 50K words in a month :)

The Office of Letters and Light is a wonderful organization, and I recommend their free programs to every writer I meet.

For two years in a row, Nanowrimo has helped me write my first draft of two novels. Without the "edge" of competition, I doubt my endeavors would've been as successful. I enjoy browsing the site, (even though it's addictive) and their motivational speeches. I will continue to participate and donate to Nanowrimo because it's truly a great thing.

At a very young age, I loved to write. From eight years old, I would always write stories and I loved it. The problem: I could never find the motivation to finish them. For three years now, I have participated in NaNoWriMo and in those three Novembers, I have written three novels. I can no longer imagine my year without NaNo and this is possible because of the OLL. My accomplishments with NaNoWrimo have boosted my self-confidence and made me finally believe that the dream I've had since I was a child is actually a possibility.

I took the challenge of writing a 50,000 word novel in 30 days which was sponsored by NaNoWriMo (The Office of Letters and Light). With the constant encouragement from this organization and it's volunteers, I succeeded in this daunting task. It changed my life, to say the least. I will now forever be a writer. My sense of accomplishment, achievement, and intellectual growth that I acquired from this experience are intangibles that can never be taken away.
I would, and do, recommend NaNoWriMo to anyone who will listen. I support their cause wholeheartedly.

I participated in National Novel Writing Month in 2009 and 2010. I won both years by doing something I never dreamed I could do. I wrote 2 novels! I certainly never thought of myself as I writer of fiction much less an entire 50,000 word novel. And now 2 novels! Never would this have happened without the encouragement and support of The Office of Letters and Light and the people at NaNoWriMo. The weekly pep talks from published authors are worth the price of admission alone. And guess what? There is no admission! Only donations. This organization deserves praise and support for changing people's lives. And helping in a simple and fundamental way to achieve dreams.

I love to write. I have a video of myself at four years old telling my mother that all I want to do when I grow up is write stories. It feels like I spent half my childhood with a pen in my hand crafting imaginative tales that took me far away from my own life. As I grew so did my vocabulary and eloquence-- I began to get serious in my pursuit of writing as a career. And of course, what better way to accomplish this than go to a reputable college and declare an English major. This is where my brilliant plan went awry. As it turns out spending all of one's time applying literary theory to Heart of Darkness is the single best way to lose one's love of creative writing. Don't get me wrong, I have always been a devoted reader, but all of a sudden I had no time, energy or reason to create anything new. That is... until nanowrimo. All of a sudden I had to sit down every single day and put words on a page. It was like something was awakened in me that I hadn't felt since my early teens. I was a writer again. It was as though my imagination had been in hibernation this whole time but the moment I woke it up it took up right where it left off and in the space of only a couple of days I remembered why I wanted to write. It is impossible to express in this short space what those 50,000 words did for me but believe me when I say that I arrived in December completely changed. I was saved from drowning in academia. And yes-- I'm going to stay in college and get a degree and all those things that people say you should do-- but to quote Mark Twain, I am never again going to let schooling interfere with my education. Thank you, nano.

For the thirty days and nights that NaNoWriMo consumes your life, the Office of Letters and Light becomes your own personal pep squad. Writers live in the chat rooms and peruse the forums. I went for the whole experience this year and even joined my fellow regional writers at a meet-and-greet, several write-ins, and the TGIO party.

It's an experience that I'm glad I indulged. Will I do it again this year? I'm looking forward to it.

I love Nanowrimo - it makes my November. No, it makes my year!! I have done Nanowrimo for 4 years now and plan on doing it for the rest of my life. Writing a novel in a month is SUCH a fantastic experience, and having people doing it with you makes it the amazing thing that it is. The friends who participate in Nanowrimo with me are special friends indeed. For me, Nano is about doing something for myself, and to prove something to myself. Again, I love Nanowrimo

The Office of Letters and Light organizes NaNoWriMo, the National Novel Writing Month. This was my first year participating, and it was an amazing experience. While writing is ultimately a bit of a solitary experience, the OLL has a lot of support for new writers, from email support and advice, Twitter challenges, an IRC channel, message boards all the way to local in-person "Write-Ins." I attended a couple Write-Ins, and it was nice to get out of the house and focus on my story without household distractions. I also leveraged some of the message boards -- it was nice to know there was a place to commiserate if I was having problems with my story.

NaNo is a great program! I used to love writing when I was a kid, but gave it up when I experienced problems with depression and other mental illnesses. NaNo got me into writing again, and was also instrumental in introducing me to a social community of great people who also love to write. Writing gives me something positive to do, and it gave me a huge sense of accomplishment to reach my goal of 50,000 words for this year's NaNo. I am now back into writing on a regular basis, and I still love it!

I used NaNoWriMo with my son (10) this year, and he successfully wrote a novel! He felt SO accomplished, and now my other two children (7 & 14)want to write novels of their own next year!

I'd heard about NaNoWriMo for years before actually attempting the challenge, but I'd always held back actually learning more about it or - God-forbid - actually attempting it. I was incredibly intimidated by the high word counts and, what seemed like, a ton of serious, focused people working hard on their novel.
The first time I learned more about it, was the first year I joined. Friends revealed to me the true inner workings of this great idea. It was a fun, challenging, rewarding, completely crazy and insane good time. I'm so glad I got to be a part of it this last November, and am planning to participate next time. I encourage everyone who has the slightest interest in writing to at least find out more about what goes on!

With NaNoWriMo, I finally had an opportunity to concentrate on my writing, if only for a month. In that month, I was able to not only finish my novel, but gain the confidence to have it published once I was done with editing and reviewing the material. I really appreciate all of the encouragement the members of NaNoWriMo gave me throughout November.

I participated in NaNoWriMo 2010, which is one of the three programs The Office of Letters and Light sponsors. Even though I loved to write, writing a 50k word novel was challenging. However, I gathered much encouragement from the forums on the NaNoWriMo website, LOVED the pep talks, and believed that even minuscule little me could write something SO fantastic.
And I did.
I am so amazed at how hard the OLL staff work to make this possible. And it's free. Writing is so important today--we use it on blogs, read it in newspapers, even FB or twitter statuses. But everyone has a story within themselves--something they want to share to the world. But they just need a little help in getting it out there. The Office of Letters and Light does just that...and more! They have fantastic helps for beyond the writing process, professional links, publication help and feedback! They are the best writing motivation-er I know. Thank you, OLL!!
Not only has OLL given me the confidence to actually write and know that I'm accomplishing something....it has given me a whole new outlook on life. I'm seeing everything twice, once by vision and again through the eyes of a writer. And it's marvelous, simply marvelous.

The Office of Letters and Light is a magnificent organization designed to help writers write more and write better. They have engineered some very creative ways to engage the world with writing. My favorite and my first exposure was their NaNoWriMo contest. November is National Novel writing month. The challenge to write a novel in a month was amazing and well worth it. I support the work and energy of this group,

I have always wanted to do more with my writing, and write a book. NaNoWriMo gave me a reason to, and now I have finished a first attempt at writing a book and am working on several other projects. I never would have done any of it if NaNoWriMo had not inspired me to try writing that first book. I plan on making NaNo an every year thing. Every now and then the website went down, and was a bit slow, but other than that it was perfect. The OLL encourages people to write, and that is something that I don't see nearly enough of.

The act of writing is solitary, but through National Novel Writing Month, the massive annual event run by the Office of Letters and Light each November, writers lift their pens and flip open their laptops knowing that they are not alone. The Office of Letters and Light fosters creative endeavours among adult writers and, more crucially, young writers. Through their online community, I have found a wonderful group of local writers and the courage to continue to celebrate my creative side.

NaNoWriMo is one of the best things anyone who enjoys writing or reading can participate in. I highly recommend that anyone interested joins and gives it a shot. It's well it. NaNoWriMo is highly enjoyable. The atmosphere is supportive and fun. NaNoWriMo is wonderful.

Every year this organization helps hundreds of thousands of people from all ages and walks of life realize that they can create anything they want if they put their minds to it.
As a three-time participant of the National Novel Writing Month program that this organization holds every November, I can tell you that there are few other programs that have affected my life as deeply as the Office of Letters and Light.

I really enjoyed joining NaNoWriMo. It really helped me understand my craft better. I became a more disciplined writer because I had a specific goal to meet. This organization helped me by sending me words of encouragement, tips on how to write better, stories about how other writers struggled to finish the goal of 50,000 words, and the like.

NaNoWriMo provided me a forum, stage, and graph to mark my progress writing at least 2500 words every day through the month of November, 2010 thereby completed a novel of 50,000 words in that 30 day timeframe. The support and encouragement were fantastic and the giveaways and gift items superb. I will do this each year. I also donated $50 to show I wasn't a total slug just always taking. This is a fantastic service, fun for serious writers. Even better, I have a novel I'm going to tweak and sequel and publish online this year. So ciao 4 now you all!

This was one of the most enjoyable experiences/challenges I've undertaken in my life thus far. I succeeded in completed a 55,000 word novel in only 21 days and it was only because I put myself to the test with this wonderful program. NaNo provided inspirational emails, forums and write-in/meet-ups to encourage participants to reach their goal. I don't know how I would have gotten through such an ominous task without the support. I am looking forward to participating in NaNoWriMo next November.

The Office of Letters and Lights has one of the better goals and aims of non-profits. The best way to help children succeed is to instill in them a love of reading, and in the future, writing. The services provided by The Office of Letters and Lights do a great job in sowing those seeds.

Nano is extremely important to the writing community. It helps new writers like myself stay motivated and introduces us to new points of view. I hope they are around to stay.

I first heard of NaNoWriMo just three days before November 1st, 2003. The contest captured my imagination--I had dreamed my whole life of writing a novel but somehow lacked the will to go beyond notes and outlines. What was more, the organization sponsoring NaNoWriMo was generous (no fees were required), imaginative (prizes were PDF files and gif images), and altruistic (donations to the organization beyond their basic needs went to building libraries in Thailand).

It was a rocky ride, but with the lively online communities, the clever pressure of a deadline, and encouragement from the regional Municipal Liaison I succeeded in writing my first ever novel. I did it a second time in 2004; and I made some suggestions to the regional Municipal Liaison of ideas I had on improving the experience of the participating writers.

The ML was impressed by my suggestions and invited me to join her as co-ML in 2005. I did and have served as a volunteer NaNoWriMo ML each and every year since then, also managing to complete my NaNo-novel every year.

The reasons for my staying on as a volunteer NaNoWriMo Municipal Liaison are fourfold:
1. I find it tremendously rewarding to help other writers realize their dreams of completing a novel
2. The staff of the Office of Letters and Light are all such great people that they inspire the volunteers and participants with their mission (now focusing towards using the power of NaNoWriMo to help young folks write fiction)
3. I enjoy the interactions with the writers who participate in NaNoWriMo
4. It is heartwarming to be a part of the tremendously creative and sharing community of ML volunteers

This isn't to say that there have been some rough patches or disagreements between the volunteers and the central organization; every volunteer organization experiences this. But overall the spirit of open exchanges and generous support have made NaNoWriMo and the OLL a true success story.

I LOVE the Office of Letters and Light. Since the First Amendment is so vital to our country, any organization encouraging the written word is contributing to the well-being of us all. I loved being one in a group of people writing novels in November, and plan to participate every year i am able. What i like most about OLL is the Young Writers Program. I wish every classroom in America could participate.

There is very little that's more precious to me than words. Words let me express myself to the world and tell my story. The Office of Letters and Light let me do this. The people provided the means and the motive to do something I had always wanted to do. They didn't just help me write a novel, but they provided me a way to express myself in a way I had always wanted to.

They set me on the pathway to truly following my dreams. The small ones that take up a huge place in my heart. The ones that I'd daydream about because they were just that: daydreams.

It seems petty, as charities go. Helping people write. How simple. How basic. Everyone can do that, right?

Yes, everyone CAN do it, but no one really believes that THEY can. It's always a future goal, but the Office of Letters and Light made it more than a possibility. They made it an obtainable goal.

I feel like I'm writing a small novel in this miniscule review, but I don't want to minimize the impact that it's had on my writing life and my life as a whole. I know I can do anything I set my mind to. I've written three novels so far- the last over 100,00 words. I didn't know I had that many words in me. But I'm going strong and will continue to write. Thanks to The Office. I don't know how I could've done it without you.

They sent encouraging emails, maintained boards where I could discuss my problems, and overall, produced an environment where I felt free to just go for it.

I love Nanowrimo! They offer an expansive community and programs to kick an aspiring writer in the tush!
Their programs for youth are stellar. They won't stop till every can read and write.

November used to be the worst month of the year. The November Nervous Breakdown was a tradition. Until 2005 when I found Nanowrimo!

As the facilitator of a free writing group in the east end of Toronto, I thought it might be instructive to encourage my members to play around with the idea of writing 50,000 words in one month. They chickened; I didn't.

Nanowrimo may not have saved my life; however, those 30 days are not the horrible darkening days.

The only year I didn't finish was in 2007 when my husband left me, taking the computer with my material on it. I found that the Nano community propped me up. There was always next year.

The materials sent out by the administrators are helpful and encouraging. Their support to the local groups is phenomenal. The local groups add a personal level to the work.

Several people have been focussed enough to have their "Nano" published. But these aren't the only success stories - it's the high school kid writing vampire stories who connects with the grandma writing an historical novel. It's the sixteen people taking a night off writing and going to karioke together. It's those profile pictures on Facebook that let you know you're part of a community.

With very little money, but a great deal of enthusiasm, the Office of Letters and Light has made a community. We need to connect a bit more during the year, and the local groups peter out a bit.

But there's always next year!

I am both a donor and one who has benefitted from the support given to nanowrimo. My participation in nanowrimo propelled my writing life from barely adequate to one where I not only express myself in stories and poems, but am involved with other writers and writing groups. My confidence in both verbal and written communication blossomed via my interactions with other writers involved with nanowritmo. Now I help other writers. I have also watched others blossom because of their involvement with nanowrimo.

This is a great organization - the writing opportunities are not limited to one group but are open to everyone, no discrimination. I'm grateful this group exists for writers everywhere.

NaNoWriMo is probably one of the best things that has ever happened to me. I did it for the first time three years ago, and have written a novel in November ever since. And I totally do not see myself stopping anytime soon. I love NaNo, and love how much it has enriched my life and my approach to writing.

Office of Letters and Light mean a LOT to me, I'm homeschooled and my family and I use NaNoWriMo for an elective, and the rewards that winners receive are very helpful to me as a sprouting writer/author. I don't know what my year would be like if I didn't have NaNoWriMo to look forward to. Overall it is a wonderful experience, and a wonderful opertunity for not only old and young adults, but also for teenagers with their Young Writers Program.

The OLL, through it's NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) program encourages young and old authors alike to take that leap of faith and just write. Personally, I've always been curious about writing and when the opportunity came up to do NaNoWriMo I took it. I decided if I liked it I'd continue at it and maybe pursue it on a more serious level. I not only won NaNoWriMo, but I found that I absolutely loved to write. Since then I haven't really stopped. That was November 2009. I just truly feel this program helps people who might not even be sure about writing commit to a goal and even discover, like me, that it isn't just a daily word count, but that it's something they want to do forever. And, I mean, the sense of accomplishment is SO awesome! I love the work done by OLL and it's programs.

The Office of Letters and Light runs the National Novel Writing Month contest and they do an amazing job. The website connects writers from all over the world, helping people build communities and cross-cultural understanding. I have made new friends in my city through their in person writing events and friends around the world through the forums. Before participating in NaNoWriMo, I saw the career of "author" as an elusive, mystical, improbable profession. Now, I know that it is a tangible, attainable goal and I have a much better understanding of how to achieve it. Not only that, but I have a whole community of fellow writers who want me to succeed and who are there to answer questions I may have along the way. The staff at OLL also provide weekly emails of encouragement and support from published authors which has been amazingly helpful. In short, because of the Office of Letters and Light and the communities they have established around the love of writing, I have grown as a person and I am going to aim for the goal I once thought impossible. This is a place for anyone who loves to write, or just dabble with words, and would like to see what their fellow writers are doing.

NaNoWriMo has been an incredible experience I feel truly lucky to have been a part of. It's one of those underground experiences of sorts that spreads by word of mouth, at least in my neck of the woods, and comes to be something you look forward to year after year. It's been a community builder and a fantastic creative exercise, to say the least. It's also a tremendous program that's given a lot back to the community in so many ways, I look forward to watching it continue to grow and thrive and help the community.

As a creative-type, it can sometimes be difficult to separate the wheat from the chaff of internet services, especially when they're free.

The folks at NaNoWriMo run a top-notch program. Just creating the online space for people to do this would have gotten five stars from me - for the sheer brilliance and effort required - but they take it a step further and let you network with other writers, track your word count, stay motivated via regular e-mail "pep talks"... they even give you a personalized certificate of completion at the end (provided you complete it), and keep all your information securely online for next year.

Fantastic.

IThe first year, I wrote 58,558 words for a novel I had been working on (unsuccessfully) for several years. I could never have done that without my involvement in this wonderful non-profit organization. The encouragement of their volunteers, the helpful information available on their site, and (not least) the wonderful word counter that let me see day by day how I was progressing. Since I first joined their yearly party called nanowrimo, I have written several short stories, have rpartly evised my novel, and taken a course in creative writing. For this old women who never believed that I was creative, my involvement with The Office of Letters and Light has been a life-changing eye-opener.

Nano is the best idea ever for helping people realize their dream of writing a novel. The online community generated during Nano is one of the most supportive artistic communities in which I have ever participated. I have been a part of Nano for three years and it has worked magic in my writing life.

In a world where schools are struggling to educate our children, it's great that there is an organization out there doing their part to help encourage children (and adults!) to get their thoughts out there and be heard. I participate in NaNoWriMo every year, and will continue to do so.

When I first joinned the OLL's NaNoWriMo program, I thought it was a load of hooey, the kind of thing you did when you Just want to have fun. But after not 1, but 2, of my books written during the contest became accepted for publishing after a couple of fast edits, I realised that the OLL was helping me to become the writer that I always wanted to be. And not just me. The OLL has helped many, many thousands of people realise the joys of writing, the thrill of meeting a deadline and the absolute inhabition of creating their own worlds, where they're the master. The Office of Letters and Light are just plain awesome!

Writing is one of the best things you can do if you're looking for self-discovery, and the Office of Letters and Light can help you do it. During November, they push you to write a 50,000 word novel. Speaking from experience, it's amazing, even better with friends and other people doing it, and I've been talking of nothing else since November last. Writing a novel is incredibly fun, and these awesome people help you pull it off with poppy emails and a snappy website.

NaNoWriMo is awesome. They provide so much support to aspiring novelists... I had never written so much in my life. I love NaNoWriMo and am very excited to do it again. It turned a month that would have been aimless into a month in which I fell into an exciting world of writing that I haven't escaped since.

I started NaNoWriMo because a friend was doing it. I didn't even plan to do it until the night before. At 11:59 PM I had a main character - nothing else. Fifteen days later I had my first novel.

I cannot express how grateful I am to this website. I could have written the novel on my own time, but the website gave me a place to have competition and encouragement. Without this website I wouldn't have written my novel.

It's been two years. Both years I've written a fifty-thousand word novel. Both years I finished the novel in less than the month. I am so grateful to this site for the opportunity to get my thoughts into words.

Thank you NaNoWriMo.org!

NaNoWriMo, just one of the events offered by OLL, has literally changed my life. A few years back, when I found NaNo, I had not written much since college (many years for me.) By making it a low-stress, fun event the OLL effectively freed me to open up and be creative again. I have made NaNo a regular part of my life ever since. More importantly, I have made writing a regular part of my life!

NaNoWriMo was a great experience for me. I'd been looking at writing a book for a while, but this is what really got me going. I finished the contest and am really happy to have done so. The support provided by the NaNo community is spectacular, and the entire event is worth a great deal to those who participate (an ever-increasing number). I've only competed once so far, but I fully expect to do so again next year.

NaNoWriMo helped me do in 30 days what I had not accomplished on my own in 2 years: write a novel. The tools and the encouragement were motivating and helped me to reach my goal.

Participating in National Novel Writing Month, sponsored by the Office of Letters and Light, is one of the few things to which I can point and say with confidence: That definitely changed my life! I'm an aspiring novelist, as are many of the NaNoWriMo participants. I've harbored this aspiration since elementary school, as have, I suspect, many of the NaNoWriMo participants. And until I discovered and committed to the Office of Letters and Light's challenge, I had never come close to completing a manuscript (not to break this awesome quasi-parallel structure I have going on), which, I suspect, is true of many NaNoWriMo participants.

2010 was my first year participating in NaNoWriMo and it was a phenomenal experience. By the end of November, I walked away with more than just a 50,000 word manuscript. I walked away with renewed motivation and determination. I had just accomplished something that had been on my Life's To-Do List since I was six years old and I had done it in 30 days after 17 years of procrastination.

I walked away (metaphorically, of course - literally, I collapsed away from NaNoWriMo after a furious writing marathon on the last day of the competition because, hey, procrastination is a habit that dies hard) from NaNoWriMo with the distinct feeling that I could do anything. In fact, since winning NaNoWriMo, I have undertaken, and accomplished, one big giant goal every month in an attempt to replicate that joyous feeling of achievement.

Beyond my personal experiences with the organization, I wholeheartedly support the youth programs it offers. Returning to my pipe dreams of being a novelist, I specifically want to write for children and I can't even articulate the importance I place on promoting literacy and a love of language to children. For this reason alone, even if there were no NaNoWriMo and no Script Frenzy and no component of the Office of Letters and Light's work that could give me personal warm fuzzies of accomplishment and invincibility, I still would be an advocate.

The Office of Letters and Light is the most wonderfully creative group of people who just want to help writers overcome writer's block and they succeeded with me. I wrote a novel in 30 days!

I volunteer to help the Office of Letters and Light to run their programs because I support anyone who wants to write be it a novel, a script or a young writer. Especially the young writer. Why? because when I was young I didn't have anyone to support the idea that I wanted to write, if anything they all put it down. We need this program so the young writers of today will not be stalled until later in life to fulfill their dream be it fiction, non-fiction, screenplays, poetry, or just to put their own thoughts on paper.

I am also a client in that I have been signing up for NaNaNoWri for 7 years. I ran a NaNoWriMo writer group in November at my local book store before I even knew to do that. I donate a small amount every year(Its all I can afford on a fixed income), and talk up the program to all my writing groups. The Office of Letters and Light do not care that I am dyslexic and make many errors, they just care that I write!

I hope you will consider them for this award. Where else can you get support and help in the writing field for the free or the cost of a donation.

OLL provides encouragement to young writers in particular and I think that is very worth while. I've read too many illiterate papers by young people; anything that encourages them to improve is a good thing. I don't have a lot of resources, but I try to donate a few times a year.

I have taught writing and composition for nearly 20 years on the collegiate level, but I have always written for my own enjoyment. I also read voraciously, from many different genres and have thought, "I could write this." Since I am not teaching this year, when a friend mentioned the writing challenge of NaNoWriMo, I decided to take up the gauntlet and write the novel for my own enjoyment.

I thought the endeavor would be lonely and solitary. Instead, since I shared my decision with friends on a writing site, and since I attended local get-togethers of others doing the challenge I finished the month of November with new friends. When I first signed on, I didn't realize I had a group of other writers in my own city who could give me pep talks, so I signed on for the Isle of Skye off Scotland since I love the area. The local moderator from Skye became a friend and confident.

Not only did I write the 50,000 words by November 30 to finish the challenge under the wire, I also had cheerleaders from the next block, from across the Atlantic and from the NaNoWriMo daily blogs. The organizers sent us letters from published writers with information about the process of writing a novel, and posted weekly humorous videos addressing problems writers encounter and how to deal with them.

Imagine getting pep talks through the heavy irony and hilarity of Lemony Snickett, and the clarity and appreciation of fan fiction from Mercedes Lackey.

I also had writing buddies, whom I could count on for moral support and whom I sent messages of hope to in return. Both have become great friends.

So, I wrote the first draft of a novel, got good information from professionals, and met new friends through accepting the NaNoWriMo challenge to write a novel in November. It was one of the best experiences of my writing career. I willingly donated to the Office of Light and Letters, and I look forward to doing the challenge in November 2011.

Twana Biram

The Office of Letters and Light is doing a phenomenal job of helping people write. Without NaNoWriMo, I would never have been able to finish a novel. And even though November is over, I'm still writing. Anything that supports them is amazing!

NaNoWriMo is so many things: stimulating, challenging, motivating; it inspires your creativity and pushes you to your limits. It forces you to learn to discipline yourself. It doesn't allow you to second guess yourself - you don't have time! And while, at the end of the day, it's all about whether you have the chutzpah to get to 50K or not, the camaraderie of the challenge is incredible too. Just knowing that there are so many other minds spinning their tales at breakneck speed is totally inspiring and makes you want to push yourself that much more. And the payoff? Whether you win or lose, it doesn't matter. You learn so much about yourself, how you work, and your story, and the experience is utterly priceless.

NaNoWriMo and the Office of Letters and Light changed my life.

No exaggeration.

Because of this program, because I took them up on on the challenge they presented, because I opened myself up to the motivation, encouragement and programs they made available to me- I reached a goal I had never dreamed possible. I FINISHED a novel. My teen daughter finished a novel as well, on the same evening I did! This experience bonded us as no other could.

But wait! There's more!

Because of people that I connected with who were also accepting the challenge, I began another venture that I never thought possible. And another. Several opportunities have presented themselves since I won NaNoWriMo and because of the lessons I learned through it- I grabbed at them and held them tight AND RAN. A this because I now posess, not only a 50,000+ word manuscript, but a belief in myself and my gifts.

I entered NaNoWriMo a mommyblogger who gave it away for free. Within the last three months I have become a paid columnist, a podcaster, and am working with a critique partner to polish and revise my manuscript.

All this because of the programs presented by The Office of Letters and Light.

It's not an exaggeration for me to say that the Office of Letters and Light's National Novel Writing Month contest changed my life. Participating in a worldwide composition marathon not only gave me the impetus to actually write an entire novel in a mere thirty-one days, but it also made me feel like a part of a global community—albeit an exhausted, hyper-caffeinated one. In all seriousness, though, I know of no organization that fosters creativity on such a grand and meaningful scale. They're truly doing great work.

OLL has done more to encourage and develop my abilities as a writer than any class, any job, any teacher or any software program I've ever used. Each November I bless the friend who introduced me to NaNoWriMo, and each year I encourage everyone I know to participate. This group deserves every accolade and award it has and will receive.

Novels have been percolating in my mind for decades, but I wrote none of them down until The OLL came into my life. My first year in NaNo was cathartic, and generated a short story that I am still proud of several years later. I am currently merging my last two November's work into a single volume - much editing and writing remains to be done, but I am jazzed at what I see coming together! I do not know if I would have ever started writing this story without the encouragement and tools provided for NaNo.

Another OLL program I *love* is the student competition. What a concept - teachers encouraging kids to write about anything they want, set and complete their own goals, and communicate with other young people around the world at the same time. What a powerful message for young people!

What could be more important than encouraging people of all ages to have fun and enjoy writing and storytelling? To enjoy the act of creating and then sharing your creation with literary abandon and thus elevating yourself and your ability to communicate? Imagine all we could accomplish if more people could communicate more fully? The Office of Letters and Light with activities like NaNoWriMo does exactly that. Stories have long been a mode of teaching people about how to live and how to overcome seemingly impossible odds. They are essentially creating an environment in which people can learn and grow into people that can teach and help educate and elevate those around them. I can think of little else of more importance.

The Office of Letters and Light gives an opportunity most of us never knew we needed. If you've ever wanted a space to be creative, where it's ok to fail and learning from the attempt is all that matters, where headlong creation is the only goal, and you're surrounded by other people just as crazy as you are all gunning for the same lofty goal, then this is place for you. Organized by the Office of Letters and Light, NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) convenes every November and thousands of people around the world throw themselves at the goal of 50,000 words in 30 days.

I wrote my first NaNoWriMo novel when I was in high school, back in 2005. I've participated every year since, spending the last two years as a volunteer for the organization as well as a participant. Every year I get better, both at writing and at leading my local area in the undertaking. I'm currently a university student going to school to become a high school English teacher, and NaNoWriMo is something I plan to use in the classroom. It's a place where failure is part of the learning process and nothing (not even quality) matters more than the discipline it takes to finish what you've started. 50,000 words or bust!

The Office of Light and Letters provides crucial encouragement and support to writers. With budget problems causing cutbacks in school writing programs and the publishing world becoming increasingly narrow and profit-oriented in its mission, we need programs that celebrate writing for the joy it gives and supports writers during their dark moments.

The NaNoWriMo campaign encouraged me to write 45,000 words more than I have ever written for a single project.

Now, when I look at 750-word assignments I ask, "That's all? Easy!"

Working in NaNoWriMo, writing a 50,000-word novel, helped me overcome a few barriers as a writer. It's a priceless experience that I'm looking forward to again this year.

The Office of Letters and Light did an amazing job orchestrating it all: They gathered authors, known and unknown to me, and sent me encouraging e-mails each day. I might not have made it through without them!

And I have their little certificate hanging on my fridge so I can see it every day, and be reminded of my greatest accomplishment.

I couldn't have done any of that without the opportunity provided by The Office of Letters and Light. Thank you guys!

This is the organization that organizes the annual National Novel Writing Month. Even though that is an event that does a great job totally consuming your life, it is still a wonderful event that gets people to go out and write. Yup, awesome group!

The National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) program -- organized and supported each year by the Office of Letters and Light -- has changed the way that I approach writing, and has had a positive impact on thousands of writers literally across the globe.

I've participated in NaNoWriMo every year since 2004, and I continue to marvel at the way that what started as a simple idea in a California coffee shop has grown into a full-on celebration of creativity, inspiring writers (both hopefuls and seasoned professionals) to new heights of imagination and genius. All the while, the Office of Letters and Light is behind the scenes supporting the NaNoWriMo novelists, encouraging the next generation of writers through special programs, and promoting literacy.

I continue to participate each year because I know this annual month of literary madness will pretty much force me to work out the kinks in that story I've been mulling over, and that I'll have a workable first draft on or before November 30.

I'm proud to be a part of NaNoWriMo every year, and to support the Office of Letters and Light in its efforts.

I've participating in NaNoWriMo for 2 years now, and I just can't get enough of it. It's helped me improve drastically as a writer, and gain more confidence in my writing through communication with other members. It's an amazing feeling of being part of something, helping others and being helped, and I wouldn't stop attending the event for the world.

I'm actually considering publishing some of my works thanks to the Office of Letters and Light...it gives an immense feeling of satisfaction to be part of the community.

The NaNoWriMo experience was amazing! I had been a dormant writer for about 15 years. After happily graduating from a writing program in 1995, I proceeded to have a baby, build a career, and put writing on a back burner. It was supposed to be temporary, but a couple years ago I noticed I couldn't even write any more. The words were gone--disappeared. Last year I tried NaNoWriMo and made about 3 days of progress which gave me some good material to work with. This year I had an idea, sketched it out, and held myself very strictly to wordcounts. I have a draft of a novel! It's amazing to have done it and the novel has potential that I am working with now. Writing that draft was like being resurrected from the dead. NaNoWriMo changed everything for me.

I've participated in NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) for two years in a row now, and both times I've "won" - which means that I managed to write at least 50,000 words in a month! The first year I wrote just over 50,000 words, and the second year I wrote 88,000. This is a goal that I never would have been ever to achieve without NaNoWriMo. The Office of Letters and Light is an amazing organization that encourages people around the world to write and connect. The online community is one of the richest and most wonderful that I have the privilege of being a part of.

I used to write, years ago, and always said I'd get back into it one day, but just never got around to it. Then a friend pointed me to NaNoWriMo, and in November 2010 I wrote a 50,000 word novel -- not in 30 days, but in 15. The funny, lively, smart online community plus the clearly-defined daily goals put a quick end to all excuses and procrastination. Since then, I've been revising my 2010 project and looking forward to NaNoWriMo 2011!

The Office of Letters and Light helped me realize my real and true dream of becoming a novelist and a published author. Before I found National Novel Writing Month, I was a novelist who never finished a single project. Now, having participated in NaNoWriMo 7 years in a row, and succeeding, I can now finish every draft I sit down to write. It is an amazing non-profit. THey build libraries in third world countries. I feel confident that the money I donate to this organization is used for the greatest cause!

NaNoWriMo has truly changed the way I view literature and the art of writing. I have written two 50k-word novels because of the program, and it has pushed me, through all of their creative forces of motivation, to write more than I could ever have thought possible. I fully intend to continue participating in NaNoWriMo and believe the Office of Letters and Light deserves to be recognized as a great foundation for all that they do. So inspirational, and incredible that they have helped so many people all over the world to start in on their novels. The more one writes, the better!

I've done NanoWrimo for the past five years, and aside from having five novels under my belt, my children have benefited as well. Because they've watched me go through the noveling process every year, they've become motivated to write their own stories. I've got a 9 year old with Asperger's and motor skills issues. We used to have to pull teeth to get a sentence out of him. Now he requests notebooks so he can write and when he has to do any kind of written work at school, he gives lots of details instead of single word answers. My 7 year old decided she wanted to write a novel and have it published. NanoWrimo and the Office of Letters and Light has inspired many youth directly through their programs, but they are motivating many others indirectly too.

This past November was my first time participating in NaNoWriMo and I absolutely loved it! This is a wonderful program to really push all ages past what they thought they could accomplish with their writing. One of my biggest problems as a writer is that I procrastinate. NANO helped me work through that and prove that I can write 50,000 words in a month even while working full time.

The staff was supportive and did an excellent job encouraging the participants with the newsletters, blogs, updates and my personal favorite pep talks from published authors!

I have always wanted to write a novel but could never actually finish one. Usually I would psyche myself out by second guessing every writing decision or simply lose interest. The Nanowrimo program of the Office of Letters and Light allowed me to fulfill that dream. The website that connects you with other aspiring writers and peptalks throughout the month are exceedingly helpful, as is the word counter. It made it much easier to set goals and meet them with this set up. While the novel I wrote for Nanowrimo will never be published and is not particularly good, it reignited my passion for creative writing. I highly recommend it to anyone who has ever thought about writing a novel, seriously or not.

The OLL provided me with an encouraging space full of like-minded people, allowing me to explore the very depths of my imagination and, ergo, of my very essence. Without the guidance and community of the OLL, I would still have so many locked doors within myself, doors that needed to be opened. In short, the OLL provided me with a means of self-discovery, and, thusly fulfill an extraordinarily important role in my life and the lives of the millions who comprise the community.

I have been participating in the Office of Letters and Light's NaNoWriMo since 2007, and through this program I not only learned I could write a novel in a month, but that there were very few things I couldn't do with enough dedication and perseverance. In 2007, I was convinced I wouldn't be able to write nearly that much, as previous attempts to write anything resulted in unfinished short stories, and even short essays for school gave me panic attacks. Sure, NaNoWriMo isn't an actual cure for panic attacks, but it did help me put schoolwork and my creative writing in perspective, and showed me that I could write a novel, or, in my case, four of them. OLL provides an online encouragement and support system for participants, and organizes local events to help participants connect and often form friendships or writing connections for the other eleven months of the year. Furthermore, I have friends who have participated in the Young Writer's Program, and been able to learn just how much they can accomplish years before I ever figured it out, as well as hone their writing skills.

NaNoWriMo inspired me to write 50,000 words of my life experiences as a legacy to my daughters. Because it was a contest with a deadline, I made it my mission to type every single day in November without fail. To my surprised not only completed the 50,000 words, I finished early. I now have a rough draft of family history and life's wisdom preserved for ever for my children and their future children. It's something I have wanted to do since I was diagnosed with cancer 7 yeras ago and never got around to. I think this is an amazing organization which motivates people to write the novel they always dreamed of but keep putting off.

This past November was my first time participating in NaNoWriMo and I absolutely loved it! This is a wonderful program to really push all ages past what they thought they could accomplish with their writing and creates a wonderful sense of pride and confidence. I have never been able to keep my self concentrating on a story before and I'm proud to say that NaNo helped me finally achieve my goal of finishing the first draft of a novel I've had in my head for years!

The staff was incredibly supportive and really did a wonderful job encouraging everyone participating with the news letters, blogs, and updates!

I could not recommend this program any more highly, I think it has an immeasurable impact on students, and adults as well, and should be considered a valuable asset to teachers and anyone else that needs some help to accomplish their writing goals.

This organization's main fundraising effort. "National Novel Writing Month", is in and of itself a public service. I seriously can't even begin to tell you how positively it has affected my life. It has enabled me to complete huge, ambitious, and daunting creative projects with a freedom and a daring that otherwise would have been much more difficult for me to muster.

Many thousands of people directly benefit in their lives from its fundraising alone - and many more benefit from the target of its well-earned dollars: creating libraries overseas.

I heartily recommend this organization and its efforts. They shine.

The Office of Letters and Light is one of my favorite non-profits because they encourage all writers; budding and experienced ones, at all levels to follow their dream and complete a writing project on a deadline. How do they do this? Through the yearly NaNoWriMo Writing Challenge and other wonderful free creative writing programs.
They support young writers through user contributions and have worked hard to build a community of writers interested in taking massive action to finish a project and to help others do same.
They are deserving of this special award as I am confident they will put it to great use.; particularly to help those who need it the most.

I have had novel ideas and novel beginnings for decades, but it wasn't until I found out about NaNoWriMo (two days before it began) that I managed to sit down every day and write an entire, finished piece! The bonding I did with my two friends in our NaNoRaMo (as we call it - more fun to say!) team has morphed into stronger friendships and weekly pub quiz nights, so the fun continues! I can't wait to write a screenplay in April.

For me, November is the most wonderful time of the year. Why? NaNoWriMo, of course. I have participated for two years now and have found it to be the most helpful and encouraging organization for just "getting that novel done." It's hard to beat that feeling of reaching one's creative goals and Chris Baty and the team at the OLL have done a wonderful job in creating an event that not only makes you excited to be creating, but also enables you to meet other like-minded people with whom to share your triumphs and struggles.

I came across Nanowrimo when reading one of my favorite writer's blogs. Writing a novel in 30 days? No way. I had written short stories before but I was horribly slow at it an rarely finished them. I thought there was no way I could possibly do it. But in 2008 I got up the courage and joined. It was an abysmal failure...but it was still a fun experience: being apart of the collective, reading the pep talks and hearing about everyone's writing triumphs and failures. I didn't give up after that first year, even though it would have been easy to do so. In 2009 I conquered my novel and wrote over 50,000 words. In 2010 I not only won the day but I did it way before the crack of midnight and I learned new things about myself, creativity and artistic expression. Now after 3 years I proudly wear my winner's t-shirts and tell anyone that will listen all about Nanowrimo. It's an incredible experience that everyone should participate in. But the real diamond is their kids programs, giving children the chance to unleash their creativity and write their own stories is something magical indeed. That's why I donate every year and sincerely hope that The Office Of Letter's and Light wins this contest.

I have been involved in all three of OLL's programs, including NaNoWriMo, Script Frenzy and the Young Writer's Program. They helped me realize my dream of being a writer by connecting me with other local writers and giving us a reason to write. My son participated in the Young Writer's Program last April by writing his first short film. Their educational and inspirational materials (all given away for FREE!) are an amazing value, not to mention the month-long encouragement that arrives via email during each contest. I donate to The Office of Letters and Light every time I join one of their contests, and I encourage others to do it too. They are doing wonderful things for literacy and creativity all around the world.

Nanowrimo changed my life forever. I was roped into it, two days before it was going to start by a dear friend of mine. Never did I think that it would be as big as it turned out to be. Through out the whole month I did the thing I had been trying to do for months, write a book. I found a new inner me that I did not know existed. It is hard to explain the way I feel after coming out of this, all is I can say is that I feel love. Love from writers I met and joined forces with. Love from the story they grew from a small seed in my brain, to a much larger, fuller story. And last but not least love from God who gave me the strength and courage to do this thing in the first place. This was the most hectic, crazing, amazing thing I have ever done, and I can assure you that I will be doing it again nest you.

The OLL changes lives. Through the hard work and effort of it's organization and team, people all over the World learn about creativity, writing and the freedom that can be found within that.
In 2007, I was reading a blog that talked about writing a novel in a month. I followed the link, read the preface of what NaNoWriMo is and instantly signed up. I've been a writer since I was a child but could never discipline myself or believe in myself enough to actually write a novel. I read the forums, learned about writing from real authors through the pep talks they provide. I changed as a person. I went from someone who wanted to be a writer and thought maybe someday I'll try to do it; to someone who wrote a novel from start to finish. I cried when I completed it, it brought such joy to my life. My husband has seen how I've changed over the past four years I've dealt with the OLL and he said that this has brought a joy to my life that he could never bring, but that the OLL brought out of ME. I am so thankful for this organization and will support them forever.

I first found NaNoWriMo the year after I had finished high school, I was doing nothing with my life and I had no idea of what I wanted to do, I had no ambition, no self confidence and I was quite unhappy.
That october, by chance, I found the office of letters and light's website, and since I had nothing else to do, I decided that I might as well have a go, even if what I wrote would turn out to be rubbish.
I was right, what I wrote was utter rubbish, but I loved it every second of theat month, I wrote until midnight on november 30 and I scraped over the 50,000 word mark by about 400 words and with about three minutes to go.
It was the best thing I had done in my life.
From then on, nothing seemed as hard or as scary as it had before, I went and got a better job, I did a tafe course, and I kept writing, and I slowly began to get better at it.
I have done NaNoWriMo three years in a row now, and I have won every year, and my life has changed completely.\
This year, I am going to go to university and begin a bachelor of creative arts, majoring in creative writing, I have written more than I ever thought I would have done, and for the first time, I'm happy with where my life is going, and I think it's safe to say that none of this would have happened if I hadn't found NaNoWriMo.

I participated in NaNoWriMo, which is produced by The Office of Letters and Light, for the last two years. Last year I was able to finish my novel, Bathtubs in a Field. I am in the process of editing the novel down so that it can be submitted to agents and published. Without NaNo I don't know that I would have ever started, much less finished, an entire novel. I Love The Office of Letters and Light. I wish I lived in CA so I could work for them.

OLL's NaNoWriMo gets people to do that which they only dream of. Upon completing the competition, the participant is a writer. Almost everyone wants to be a writer. OLL helps people achieve their dream.

NaNoWriMo is the greatest motivator for writers all over the world to actually sit in their seat and WRITE! I progress farther on my novel projects during the one month of November, then the rest of the year combined. Because of NaNoWriMo, I've made several other writer friends and now, this year for the first time, we are meeting weekly to keep November's momentum active throughout the year. If you want to write, if you have a story to tell, but seem to lack the discipline to sit down and get it done, then sign up for NaNoWriMo! A crazy quest to produce 50,000 words in 30 days will get your blood pumping and your fingers typing.

I not only participated in NaNoWriMo, but I bought T-shirts and mugs adn my husband also donated. We love our products and knowing the money supports this organization. I also wrote several novels in the years I participated, two of which are published and selling.

It's hard to overstate the impact of The Office of Letters and Light with National Novel Writing Month. It is so much more than a "writing contest." It is a dream-fulfilling machine. It inspires. I completed the first draft of a novel I had been trying to write for about 10 years by participating in this year's NANOWRIMO. And not only did it help me with the tools and support I needed to fulfill a lifelong dream, but that kind of personal success spills over into all other areas of life. It is such a confidence booster. And my kids were impressed, too, and that was an unexpected bonus. My success, thanks to NANOWRIMO, also showed them that hard work and persistence pays off. Thank you to the Office of Letters and Light!

The OLL runs some of the most important and creative challenges out there. Yes it helps people write a book or a script, but what it really helps with, what is fundamentally the core of this organisation, is re-discovering our true selves and living in the moment.
The entire aspect of the NaNoWriMo challenge is to let go and follow your heart. Something that we were all born to do but somewhere along the way, have forgotten. Taking part in NaNoWriMo helps us remember who we are, helps us access a creative part of our soul that we never thought existed and most of all, reminds us what we are capable of. The proof of this is in reading reviews from other members who say this has had such a positive impact in their lives.

i love this organization!! so many fail to achieve what they promise, but with nanowrimo, you get exactly what you might expect. a wonderful, supportive website, a huge community, and lots of extras such as certificates, jokes, store with merchandise, etc.
it is a simple theme to write a fifty thousand word novel in thirty days, eyt teh task itself is difficult. office of letters and light does everythign it can to not only promote writing, but has often helped withg literacy efforts as well, loaning alpha smarts, assistance to teachers, pairing with groups like betterworld books.

NaNoWriMo, the November writing project sponsored by the Office of Letters & Light, has helped me immeasurably. The feeling of community, knowing that I am not going through the insanity of pounding out 50,000+ words of narrative in 30 days by myself.

The newsletters, email attaboys and general helpfulness of OLL during NaNoWriMo is amazing. A testament to promoting writing, setting goals and attaining them. It's quite a thing they do. Promoting creativity is one of the most wonderful endeavors somebody can be in. OLL fills this need with gusto and a bit of humor.

According to young adult literature author Maureen Johnson, to become a real writer, one must first suck. One must suck long and hard at being a writer, and through this massive suckitude, one will gain the experience necessary to become a published and accomplished author. The Office of Letters and Light provides a safe, supportive environment for such suckitude. Through their multiple weekly pep talks during NaNoWriMo, they encourage and support thousands of writers around the world in their endeavors to become not only better writers, but better people as well. I personally have completed four NaNo novels, in no small part due to these pep talks. There were days when I just didn't think I could do it, and then I opened up the forums and found that someone out there, someone I didn't even know, believed in me. For some people, it's life-changing. I know it certainly was for me. I'm going to college next year to become an English major and hopefully have my book published thanks to this wonderful organization.

The Office of Letters and Light's National Novel Writing Month is a stupendous organization in which I have participated for the last three years and to which I intend to return again. I enjoyed writing before I participated and thought it would be great fun to give it a shot, writing these crazy, fun, scary novels in just one month.

Needless to say, it was. Their forums are supportive and supply valuable information for not only those doing well, but also those stuck in the annals of writer's block. The website is friendly and well-designed and I truly found it a pleasure to participate. NaNoWriMo made me feel empowered as I wrote, knowing that there were thousands of others across the country and across the world, egging me on and writing with me as we all ran that so appropriately named "literary marathon" to success.

This nonprofit is an honorable cause deserving the support of any and all who encounter it.

Ever since I was a kid, I've been starting short stories and novels and not once had I finished a single one until I participated in the National Novel Writing Month which is organized annually by The Office of Letters and Light. This organization is solely responsible for providing me and many, many others (both known and unknown to me) with the necessary nudge in the right direction that was needed to start/finish our novels and ideas.
Not only are they responsible for helping people hone their creative writing skills, they also provide help and advice on the topic of writing and editing (not limited to novels) to anyone who needs it.
But it doesn't end there. The OLL also supports the stimulation of children's creative writing, which in my opinion is a beautiful thing to do.
Where would our world be without creativity? And what better way to express that creativity than with the one object mightier than the sword?

I would also like to take this opportunity to thank the OLL for existing. I've written two novels over the past two years and I'm working on a third outside of NaNoWriMo. All of these have helped me to develop social contacts and strengthen the ones that I already had. Friends and family members are all filled with pride when they hear what I've accomplished and I believe that everyone should be given a chance to experience a similar satisfaction.

OLL is a wonderful organization that encourages and builds up the confidence of writers all around the world, young and old. For me, I'd always wanted to write a book but they gave me the drive to get it done. It was kind of a “someday, that would be nice.” thing. But that someday turned into something tangible! I participated in Nanowrimo in 2009 and I had so much fun, I came back for another go round in 2010! The staff are really friendly and they put a lot of effort and hard work into it every year. They provide the participants with so many resources and a lot of encouragement. It's fun and engaging and I have learned so much about writing, and myself as a person.

NaNoWriMo six years ago and the encouragement, satisfaction, and challenge it gives me and so many others is priceless.

The team at the Office of Light and letters work hard to provide articles from other writers, incentives, and the work they do with the young writers program is an investment in the future of our country. Young people everywhere are encouraged to delve into words, language, and their creative side, and in return, their lives are enriched. There is little I can say in the form of constructive criticism. If they can do it, they do. Whatever could be improved is merely cosmetic or out of their reach. I heartily recommend them.

Before I had heard of NaNoWriMo, the wonderful month long novelling fit run by The Office of Letters and Light, November was just another month. Now it's THE month, the month where the mundanities of life are put aside to make time for living a dream. A hectic, messy, insanity-inducing dream, but a dream nonetheless. I have neither words nor time enough to explain the many, many ways in which this has made my, and many other's, lives better, so I shall summarise thusly; it makes miracles happen.

I first heard about the Office of Letters and Light's program, National Novel Writing Month, when I was in grade 10. I didn't find the time to do it until a year later, but I proceeded to seize "victory" then and this previous year. Without the amazing support provided by the entire team and all of the participants, finishing the challenge of 50,000 words in 30 days could have posed insurmountable, but I was inspired enough thanks to their efforts to cross the finish line. The sheer difficulty ultimately paid off, and I am much more confident in my writing ability after both years. It taught me many valuable skills, from how to flesh out my writing to the all important ability of time management. I have thoroughly enjoyed everything the OLL has provided and look forward to continuing with their programs throughout my life. I cannot emphasize just how much their efforts help me and the world, so it is with my utmost sincerity that I direct anyone reading this review to their site.

The Office of Letters and Light has helped me write three novels and a poetry collection in the past two years. Without the numerous services and the friendly support they offer I would never have been able to accomplish my literary goals. I have had nothing but a fantastic time navigating their website, reading their tips, writing my novels, and dealing with them directly. I can't wait to participate in NaNoWriMo this November and to enjoy their generous support.

The most fun month of the year for me has become November (April might start to be fun too...). I love to write, or so I say, but it's difficult for me to get motivated. NANWRIMO and the Office of Letters and Light have inspired me to write daily - okay, so it doesn't usually last past November, but at least I've done it then. The support they provide through e-mails and videos keeps me interested and inspired, and I truly hope that one of these Novembers will blossom into a year of writing daily! At least, however, I have my November process to look forward to every year!

I have participated in National Novel Writing Month every November since 2008 and am currently in the process of readying my first project for submission to publishers.

I have always enjoyed writing, but participating in OLL's NaNoWriMo shows me just what I am capable of. It also connected me to other writers and showed me just how supportive my friends and family are of my writing habit.

I owe a lot to the folks behind this well-run event. NaNoWriMo staff members are on the ball, keeping participants updated if there are server problems, organizing encouraging emails from published authors, and a million other little things that make a big difference.

Well done, OLL! Keep it up!

The Office of Letters and Light is an amazing organization that helps people reclaim the creativity that so many of us lose touch with as we leave childhood. The challenge to write a novel or script in such a limited period of time -- only 30 days! -- seems at first approach like a daunting, even overwhelming task, and reaching the end is an amazing experience. And after conquering such a feat, it is almost inevitable to ask of oneself, "What else can I do that I once thought impossible?"

Sometime around July I get a thrill and a chill. Both are about the upcoming November. What will I write this time? What awesomeness will happen this year? Do I have enough spare time to finish? How could November possibly be so important? OLL. They encourage members to write, to partake in a creative process. While plenty of people could egg themselves on, OLL's NaNoWriMo is the writing equivalent to a marathon. People come together to aim at a goal. Without the central hub of OLL, I doubt it would work quite as well. But outside of NaNo, OLL has other programs that are equally geared to getting people to write. When I donated after my first year, it was out of a sense of having gotten a lot out of a very short time and out of the hope that others could have a similar experience. I feel like that expectation was well met.

It was hard to pick my role as I have both donated and been a beneficiary of this wonderful organization. OLL's National Novel Writing Month has been an inspiration for me each of the 5 years I have participated to date. The sense of community it fosters in local areas, bringing together people who might not find each otherwise - even with our shared interest in writing, is excellent. Having been through it a few years, I love to help out new writers in the month, and am greatly helped by the OLL staff's communication and their representatives in local Municipal Liaisons.

I know my writing and my confidence in it has grown year-by-year. I would recommend it to anyone aspiring to write. Further, if you are seeking an organization worth donating to, I know it feels good to me to think that my money can help bring new and great stories to the world. The esteem it can build in writers, too, young and old, is nothing to sniff at, either.