NaNoWriMo by the Numbers

Published November 15, 2019

Are you doing NaNo? Do you know what day it is? How are your fingers holding up? Had a shower recently? Where is your family? Are you a Wrimo? Odd questions? Maybe not. Here’s one more: Did you hit 25,000 today?

If you haven’t already heard, NaNoWriMo, (National Novel Writing Month) is an event that brings writers together from across the globe in order to write a 50,000 word novel in a single month. Today, November 15, 2019 is the middle. The halfway point. Today you should hit 25,000 words.

Here are a few numbers that you might also like to know:

In 2018:

• There were 403,542 participants (including 108,146 students and educators in the Young Writers Program). If all the participants finished, with an even 50,000 words each, that’s 20,177,100,000 words written in a month!

• 978 volunteer Municipal Liaisons (these are your local organizers and inspiration guides) guided 655 regions on six continents.

• 1,176 libraries, bookstores, and community centers opened their doors to novelists through the Come Write In program.

Who Does NaNo?

Thousands (367,913 to be exact) of NaNoWriMo novels have been completed, and hundreds have been traditionally published as a direct result of NaNo. Here are just a few:

Sara Gruen, Water for Elephants
Jason Hough, The Darwin Elevator
Hugh Howey, Wool
Marissa Meyer, Cinder
Erin Morgenstern, The Night Circus
Rainbow Rowell, Fangirl

The Best Part of NaNo?

The numbers are amazing to achieve, but the end result is what matters the most. If you write 25,000 words or 75,000 words, or even a simple outline of 200 words, you have started what many people only dream of…you will have drafted a novel. You will have joined the ranks of writers who are doing what they love, not just dreaming about it.

To everyone participating this year…
You’re halfway there! KEEP ON WRITING!

Managing Editor, Kathie “KJ” Scrim, is a graduate of the University of Colorado at Boulder. Her inspiration for blogging, flash fiction, short stories, and the long haul of novel writing comes from her many life experiences. When she’s not writing you can find her somewhere in Colorado walking, hiking, or rock climbing at the local gym.