Blogathon to Novel Writing

First we have pentathlon and decathlon (remember Bruce Jenner of the 1970s) in the Olympics for multiple events participated by an athlete. There is also marathon, a much much longer version of a running event. Then came telethon, walkathon and jogathon for any long-drawn activity. So is it any surprise that some wise guys came up with the idea of blogathon, in blogosphere, which I first read about it here ?

Started in 2001, this is both a continuous blogging and charity event. To complete the event whence your sponsor will submit their pledges to be donated to your chosen charities, you have to blog once every 30 minutes for 24 hours. For this year, these are the overall results:

Number of blogs: 284
Total pledges: $104,881.64

Blogathon 2007 is slated for July 29, 2007. So if you want to do a good deed while doing the thing you like, i.e., blogging, then start preparing for it from now on so that you would peak at the right time, and more important, mark that date.

Now, what is blogging? It’s essentially putting your thoughts, through the keyboard, onto virtual pages. There is no page limit, no time limit, no content restriction (of course any unsavory display will be met swiftly with the full censure of the netizens, ZERO HIT).

Stretch that, time-wise, we have blogathon. But it’s still a one-day event. How about a month? Not blogging on disparate topics, but writing a novel with a sequential story line. There’s where National Novel Writing Month, the long-form of NaNoWriMo, comes in.

At first glance, the short-form looks like a nano- variant. You know, miniaturization, MEMS. But this is as big as it can get.

According to the website, “National Novel Writing Month is a fun, seat-of-your-pants approach to novel writing. Participants begin writing November 1. The goal is to write a 175-page (50,000-word) novel by midnight, November 30.”

Why the challenge? To test your stamina for one thing. Above all, it’s an invitation to “lower your expectations, take risks, and write on the fly”; and “to make mistakes, to forgo the endless tweaking and editing and just create, to build without tearing down.”

Remember the cliché that the last 10% of what is essentially cosmetic finishing usually takes up 90% of the time? Then you would really see what you’re capable of if you suspend judgment. You may be in for a surprise.

Unlike Blogathon, which is scheduled for next year, this is next week stuff as it begins on Nov 1. This is a watershed event that will separate the MEN/WOMEN from the BOYS/GIRLS as far as writing is concerned.

Still having second thoughts? Perhaps these facts taken from the web site will settle it for you:

“In 2005, we had over 59,000 participants. Nearly 10,000 of them crossed the 50k finish line by the midnight deadline, entering into the annals of NaNoWriMo superstardom forever. They started the month as auto mechanics, out-of-work actors, and middle school English teachers. They walked away novelists.”

Let's awaken the novelist in you.