It’s a Small Animal! It’s a Writing Contest! It’s Nanowrimo?

The first time someone said the word “Nanowrimo” to me was in a Starbucks. An established author, who kindly met me for a jolt of caffeine and advice, wiggled in her seat and with a huge smile said, “I won Nanowrimo this year.” I was glad she gave me some context in her sentence, otherwise, I would have thought Nanowrimo was some sort of science experiment aimed at making a miniature rhinoceros.  (When she said it, it sounded like Nanorhino to me.)

Nanorhino: Like this, but real

From her expression, I knew I should be impressed. And, winning any sort of writing contest always sounds impressive to a fledgling writer like me. But at the time I didn’t quite grasp what it meant. In fact, I didn’t really grasp what it meant until last Wednesday night, my first attempt at Nanowrimo.

But first, do you not know what Nanowrimo is?

If you’re not…