NaNoWriMo: 6 things you need to know about the writing challenge

Flipping to the November page on your calendar means that it's time for NaNoWriMo again. Here's a primer on the challenge that's produced bestselling novels and made novelists of many.

5. Who's come out of the program?

Perhaps the best known success story of NaNoWriMo is Sara Gruen, whose 2006 historical novel "Water for Elephants" was written through the initiative. The story of life and love in a circus during America's Great Depression became an award-winning bestseller, and was adapted into a film starring Robert Pattinson and Reese Witherspoon. Erin Morgenstern's bestselling 2011 novel "The Night Circus" – a fantastic tale of competing 19th-century magicians – was also a product of NaNoWriMo. Fantasy writer Amelia Atwater-Rhodes wrote her tenth book, "Persistence of Memory," during NaNoWriMo.

5 of 6
You've read 3 of 3 free articles. Subscribe to continue.
CSM logo

Why is Christian Science in our name?

Our name is about honesty. The Monitor is owned by The Christian Science Church, and we’ve always been transparent about that.

The Church publishes the Monitor because it sees good journalism as vital to progress in the world. Since 1908, we’ve aimed “to injure no man, but to bless all mankind,” as our founder, Mary Baker Eddy, put it.

Here, you’ll find award-winning journalism not driven by commercial influences – a news organization that takes seriously its mission to uplift the world by seeking solutions and finding reasons for credible hope.

Explore values journalism About us