by Zack Downing, Staff Writer

The last century has seen more advancements in human civilization than any period of time before it.

We went from horses to cars, typewriters to laptops, and trains to airliners.

Another new invention that has changed the world is the advent of movies and television, a new form of media that changed entertainment and the way people tell stories.

While everyone agrees the age of moving pictures has been a great success and an incredibly important advancement, some mourn the loss of the culture that preceded it.

Specifically, many would argue that since movies and television stormed the media, the art of great novels and novel writing has been vastly overshadowed.

Thus, from this vacuum of novels came National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), an annual event that takes place in November in which thousands of aspiring authors write their hearts out to fill the world with more literature.

Here’s how it works—you can go to NaNoWriMo.org and sign up to start writing your novel or novella at the beginning of November.

Every day you set goals for yourself to write a certain amount of words every day, until you reach at least 50,000 words.

You can definitely write more than that, and you don’t even have to follow a strict schedule, either.

You can write a couple thousand words a day or you can cram it all in at the end the way you probably write a lot of your essays.

The idea is that the world lacks great writing in this age of movies, and through this sort of program we can find amazing works that might not have been uncovered.

Amateur authors can get the recognition they deserve without having to contact publishers and get their hands dirty doing business work.

Despite the good-will of NaNoWriMo, it’s actually drawn a fair share of critics.

Those who don’t support the idea of a whole month of writing argue that dedicating a month of your time to writing is usually a complete waste that doesn’t amount to anything substantial.

They would also say that the world doesn’t lack writers as it does readers.

There are hundreds of published authors that put out novels at a rapid rate and yet don’t have time to read others.

Countless books reach store shelves without a wide audience to read and appreciate them.

NaNoWriMo is another example of writing being thrust out into the world without anyone on the other side to receive it.

Therefore, critics assert, we need a national month of reading as well as writing.

However, those who support NaNoWriMo would point to the 600+ books that have been published that were conceived during November, and are for sale for everyone to read.

Books like The Night Circus by Erin Morganstern and Wool by Hugh Howey were both bestsellers that came out of NaNoWriMo.

Water for Elephants, which was made into a movie, also originated here.

So, if you want to have your chance at joining the list of authors that found success during the month of November, head on to their website, NaNoWriMo.org, and make an account.

From there, you can write your novel, track your word count, and upload it onto the site starting November 20.

If you get stuck while you’re writing, you can sift through the website’s collection of pep talks submitted by dozens of famous authors.

From Brian Jacques to John Green, the website and writing community are there to offer support and push you toward your writing goals.

Don’t let your dreams be dreams, now that November is here, start writing!