Fall is the time of year where our opinions on the weather become split, we see the breath leave our mouths as we cheer on the Goffstown Grizzlies football games, and we organize our sweaters in a color-coded formation.

Well, maybe not everyone organizes their sweaters by color, but you get the idea.

Around this time of year, our artistic creativity seems to spike. Many of us release this newfound creativity in different ways, one of the most popular ways being through creative writing. Something about the fall and winter seasons inspires us to produce great amounts of work, leaving us to feel proud of what we’ve accomplished. But one of the hardest parts about writing that every writer has dealt with seems to still be there no matter the time of year:

I just finished my short story, but how can I share it with anyone and get feedback?

Instead of letting hard work go unread, an organization known as NaNoWriMo is granting our greatest wishes of sharing our work with the world. So here’s all you need to know about this incredible project that has gained support from all over the world.

NaNoWriMo is a non-profit organization that celebrates National Novel Writing Month. Throughout the month of November, writers across the world take on the challenge of writing a fifty-thousand word novel. Not only does this challenge give writers an outlet to compose their work, it gives them a deadline to have a portion of their work completed. For those of us who appreciate deadlines, this may sound like music to our ears.

GHS English teacher Curt McDermott, one of the many participants of NaNoWriMo 2019, supports the challenge and its creative benefits for young writers in . “It’s hard but it’s worth it. It’s such an empowering thing, I think, especially for kids to say they wrote their first novel as a teenager.”

From the first day of November to the last, writers are tasked with what seems like an impossible feat. With all of the intricate components that go into devising a novel, shortening it down to just one month is a perilous journey for some.

“It’s a gigantic challenge, and I think it’s one that has a better pay off than other things they could do- it’s completely self driven, and based upon creativity, and there aren’t as many things as noble as that.”

The joy one feels when completing something important is a rush that not many of us can experience. The opportunity to compose a novel with these restrictions would definitely grant a sense of accomplishment.

Perhaps you reading this will decide to take up the challenge in the future. All it takes is signing up at the NaNoWriMo website, a blank sheet of paper on your computer, and the wise words of Curt McDermott:

“It’s a really hard thing that’s way more challenging than what you think it is. That’s why it’ll be so awesome when you’re done. Now go do it!”