Each year, hundreds of thousands of people around the country begin working toward an ambitious goal: to write a 50,000-word novel from November 1–30.

National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), a nonprofit organization founded in 1999, provides assistance and community with preparatory materials, pep talks from established authors, forums, “word sprints” on social media, and a calendar of events.

Last year, 431,626 NaNoWriMo participants completed novels. A number of novels have been self-published, while over two hundred and fifty NaNoWriMo novels have been traditionally published, including Sara Gruen’s Water for Elephants, Marissa Meyer’s Cinder, and Rainbow Rowell’s Fangirl.

In addition to its month-long event in November, NaNoWriMo also hosts The Young Writers Program, Camp NaNoWriMo, and The Come Write In program.

Are you ready for NaNoWriMo this year? Alexandra Suarez at International Business Times has ten tips for writing your novel.

Related reading: “To anyone trying it for the first time, I would say the goal is just to write 50,000 words towards a shitty first draft (in NaNoWriMo parlance, a SFD),” Amy Lee Pearsall says in this Signature interview. “You’re not going to write War and Peace. No, you’re really not. Just write the story you have to tell. Get the words down. No editing on the first pass, no second guessing, just get the hell out of your own way.”

Image Credit: National Novel Writing Month.