Yes . . . so, I have a question that's probably going to sound a tiny bit stupid.

Hiya,
So, I'm very, extremely new to this site, and already I'm on it 24-7, and if I'm not, I'm either eating or writing (Eating comes very little nowadays, this storyline is finally starting to make sense). But I can't wrap my mind around this one, big, stupid question that's probably completely obvious and will make people look at me wired, but, can you only write (and become a winner) in November?
My heads kind of got a million possibilities about what the site is representing, but I'm just wondering if we're only allowed to write and submit stories in November. If that's true, then I joined at the worst time ever :P
Thanks!

Next official possibility is in June!

See this thread:

http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/camp-nanowrimo

(and then there is the Script Frenzy in April, of that I know nothing but the name)

You can write any time you want.

The actual novel writing challenge is in November.

They have Camp Nano in June and August. Same challenge as in November, but it's scaled down a bit. Fewer bells and whistles, same word count in a month.

Script Frenzy is in April. Write a 100 Page script in a month. (I've done it twice.)

The links to these sites can be found under More from OLL

You can also have your own Nano anytime you want. Pick a month, start at the beginning of the month and get in your word count before the end of the month. No prizes, certificate and stuff, but you still get the main prize: Your Manuscript.

I did my first challenge on my own, before I even signed up, in June of 2006 I decided to see if I could do it, and I did. Then I signed up officially in October and won again in November.

In the meantime you can hang out on the forums, meet more people, learn more about writing, and plan what you're going to do next November, (I hang around year 'round.)

Hope this helps.

Thanks!

This is totally the site for me :D

You can write - and take the nanowrimo challenge of 50,000 words in 1 month - any time of year, but you can only use the word count tracker and stats feature during NaNo months (either November or one of the Camp NaNoWriMo events). It also isn't counted as winning NaNoWriMo unless it's done during "office months" if you will. (You'll have to check the rules for Camp NaNo for more info, I'm sorry; I'm not very familiar with it yet.)

A big part of the magic of the NaNo journey is the support on the forums, and the knowledge that so many people around the whole world are doing this with you. BUT the good news is, some of us are still on the forums year round, and you can do your own NaNo anytime!

Another couple of tools I've come to adore (these can be used in conjunction with NaNo, or in the 11-month off season, or both):
- Write or Die - keep writing and you're fine. Stop, and Dr Wicked will punish you with a method of your choosing: a gentle pop up window reminding you to write; a horrible song or sound effect, like a thousand babies crying, or a song like Banana Phone that gets stuck in your head; or even, on the Kamikaze setting, he can and will erase your writing one word at a time. It's an incredibly awesome web app, designed around the concept of negative reinforcement, and it will motivate you to keep writing when nothing else will.
- 750 Words - a site for your daily brain dump, word vomit, installment of fiction, whatever. Write 750 words each and every day on this site, and it will store all of it by date, like a journal. Completely private and secure and complete with stats about the tone, time orientation, subject matter and more about what you've written for the day. Highly recommended to any and every wrimo!

Anyways, hope I helped :) nutshell: you can do nanowrimo anytime, but you can only win during November or a Camp Nanowrimo month; however, there are other things out there to help you survive the rest of the writing year. Cheers!
Maya