Greetings, everyone! Every year, the call goes out to remind people that NaNoWriMo runs almost exclusively on donations made by writers. This year, they're making it a bit more fun. Behold! The Donation Derby!
What they've done is split all the regions into six leagues. We're in League #1: The Kodiak Bears, along with our East Bay rivals. Edmonton and Calgary are both in League #2: The Siberian Tigers. Our North Bay rivals are in League #5: The Tasmanian Devils.
So, there are a number of competitive options here... Try to become one of the best donation regions in your league, or try to help your league surpass the others. The exact contest rules are still to be announced, but it's kind of neat to check out our league and see which regions we've been grouped with.
And how do you donate, you ask? Well, thanks so much for asking. There are a few ways, actually, including setting up pledges online, or buying NaNoWriMo swag. But the manner I'd recommend is to simply head over to the OLL Donations Site. Donating through here is a quick and easy transaction, and it sets you up with nifty NaNoWriMo swag, and a halo next to your handle, to boot! I mean, who doesn't want a halo? (Even if you don't want to donate, you should check out the page - some of those descriptions are pretty funny.) Donating in this way also ensures that your home region will get credit for having an awesome person like yourself in it.
As you've noticed, NaNoWriMo is a really, really large project. It reaches out to people all over the world, and encourages them to write. There's no fee, there are no ads, and there's no sales pitch in December. Instead, it's put together entirely by volunteers, and a few people who earn so little money for their talent and effort that the volunteers look like the smart ones. That makes it a really, really small project. There's no safety net for these people - no network of corporate benefactors, no fundraiser lottery in their name, no easy access to government cultural grants. Like I said, our donations are sorely needed and appreciated, and will go a long way - not only towards making sure that the servers stay up for NaNoWriMo 2010 and that Chris Baty can pay his rent, but also towards all the other great projects that the OLL have in mind for next year. They can't do it without us.
When they announce more details on the Donation Derby, I'll give this thread a wee bump. But until then, thanks for letting me say a few words about this. Now carry on, and write until the sky turns black with ink!
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Denton, a.k.a. Aquadeo - ML for the Alberta::Elsewhere Wrimosaurs
I'm typing this year's novel LIVE on:
http://www.ustream.tv/channel/late-write-featuring-aquadeo
