No computer for noveling? Need a little word-processing love in your November life? Thanks to the kindness of the good folks at AlphaSmart, we have a solution to your technology woes.
NaNoWriMo has a small lending library of AlphaSmart Neos for use by NaNoWriMo participants. The Neos are all brand-new and fully portable. These AlphaSmarts are top-quality word processors perfect for churning out high-speed novels.
There is no fee to check out an AlphaSmart Neo from our library. NaNoWriMo will cover the costs of shipping the computer to you, but you will be responsible for paying the costs of shipping the computer back to us (typically about $25) by December 15th, 2007. Borrowers will be required to provide a $300 deposit for their unit, and send us a copy of their driver's license, passport, or other documentation.
Also, because we have so few of them available, anyone checking an AlphaSmart out from our library must complete the NaNoWriMo challenge. The Neos come pre-installed with flying guilt-monkeys who will plague you for the rest of your life should you check out one of our machines and fail to write 50,000 words.
Do not anger the guilt-monkeys.
We are taking requests now for NaNoWriMo 2007! If you'd like to check out a Neo for the November escapade, please send a request to laptops at nanowrimo dot org. In the email, please include your name, NaNoWriMo username, and an explanation of why an AlphaSmart would be helpful to your noveling efforts. Every year, the number of applicants far exceeds the number of computers, so please be as detailed as possible in explaining why you need the machine.
All requests must be received by October 10, 2007. Computers will be mailed out on October 17.