National Novel Writing Month is starting on November 1st! It is the month where established authors and aspiring writers alike from all over the world take the challenge to write a full-length novel. And as Marie from Goodreads said:
Whether you’re a rookie or a veteran, participation is no ordinary feat. The goal is roughly 1,667 words per day, 11,669 words per week, with the grand total of 50,000 words due by November 30.
No pressure.
So, as an inspiration, we bring 5 mega-popular novels that were written during NaNoWriMo!
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Wool by Hugh Howey
Howey first began the series in 2011, initially writing Wool as a stand-alone short story. He published the work through Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing system, choosing to do so due to the freedom of self-publishing. After the series grew in popularity, he began to write more entries for it. Howey began soliciting international rights in 2012 and has since signed with Brazil.
Howey signed a print-only deal for around $500,000 with Simon & Schuster to distribute Wool to book retailers across the US and Canada. Howey retains full rights to continue distributing Wool online himself.
This is the story of mankind clawing for survival, of mankind on the edge. The world outside has grown unkind, the view of it limited, talk of it forbidden. But there are always those who hope, who dream. These are the dangerous people, the residents who infect others with their optimism. Their punishment is simple. They are given the very thing they profess to want: They are allowed outside.
Get it here!
2. The Night Circus by Erin Morgestern
The Night Circus is a 2011 fantasy novel by Erin Morgenstern. It was originally written for the annual writing competition NaNoWriMo over the span of three NaNoWriMos. The novel is written in third-person present tense and arranged to have a nonlinear narrative written from multiple viewpoints. Written in rich, seductive prose, this spell-casting novel is a feast for the senses and the heart.
The Night Circus is a phantasmagorical fairy tale set near an ahistorical Victorian London in a wandering magical circus that is open only from sunset to sunrise. The magical nature of the circus is occluded under the guise of legerdemain; the illusionist truly transforms her jacket into a raven and the fortune teller truly reads the uncertain future, and both are applauded for their ingenuity.
The circus serves a darker purpose beyond entertainment and profit. The magicians Prospero the Enchanter and the enigmatic Mr. A.H— groom their young proteges, Celia Bowen and Marco Alisdair, to proxy their rivalry with the exhibits as a stage.
Get it here!
3. Fangirl by Rainbow Rowel
Fangirl is a 2013 contemporary young adult novel written by Rainbow Rowell. Fangirl’s publication follows Rowell’s previous young adult novel published earlier in 2013, Eleanor & Park. It is a coming-of-age tale of fan fiction, family, and first love.
Set over the course of one school year in 1986, this is the story of two star-crossed misfits-smart enough to know that first love almost never lasts, but brave and desperate enough to try. When Eleanor meets Park, you’ll remember your own first love-and just how hard it pulled you under.
Get it here!
4. Cinder, Scarlet and Cress by Marissa Meyer
The Lunar Chronicles is a series of young adult fantasy novels written by American author Marissa Meyer. Each book entails a new take on an old fairy tale, including Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, and Rapunzel.
The story takes place in a futuristic world where earthens, cyborgs, androids, and a race of moon colonists all coexist. How cool is that?
Get Cinder!
Get Scarlet!
Get Cress!
5. Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
Water for Elephants is a historical novel by Sara Gruen, written as part of National Novel Writing Month.
An atmospheric, gritty, and compelling novel of star-crossed lovers, set in the circus world circa 1932, by the bestselling author of Riding Lessons.
When Jacob Jankowski, recently orphaned and suddenly adrift, jumps onto a passing train, he enters a world of freaks, drifters, and misfits, a second-rate circus struggling to survive during the Great Depression, making one-night stands in town after endless town. A veterinary student who almost earned his degree, Jacob is put in charge of caring for the circus menagerie. It is there that he meets Marlena, the beautiful young star of the equestrian act, who is married to August, the charismatic but twisted animal trainer. He also meets Rosie, an elephant who seems untrainable until he discovers a way to reach her.
Beautifully written, Water for Elephants is illuminated by a wonderful sense of time and place. It tells a story of a love between two people that overcomes incredible odds in a world in which even love is a luxury that few can afford.
Get it here!
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