It was a dark and stormy night...

The pounding of computer keys. The buzz of over-caffeination. The anguished sounds of brains exploding. No- it isn’t finals week- it’s NaNoWriMo.
If you are inquisitive, then you ask, “Nanowha?” To which I answer: Erm… NaNoWriMo, that is, National Novel Writing Month. A super-spectacular event wherein one attempts to write a 50,000 word novel, (about 175 pages) from November 1 to November 30. For those of you into schedules- that rounds to about 1667 words a day. The writing bonanza that I've been looking forward to since last November.
This may sound like a lot. Don't worry, it's completely feasible. In fact, last year I missed exactly eight writing days, and wrote less than my 1667 words at least half the month, and I still managed to scrape a win. (Of course, my November consisted of a lot of late nights and canceled social arrangements, but I digress.)
Some people ask- what's the point? If the writing doesn't have to be good, then why write it? To these people I say this: oh, do shut up. 50,000 odd, cliché, or plain awful words is still 50,000 words. Those words may never be written otherwise; and among all of the stilted dialog and long, rambling rants about shoes or cheese or dreary weather, there may be some writing in there that's good.
If you reach the 50,000 word mark and verify your word count online by 11:59 on November 30, you are declared a winner, and obtain the rights to brag to friends, family, and random strangers on the street that you are a novelist. Also- you get a nifty certificate.
Sound like fun on a stick? Well, for those of you thinking of participating this year, here's some handy advice from a veteran:
-Write badly. No one is going to read it unless you want them to. It's almost NaNoWriMo 2008 and I still haven't let anyone read '07's nanovel. Write what's in your head; you can edit in December.
-Join a writer's group. Yeah, they exist. Yeah, they really help. Being able to talk to someone about why your main character has to die, or why that bridge that is the background of your story just exploded actually helps. So come find me, and we can nano together. And remember: keep writing!