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Monday, Nov. 11, 2024

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NaNoWriMo Write-A-Thon

by Jeff

Rated: ASR · Message Forum · Activity · #1546312

A NaNoWriMo fundraiser... compete as a NaNo writer or donate by sponsoring one!

NANOWRIMO ENDS IN [Refresh to load countdown.]

Item Alias: writeathon

Welcome to the 16th Annual NaNoWriMo Write-A-Thon, the activity where you can compete in NaNoWriMo and raise GPs for some great Writing.com causes at the same time! This event is my way of showing appreciation to all the wonderful groups and activities on this site that encourage members of this site to read, write, and participate in the community. I hope you'll all join me in supporting this activity and its beneficiaries by participating as a writer or a sponsor (or both)!

The concept is pretty straightforward. Much like a typical walk-a-thon where participants are supported by sponsors who have committed to donate a certain amount of financial support for each mile walked, this activity has Sponsors who commit to donating a certain number of GPs for each word written by their sponsored Writers! All funds raised are then distributed to the beneficiaries of the Write-A-Thon (see below).

That's the general idea, so if this activity interests you ... please, read on!

NaNoWriMo begins on November 1, 2024 @ 12:00am WdC time (EST).

NaNoWriMo ends on November 30, 2024 @ 11:59pm WdC time (EST).

NaNoWriMo is a challenge to write 50,000 new words during the month of November. For more information on NaNoWriMo, please check out the official NaNoWriMo website

. For the purposes of this activity, you can write nonfiction, short stories, poetry, continue or rewrite a previously-started work (as long as you don't count the words written prior to November), etc. Outlining and preparation are allowed, but those words do not count for this activity. Only new words written during the month of November count toward your total for this activity.

All Sponsors agree to donate 1 GP per word that each of their Writers completes. Sponsors are welcome to sign up to support more than one Writer, and Writers can certainly have more than one Sponsor. It's all in the name of charity, so the more we each give, the better!

Sponsors have the option setting minimum and maximum donation limits so they can more carefully manage their donations and/or sponsor multiple Writers without going broke. Sponsors are kindly asked to consider making a minimum donation of 5,000 GPs per Writer, and to sponsor responsibly by being prepared to cover their commitments even in the event that one of their writers goes way above and beyond the 50,000-word target.

WdC has a NanoCounter which will be used to track progress:

http://www.writing.com/main/authors/action/nano

For more information, you can also check out the following guide to setting up and using your NanoCounter:

Your NanoCounter

[E]
Step-by-step information about how to use your NanoCounter.
by Jeff

Writers are expected to be honest about reporting their word counts and respectful of the rules and spirit of NaNoWriMo (this includes not fudging word counts, and not starting early or ending late). While Writers are not required to provide public access to their NaNo efforts, I reserve the right to request and privately review a copy of your manuscript if necessary to address any questions or concerns. Sponsors are expected to make good on their donation promises. The idea is to have a great time, write a lot of new words (or support the writing of a lot of words), and raise some funds for some really great WdC causes in the process. Let's keep things fun, friendly and fair.

Competing Writers who write a minimum of 12,500 words will each receive the exclusive Write-A-Thon badge:

Five randomly selected Writers will each receive 1% of the total GPs raised!

ADDITIONAL BADGE: If you would like to also receive a NaNo Winner or NaNo Participant Merit Badge (depending on whether the goal of 50,000 words was reached) in addition to the exclusive Write-A-Thon badge, please send 10,000 GPs to the "NaNoWriMo Write-A-Thon Group"

(Group #1546311) either in your sign-up message in the forum below or by direct GP transfer.

SPECIAL GOAL: If the "NaNoWriMo Write-A-Thon"

is able to raise 8,701,430 GPs or more this year, everyone involved in the activity (participating writers, sponsors, AND donors who donate at least 10,000 GPs) will receive a new exclusive merit badge that I'll be commissioning in honor of this activity reaching 100,000,000 Gift Points in total funds raised!

So now everyone has an incentive... a merit badge (or two), and a potential share of the Write-A-Thon's proceeds! Not too bad, eh? Considering you were gonna try to write the novel anyway...

Signing up as a writer. If you're interested in competing as a Writer, please post your intent to compete in the forum below.

Signing up as a sponsor. Each Sponsor needs to complete a "Write-A-Thon Sponsor Sign-Up Form"

for each Writer he or she is sponsoring (and no, you cannot sponsor yourself). There is no deadline to sponsor writers. Sponsors will also be added to the group in order to receive emails and updates.

Eligibility. In order to be eligible for the prizes, Writers must put forth a good faith effort to compete. There is a 12,500 word minimum word count necessary to qualify for prizes (it wouldn't be fair to penalize someone for not completing NaNo, but you have to put at least some effort to get rewarded).

Paying up. All Sponsor donations should be made to the "NaNoWriMo Write-A-Thon Group"

(Group #1546311) at the end of the month once you've been notified of what you owe. I will disburse the GPs to the Beneficiaries after NaNoWriMo concludes, once the Sponsors have all been notified and had a chance to contribute their funds. The goal is to wrap this activity and get the donations out by mid-December at the latest.

Tracking progress. Writers need to use WdC's word count tracker

, as that will be the mechanism used for determining prize winners, donation amounts, etc. Writers should update their NaNo Counter at least once per week (and preferably daily), as update/progress emails will be sent out periodically during the activity.

Activating your WdC word count tracker. Just click on the following link: http://www.writing.com/main/my_account/action/update_nano/nanocnt/1

Donations. Non-sponsor donations of gift points or additional prizes are gladly accepted. Any individual who donates 100,000+ Gift Points will receive an exclusive NaNoWriMo Write-A-Thon Badge (paid from my personal funds)!

DONORS ▼

All funds raised by this year's Write-A-Thon will be divided as indicated and distributed to the following groups:

10% to "Annual Wdc Birthday Masquerade Party"

10% to "Habit Heroes "

10% to "MCBRIDE, Inc."

10% to "October Novel Prep Challenge"

10% to "Rach’s Reading Club"

10% to "The Soundtrackers Group"

10% to "WRITING.COMmunity Service "

10% to TBD

20% for Write-A-Thon prizes and administration, balance (if any) goes to Jeff

for a secret project.

For a list of Write-A-Thon Writers and their respective Sponsors, please check out:

GROUP

NaNoWriMo Write-A-Thon Group

(E)
NaNoWriMo Write-A-Thon list of Writers, Sponsors and Teams
#1546311 by Jeff

You can also find statistics on Write-A-Thons from years past:

STATIC

NaNoWriMo Write-A-Thon Statistics

(ASR)
Statistical information for past years of the NaNoWriMo Write-A-Thon.
#1710173 by Jeff

That's really all there is to it. So if you're planning on entering NaNoWrimo and want to earn some GPs for some fantastic WdC groups while you're at it, make sure you get a Sponsor to submit a "Write-A-Thon Sponsor Sign-Up Form"

on your behalf by the end of October! Feel free to post your interest in being sponsored in the forum below, or directly contact any friends, mentors, or acquaintances you know. If you're having trouble finding a sponsor and it's getting close to the entry deadline, e-mail Jeff

and we'll figure something out.