Write a novel in Nov. to receive goodies in Dec.

National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), sponsored by the nonprofit NaNoWriMo group, is underway already and the Mt. Hood campus Bookstore is offering some added incentive.

NaNoWriMo started Nov. 1, and will end Nov. 30. According to the NaNoWriMo website, contestants are tasked with writing a 50,000- word novel in the 30 days that make up November. That’s equivalent to the size of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic novel, “The Great Gatsby.”

Jonathan Esterman, lead sales associate at the Bookstore, participated in the event for the past three years. “It’s hard, 30 days of craziness,” he said.

The NaNoWriMo website provides a guide help entrants plan out how to write and validate their book. That’s right, by the end of this event, if done properly, participants will have written a full novel that they own full rights to.

Esterman published a piece of his works from the NaNoWriMo two years ago. The novel was a supernatural thriller he said was a lot of fun completing. The novel is available for sale on Amazon.

The volume of material demanded can seem daunting, but Esterman shared some tips to succeed. “You have to turn off ‘perfection’ and just get the words out there so that you can edit it in December,” he said.

No prizes or awards are offered to students by NaNoWriMo. Esterman said he participated “for the same reason people go to the gym, just expanding your brain instead of your muscles.”

However, the Bookstore is offering to let students earn a coupon, dependent upon the amount of times students write inside the Bookstore. Each time a student comes in to write for NaNoWriMo, they should sign in at the front desk, get a free coffee, and get to work.

That sign-in sheet is more important than just keeping attendance. The more guests write in the Bookstore, the more they earn on the coupon: one-to-three days of writing knocks 10 percent off an item; four-to-six days, 20 percent off; seven-eight days, 30 percent off; nine days earns 40 percent off, and 10 days will earn the maximum 50 percent off.

If students do not wish to write a novel, but still want to get that 50 percent coupon, they can instead write a short story set on campus beginning with one of six sentence prompts.

Unlike the NaNoWriMo, this Story Starter Contest will offer prizes to its participants.

Third place will win a free coffee from the bookstore and a 20 percent-off coupon. The second-place award is a pair of me.u earbuds, and first place wins a wireless camera shutter – a wireless way to take phone pictures.

The Story Starter Contest will last the duration of the NaNoWriMo event. Submissions will be accepted through the Bookstore front desk.

For more information visit the front desk, and ask for Jonathon.