About NILTOY
Just in case you haven't heard of NaNoWriMo, I suggest you start here before you go any further. Don't worry, we'll wait.
Oh, you're back? Good. Allow me to continue...
Once upon a time, there was a group of talented writers who joined in a quest to write a short novel in a month. Many of these aspiring writers also happened to have other duties in real life that kept them a bit too busy to complete the NaNo challenge of writing 50,000 words in 30 days. Things like small children, jobs, home construction or redecorating, caring for elderly relatives, health problems, and so forth, always seemed to get in the way of producing solid and steady word-counts. Then there was the ever-threatening writer's block, which sometimes stopped our poor heroes and heroines in their tracks.
"There must be something I can do," one fair maiden thought miserably to herself. "I truly want to write, but I'm so much slower than everyone else. If only there was some way to get and stay motivated throughout the year..."
Suddenly, inspiration struck our heroine over the head with a mighty blow! Once she regained consciousness, she remembered the idea. "Suppose," she thought eagerly to herself, "I were to simply write at a slower but steady pace, perhaps 10,000 words in a month, rather than 50,000 words... Why, at that rate, in ten months' time I would have a 100,000 word novel! But how to stay motivated for 10 months?"
So, our heroine suggested this idea to her band of fellow writers, many of whom had not been able to complete the NaNo quest, nor were likely to continue writing once the quest expired. Several people jumped on the idea like a duck on a June bug. NILTOY was born.
Why a Turtle?
A fair enough question, to be sure...
The same group of writers mentioned above took to calling each other names. No, not mean ones, just names to define their writing styles and abilities to write speedily (or not). The ones who wrote quickly became known as "rabbits," while the slower ones who plodded along at a (hopefully) steady pace became known as "turtles." Everyone knows the story of the tortoise and the hare, who had a race. The hare sped off into the distance, immediately leaving the tortoise in the dust. The hare was so sure of his victory, he stopped after a while and took a nap. While he was sleeping, the tortoise slowly but steadily kept on plodding along, and eventually won the race.
Hence, this site is for all the slow-pokes, the ones who tend to take their time with writing, or who don't have much time to write every day, but who are willing to commit to the slow-but-steady way of writing. We are the tortoises, and we will reach the finish line!
Who Are These People, Anyway?
Another good question...
Jennifer suggested this project and the site. Ish offered to design and host the site. Terie Garrison offered to write some articles.
All three are also members of the CherriesNoMo, a Yahoo group that formed originally in order to give Jenny Crusie fans a place to support each other while attempting the NaNo challenge in October of 2003. After the end of November that year, the group decided to remain active together, although the postings reduced to a thin trickle for much of the rest of the year. Then again, in October 2004, the postings became more frequent in anticipation of the flurry of NaNo preparations. The cycle continued once again through 2005. Then, just before Christmas 2005, Jennifer made the suggestion, and the rest, as they say, is history.
The members here come from all walks of life, all around the planet; the one thing we all have in common is the desire to write.
What Do I Get If I Reach The Goal?
You get the chance to say, "See what I did? I wrote a 100,000-word book, all in less than one year!" What more could you possibly want or need than the glow of satisfaction of achieving something most other people never even attempt? Well, okay, perhaps a contract to publish that book, and vast numbers of adoring fans screaming for more of your work... :)
But don't forget to revise, tear apart, edit, rewite and polish that work. Of course, that should happen *after* you reach the goal. For now, we just write. Worry about the technical stuff later.
What Can I Do To Help?
Hey, that's really nice of you to offer! Our eventual goal is to increase the membership and the site to handle hordes of writers from all over the world constantly reading and posting in our forums about their successes and/or their hardships. To do that, we need help in spreading the word about this site and the project. Pass the word, tell all your friends who write (or think they might like to try), post an announcement to your online and offline writing groups.
And when the time comes, you can make a small donation to the cause of maintaining the site. We hope to have t-shirts and other merchandise for sale, with proceeds going to the upkeep of the site. For the moment, our start-up costs are minimal, and our generous donors have made this site possible. But if you feel compelled to donate money, send us a note, and we'll get you set up.
I Have Comments, Questions or Suggestions For This Site
Just send us an email with your questions, comments or suggestions. We're always happy to help you!