The NaNoWriMo Cult

Hoping to make it to 10,000 by the end of the night. That probably means I should quit blogging and start writing. On the plus side, I drew a picture today of the scene I'm in the midst of.


For those of you who don't read The Procrastination Station on the NaNo website...there was a link to this: "Reasons Why NaNoWriMo is a Cult." So funny. The best part is "Pope's hat: the Viking Helmet"

Chris Baty = the messiah

Ritual writing exercises

Set of understood and upheld rules and goals

Creepy recruitment strategies: come on, who hasn't tried to lure a friend or family member in? And the community rejoices at every new member

No Plot, No Problem = the good book

Strong sense of community

Festivals and celebrations on specific days (Nov 1, 15, Dec 1)

3rd Sunday of the month=Night of Writing Dangerously= pilgrimage to San Fransisco

It has spread the WORLD

ML-cardinals, sent to bring together adherents in regions across the world

website is a holy site

regions are warring denominations

donations are integral and donors are marked as angelic

Young Indocrination programs...I mean Young writer Programs....

Community outreach programs like the YWP and the book drive

Running man as the symbol of the traditionalist Nanoer

Definitive path to be followed with specific checkpoints towards success

Pep Talks? Don't you mean sermons?

Our own set of vocabulary: nanoisms, pansting, nanowrimo, word war

Paraphernalia: wine and wafer? More like coffee and paper!

Widely known and venerated origin story, complete with a change in dates of the actual events to the date that event is celebrated; as March became December, July became November

A published Nano author is revered as a saint, and their published Nano writing is lovingly preserved at HQ

Outward signs of the writer: a laptop and a pen, and a tired, wild eyed stare

Sunday socials with food as an integral element

One can be a lapsed, or even a reborn, nanoer.

Mini-bosses (Vancouver-specific) are priests, sent to subsections of the region

We hear voices in our heads and do what they tell us to

Christening: signing up at the site and giving yourself your nano name (username)

Baptism/Confirmation: getting a certificate when you've won

Old merchandise? More like early artifacts.

The Pope's hat: the Viking Helmet

Dead Sea Scrolls: first nanos; impossible to find and very precious

Validating word count: a significant ceremony that must be completed by a certain time

Forbidden actions: deletion and white out, punishable by discommunication or evisceration in fiction (as the pen is mightier than the sword)