National Novel Writing Month is ”a fun, seat-of-your pants approach to creative writing.” On November 1, participants from all over the world began writing their novels. The goal is to write a 50,000-word novel by 11:59 pm on November 30. To break it up you have to write 1,667 words a day, every day, for thirty days straight. That's a LOT of words!

It's easy to sign up. After you’ve signed up, look around and join in a discussion in the forums. You’ll find discussion threads on just about any topic you can think of--from plot ideas to regional word wars--and you'll also find encouragement and advice. 

There is no limit to the number of people who can “win”! Just be sure that you’ve defined a novel on the site and that you validate your novel’s word count at the end of the month.