Some MU students think they can write a novel in a month — and now they have their chance.

November is the National Novel Writing Month, and more than 100 students, faculty and community members in the Columbia area are participating in “NaNoWriMo.”

For freshman Emily Waters, who has participated in NaNoWriMo for four years, the challenge provides a reason to just sit and write. She has “won,” or successfully completed 50,000 words during the month, twice.

“(NaNoWriMo) is a crazy month wherein, with all the other things you do, you write a 50,000-word — or more — novel,” Waters said. “It’s fun, it’s hectic and it’s one of the most stressful things I’ve ever done, and also one of the most rewarding.”

Waters said, for her, winning matters less than producing “good literature.”

“I’ve never regretted starting NaNoWriMo,” Waters said. “I was so proud of the words that even in this hectic time had come from my mind.”

Across the 30 days of November, the 50,000 word total divides to about 1,667 words per day. Writers need to work hard to balance writing with schoolwork.

“I set a time for myself to write at least a chunk of my daily word count,” Waters said. “I write a lot on my phone. I type out scenes and email them to myself. But I fell sick early on, and I was struggling to keep writing enough words per day, so catching back up from the words I missed while I was ill has been tough.”

Freshman Eunice Wang has participated for five years, and she has “won” three times.

“Sometimes it’s hard (to balance NaNoWriMo and homework), but I’ve been working harder recently so I think it’ll turn out well,” Wang said. “It’s a good way to get motivated to write, because sometimes I make excuses like ‘I don’t have ideas’ or ‘I’m too tired.’ It’s a goal that I can keep aspiring to.”

To help minimize distractions, some of the writers in the Columbia region gather twice a week for “write-ins” to write together. “Write-ins” are held on Sundays from 1 to 4 p.m. in 215 Tate Hall, and Tuesdays from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Coffee Zone downtown.

Art Smith is one of two NaNoWriMo municipal liaisons (MLs) for the Columbia region.

“The main thing I do is put together ‘write-ins’ and all the other events: a meet-and-greet dinner before NaNoWriMo starts, the kickoff event on Halloween night, a closing event the night of Nov. 30 going up to midnight and a ‘TGIO’ party — ‘thank goodness it’s over’ — in early December,” Smith said.

Smith has been an ML for four years and explained that his other duties include sending out weekly emails that offer encouragement and support. He urges writers to find ways to carve out time to devote solely to writing.

“Don’t be worried about homework. Don’t be worried about the test. Don’t be worried about your girlfriend,” Smith said. “Just be pushing words out. It’s tough, but that’s what it’s all about.”

Some writers are “planners,” carefully outlining their novel before the month begins. Other writers are “pantsers,” and begin November with just a blank document and their imagination.

Wang said she only plans out her characters before the month, not the plot.

“I let the events unfurl as I go,” Wang said. “It makes my characters seem more like people, and once I establish their personalities, I have an idea of what they would do in certain situations.”

Writers in the Columbia area are productive no matter which method they use. Since the beginning of this month, nearly two million words have been written for NaNoWriMo by writers in the Columbia region.

“Last year, the 150-ish writers in the Columbia area wrote one out of every 1,000 words written for NaNoWriMo internationally,” Smith said.