UNITED STATES—The month-long event of National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) kicked off on Tuesday, November 1. The nonprofit program encourages participants to write at least 50,000 words, the length of a novel, by the end of November.

Participants are encouraged to write at least 1,667 words per day to finish in time. The organization brings in hundreds of thousands of members across the globe each year. NaNoWriMo supports all participants to join the challenge.

“Valuing enthusiasm, determination, and a deadline, NaNoWriMo is a for anyone who has ever thought about writing a novel,” states the NaNoWriMo website. In 2015, NaNoWriMo have over 431,626 participants.

The program was originally established in 1999 and became a nonprofit organization in 2005. Since it’s creation, hundreds of traditionally published and self-published novels were drafted during the monthly event. Popular novels that have been written include “Water for Elephants” by Sara Gruen, “The Night Circus” by Erin Morgenstern, “Wool” by Hugh Howey, and “Cinder” by Marissa Meyer amongst others.

The organization also supports the Young Writers Program to “promote writing fluency, creative education, and the sheer joy of novel-writing in K-12 classrooms.” NaNoWriMo participates in Camp NaNoWriMo, which takes place in April and July and enables writers to pick their own word goals.

For more information visit their website: http://nanowrimo.org/