With the cool weather outside, Thanksgiving and the end of the year around the corner, November brings with it a challenge for many writers to complete a full length novel.

Ever since Chris Baty attempted to write a novel in one month in 1999, the practice among the writing community has grown from 21 participants to over 400,000 in 2014. Essentially, the goal is to reach 50,000 during the month of November. The month was chosen to take advantage of the colder time of year, giving people more time to sit down and crank out a story on paper.

Authors and aspiring writers from all over take the challenge. Lindsay Cummings, author of many books including ‘Balance Keepers’ and ‘Zenith’ wrote her debut novel ‘The Murder Complex’ for NaNoWriMo.

“When I think back on those first days of writing the first draft of ‘The Murder Complex,’ I remember how terrible it was, beautifully terrible,” said Lindsay Cummings on her YouTube channel. “I was so inspired and I knew I had 30 days and I’m going to [write a novel]. Somehow I ended up with 50,000 words and I revised for two years [after that].”

While the goal is set high and the time is short, the idea is to get down a draft: a starting point. If planned and plotted out right, the end result is a completed novel that can be edited further. Writing can happen at any time and any day, but with thousands of writers coming together in the same month, it is an inspiring event for anyone who wants to get their novel on paper.