Starting as early as 12:01 a.m. on Nov. 1, participants attempt to win the novel-writing challenge by writing a 175-page, 50,000-word novel before midnight on Nov. 30.

“It’s always a good opportunity to produce a lot of work. I find I get really busy and don’t write as much as I should,” Taylor said. “If high school students and other college students can write a novel in 30 days, it’s not totally crazy to think you could do the same.”

In July 1999, the first National Novel Writing Month took place in Oakland, Calif., when a group of 21 friends spent an entire month trying to write a 50,000-word novel by Aug. 1, according to the program’s Web site, www.nanowrimo.org.

The following year, the event was moved to November and the program’s Web site, capable of accommodating several hundred participants, was built.

Since the program began, the number of individuals participating in National Novel Writing Month has steadily increased from 21 participants in 1999 to 79,813 participants in 2006.

Although National Novel Writing Month attracts many students interested in professional writing, other students, such as education sophomore Matthew Nellist, participate because they love to write.

“I do enjoy writing, and for a while I kept up a personal journal before I fell out of that,” Nellist said. “(Participating in National Novel Writing Month) seemed like a perfectly good excuse to keep writing.

The monthlong event also gives writers a self-imposed deadline, which Nellist said forces writers to sit down and write.

“I’ve been told that for serious writers, it’s a big motivator to get them to sit down and write,” Nellist said. “I’ve had a few (plot) ideas in my head, but I haven’t been able to make myself sit down and write. I’m working on the same goal (as professional writers) even if I don’t have a professional aim.”

Throughout the month, participants can upload completed portions of their novels to the Web site, which will track their progress toward the 50,000-word goal by counting the uploaded words.

“I think my favorite part is just getting the opportunity to create something because it’s never what you expect,” Taylor said.

“Last year, I got to about 30,000 words, and I get a little closer every year, so by 2045, I should be right there.”