Date: Sat, 1 Dec 2001 07:36:03 -0800 Message-Id: <200112011536.HAA00776@squid6.laughingsquid.net> From: nanowrimo@nanowrimo.com To: jeannecurran@habermas.org Subject: Congratulations! Dear Novelist, It is my pleasure to inform you that you have officially kicked ass this November. Writing 50,000 words of fiction in a month is a task that most professional writers would run from screaming. You have eaten the challenge for breakfast, and cleaned your teeth with its footnotes. You are brave, talented, and brimming with the kind of loquacious storytelling aptitude that no doubt will serve you well in your new part-time job as up-and-coming novelist. I am proud of you. Where four-fifths of all Wrimos turned back before reaching the goal, you pressed on. Through distractions and demands and obligations, you forged ahead. Your willingness to go out on a creative limb, to stand up and reach for an impossible goal, is an inspiring example to all of us. You have done an amazing thing this month, novelist. And your accomplishment extends far beyond winning a novel-writing contest. By stepping out into the void, by risking failure, you have opened wide those channels of fantasy and wonder that adulthood has such a tendency to wizen. If you can write a novel in a month, who knows what you could do with a screenplay. Or a libretto. Or a canvas. You never know until you try. So congratulations. And keep me posted on what happens next. I have a feeling it's going to be remarkable. Sincerely, Chris Baty Director & Administrative Assistant National Novel Writing Month www.NaNoWriMo.com