NaNoWriMo as an Undergraduate Research Initiative

NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) is a world renowned month-long writing challenge. Each November, hundreds of thousands of aspiring novelists all around the world meet online or within local communities to dedicate themselves to writing nearly 1,700 words each day for 30 days to complete a 50,000-word first draft of a novel. At FAU’s Wilkes Honors College, we are capitalizing on this annual event and its resources to establish a new and unique program for humanities and liberal arts majors to contribute to original undergraduate research. A test program is being launched this fall, led by a 2017 NaNoWriMo winner whose participation resulted in the publication of an award-winning novel. An overview of the program will be outlined and discussed.