Why NaNoWriMo When You Can NaGaDeMon?

(NaNoWriMo logo shamelessly lifted and tweaked...)

As many of you know, November marks National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo. (I won't bore you with a lengthy explanation as I figure you either know about it, or can follow the previous link for details if you're not.) I've thrown my hat into the ring for the last 4 years, "winning" only once. (Got bored with my plot half-way through on two occasions, and just dropped the ball a third time.)

However, last year, I stumbled across another November-long writing blitzkrieg known as National Game Design Month, or NaGaDeMon. In 30 days, create, write, and play a game of your own creation, whether it's an RPG, board game, choose-your-own adventure book or whatever. For those folks who have a sourcebook or an adventure or other project peculating in the inner reaches of their brains, this is a great 30-day drive to getting that idea out and on paper.

I kinda missed the boat last year as I discovered NaGaDeMon shortly after NaNoWriMo 2010 launched. But I planned to revisit it in 2011. Upon first look, it seems that the NaGaDeMon site hasn't been updated since last year. So I'll take point this year and invite readers of The Savage AfterWorld to pick up the banner and run with it. Spread the word throughout the forums and blogs that November 2011 is the month of unbridled gaming creativity and construction. I challenge you to get that epic adventure module written and printed. Create that new gonzo western RPG and run a party through it. Whatever you've been mulling over creating, November is the month to make it a reality.

For those committed to NaNoWriMo, how's about becoming a NaNo Rebel and treat your NaGaDeMon project as your 50,000-word project? NaNo encourages participants to churn out a novel-length work of fiction, but NaNo Rebels take liberties with the established "rules" of the event and write what they want, when they want, how they want.

For me, November is MutFutWriMo as I have a handful of projects I plan to tackle and flesh out before the month is up. I may post updates as we go, but my goal is to have some exciting announcements by year's end.

So, you have 3 weeks to prepare before we launch. Time to get that Ennie-award-winning opus in the public eye. Or, at least, time to create that TPK dungeon grind to run your PCs through. Who's with me?