November 1st isn’t just the day to come down from your post trick-or-treating sugar high. It’s also the kickoff of National Novel Writing Month – NaNoWriMo for short – during which aspiring novelists the world over will be pounding the keys in an attempt to write an entire first draft in 30 days. Think nothing worth reading could possibly come out of such a crazy challenge? Think again. Here are just four of the New York Times #1 Bestsellers that were born out of NaNoWriMo.
Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
With over a year spent on the NYT Bestseller list, a big-budget movie starring Reese Witherspoon and a feature spot in Oprah’s book club, this novel about a circus struggling to survive the Great Depression is NaNoWriMo’s biggest success story to date.
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
NaNoWriMo has been good for circus-themed novels. This fantasy about magicians, star-crossed lovers and a magical travelling circus that only opens after dark began life as a 2004 NaNoWriMo winner.
Wool by Hugh Howey
Although it gets more attention for its status as one of self-publishing’s greatest success stories, three of the five serial novellas that make up this sci-fi thriller, about the inhabitants of an underground silo riding out apocalyptic events, were written during 2011’s NaNoWriMo.
Cinder by Marissa Meyer
Meyer parlayed her best-selling NaNo novel into a highly successful YA series. As with the first book in the series, a futuristic sci-fi update of Cinderella, the sequels Scarlett and Cress were both also written as part of NaNoWriMo.
