Part of my tradition of preparation for National Novel Writing Month is the NaNoWriMo T-shirt. Since I have been doing this event for nine years now, I have a few of these.
2004
2004 shirt
Grey shirt, white box with red borders top and bottom. Top border reads: National Novel Writing Month; bottom box reads: 2005 participant; central box reads: So many words, so little time.
My first attempt at NaNoWriMo coincided with probably the least satisfactory shirt of my collection – I like the sentiment, but the design is a bit undistinguished.
The book I wrote was “The Vampire Hunters”, a story about a team looking for a vampire. Would it be a surprise to say that it does not end well?
2005
2005 shirt
Charcoal grey shirt, running man logo. Large caption under: National Novel Writing Month; smaller caption below that: 2005
This was more like it – a simple, dark shirt with an iconic design. I have worn this shirt a lot even outside of November’s frenzied times, and I think the running man with his giant pencil perfectly captures the spirit of the event.
This year’s work was “The Flame Crown of Kissiltur”, the 50,000 word précis for the epic science fiction trilogy which I am still trying to figure out how to make into an actual story that someone would want to read.
2006
2006 shirt
Pale blue shirt, finger-printed keyboard graphic. Small caption under: November 2006; large caption below that: National Novel Writing Month; small caption below that: Thirty days and nights of literary abandon
I like the dirty keyboard graphic, although I think it works better on its poster than on this shirt. What I really like about this shirt, though, is the introduction of the term “literary abandon” to describe NaNoWriMo, the quintessence of it right there.
2006 was the first year I almost didn’t finish. I chose to write “Paragons”, a tale of apocalyptic horror which ended up being mostly people whinging about their jobs. This is a story I would like to come back to at some point – I have a better way of telling it in mind – but in this year I struggled to reach 50k, crawling across the finish line on the afternoon of the final day.
The Model
Fred, enjoying the view.
Meet Fred, who is helping me model these T-shirts so that I don’t have to. Fred often feels a little flat, but now he’s taped onto a coat hanger he likes to hang around in my office.
I wear my t-shirt from last year, with the three intersecting circles, mostly to the gym. I get lots of comments and questions. Have met a couple of writers that way.
Two years ago I bought the zip up hoodie in black. NaNoWriMo is written across the front. I’d have preferred it on the back. But this is a quality hoodie that I wear throughout the year (it was also expensive!). I bought a winners t-shirt for this year (yes, I will win). I miss the running man – he was the best!