NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) is an annual event in which alll kinds of people try to write a 50,000 word draft of a novel in the month of November. This morning I found an article about the use of Second Life in NaNoWriMo.
http://www.nanowrimo.org/modules/news/article.php?storyid=125 Daily NaNo Q&A Today’s Guest: Christopher T. Miller Posted by Tavia Stewart on 2006/11/17 21:45:57 (544 reads) Q: Chris, you co-own a virtual pub in Second Life, and have been hosting virtua NaNoWriMo write-ins there every Friday night. What is Second Life, and how do virtual write-ins differ from write-ins in the “real” world A: Second Life is an online, virtual, 3-D environment where people can meet, interact, and generally have a good time. The entire world is populated with user-created content, from buildings to nightclubs to sports---even amusement parks. I discovered it in late September, and since then, I've seen no end to the possibilities for community-building. Naturally, NaNoWriMo came to mind when I began to put together our NaNoMonkeys podcast, I felt that having a write-in in Second Life was a natural fit. In the game, I co-own a pub called the House of the Harping Monkey , and each Friday night we have virtual write-ins. I honestly did not know what to expect, but when some friends showed up and began to write, it all clicked into place. What makes a write-in in Second Life different from a regular write-in is that you get to be in your own home and be somewhere else at the same time. When we sit and write, there is the feeling of being in this Irish-style tavern, with folks from around the world; we've had people in the pub from the U.S., France, Britain, and Taiwan to name just a few. True, there are no voices, but we are all sitting there writing---reading the occasional chat message is like hearing the other person, even though they are thousands of miles away. What Second Life allows me to do is have write-ins with the folks I never get to see. We are not limited by geography; the sense of community and the need to hit the 50K mark transcends the boundary of keyboard and screen. If you'd like to join us, log into Second Life and visit the House of the Harping Monkey. You'll find us there on Friday night, typing away in front of a roaring fire, drinking Guinness and listening to Irish music. Not a bad way to meet that deadline, eh?
