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Camp Nanowrimo
National Novel Writing Month is officially in November, but in April and July there are more casual off-shoots called Camp Nanowrimo.
These Camp (and sometimes campy) events are more casual, because you can choose your own word count (instead of sticking to the 50,000-word minimum), and you can work on a play or a collection of poetry or a dissertation — not necessarily a novel. Or not necessarily a novella or children’s book, since 50,000 words is below the standard for a grown-up book, which is 90,000 words or between 90,000 and 110,000 for fantasy and science fiction because of world building.
(The above is contrary to the claims of a random perpetual playground bully [PPB] in a Nanowrimo Facebook group I ditched. This person first refused to believe that 90,000 words is a standard word count for adult books — as though 90,000 words is a huge number. Next she tried to gaslight me into believing I claimed that 90,000 words is the standard length for a children’s book, and her gaslighting attempt Failed. I blocked her before dropping out of the group.)
Of course, authors often end up writing longer novels than that — it’s just a guideline if you’re an unknown author and are attempting to get an agent or publisher. Baer Books publishes fantasy and prefers longer word counts, up to 130,000 words.