For anyone who doesn’t know what NaNoWriMo is, here’s a brief explanation. NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month, and the general idea is to write the first draft of a 50,000 word novel in 30 days.  Yep, 50,000 words in 30 days.

You can find out more at the NaNoWriMo website.

As every budding novelist will tell you, you need a trusty notebook if you’re going to write a novel.  Whether you choose to write the entire novel by hand or you make notes by hand and type the actual novel, a good notebook is essential.

So, if you’d like to be in with a chance of winning a super Rhodia ePure A5 notebook, read on…

In the comments area below this blog entry, just write us a couple of opening lines to a story.  The story can be about anything at all, BUT

1. It must contain some reference to an article of stationery! It could be a pen, writing paper, ink or something else….so long as an item of stationery appears, you’re in with a chance of winning!

2. It doesn’t matter if your entry is the start of a romantic novel, a thriller, a children’s story or any other genre.  Just don’t forget the stationery!

3. Don’t go mad and write the entire novel…we’re just looking for an opening paragraph.

The competition closes at 5p.m. GMT tomorrow (November 2nd).  Once the competition has closed, our panel of judges (i.e. whoever is in the office at the time) will review the entries and decide a winner.  You don’t need to be undertaking NaNoWriMo to enter the competition.  Literary talent is not an absolute requirement…only enthusiasm and imagination.  The entry that piques our interest, entertains and intrigues us most will win the notebook.

The winner will be announced on Wednesday morning (3rd November).

Note: Our comments are spam-protected, so there will be a short delay between when you submit your comments, and when they appear on the blog.

UPDATE:

This competition has now closed.  The winner is Rose (scroll down the comments to find Rose’s entry).

Thank you all so much for entering.  All the entries were brilliant and we had a great time reading them!

We’ll be running a competition each Monday throughout NaNoWriMo (or November as it’s also known), so keep an eye out for next week’s competition.

I would’ve been very cross if I hadn’t had a chocolate easter egg when I was a child and still make sure I have one even now that I am big and grown-up, but maybe one is enough.

How about treating your children, grandchildren, nieces or nephews to a fabulous writing set instead? We have a great range to suit little princesses, or budding astronauts.  Writing letters is a pleasure.  They don’t have to be hundreds of pages long, and receiving something special through the post is guaranteed to make someone else’s day.  Writing letters is also a great way to explore language and to learn how to write well, a skill that will never be wasted even in today’s text and email dominated world.

Why not take a look at our range here?

If I buy A4 writing paper what sized envelopes should I buy, and if I buy A5 paper what sized envelopes should I buy?

If you have A4 writing paper then the ideal envelope size is DL:

A4 writing paper size:  297mm x 210mm   or 11.7inches x 8.3inches

DL envelope size:  110mm x 220mm or 4.25inches x 8.6inches

If you have A5 writing paper then the ideal envelope size is C6:

A5 writing paper size:  210mm x 148mm or 8.3inches x 5.8inches

C6 envelope size:  162mm x 114mm or 6.4inches x 4.5inches

These and all other paper sizes are governed by an international standard which can get a bit complicated, and so if you are just writing a thank you letter to your mum then this is all you need to know.

Remember, you can of course match whatever sized paper and envelopes that you want.

It’s basically a communications project thought up by Brazilian MA student, Mariana Mota.  Her studies have led her to consider the concept that we are all nomads, constantly leaving things behind.  Whether we physically move from place to place, or we move on because time moves on, and things never stay the same, the theory goes that we’re all on a journey – accumulating and leaving things behind.

Mariana sent out 34 notebooks to different countries around the world, asking people to answer one question: ‘What have you left behind?’.  The notebooks now form part of an exhibition/artwork/degree piece.

Here are just a couple of shots from the installation at the Bristol Design Festival, but you can see more of the notebooks online at www.whathaveyouleftbehind.com.

Mariana has also fired up on Twitter recently – follow her here.

First is The Times Spelling Bee – this is the UK’s first national spelling bee and it’s bound to be wildly popular.  Schools will compete in local knockout rounds before reaching a national final in June next year.  There’s still plenty of time to enter your school, so check out the Spelling Bee info page now!

The second competition is Off By Heart - it’s a poetry recital competition for children aged from 7 – 11.  The later stages of this national competition will be shown on BBC TV, and the final will be compered by Jeremy Paxman.  There’s plenty of information on how to enter at the BBC’s Off By Heart competition page.  Closing date is 19th December 2008.

Even today, more than 30 years later, I can still recite the poem I learned by heart for a primary school review. There’s something about learning poetry by heart that’s amazingly satisfying, and there’s something about young children that means they are usually exceptionally good at it.

Well, one of the things we care about is finding ways to interest kids in activities that promote reading and writing.  One idea is to encourage kids to become autograph-hunters.  Keeping an autograph book and documenting who the autograph is from and when and where the autograph was collected is great for kids.  The discipline of keeping a neat book is bound up with the excitement of getting new autographs.

And don’t worry if you don’t live anywhere near a Premership club – your kids will be just as thrilled to get the autograph of a player from your local bottom-of-the-league club.  And who knows – maybe one day that player from the youth team who carefully signed your son’s or daughter’s autograph book for may become the next Rooney!

Here are five ideas to get your own kids enthusiastic about writing:

1. Kid’s Book List – kids love lists, and this book will help them track and write reports on the books they read
2. Thank You Cards – teach good old-fashioned manners by helping them to write thank you cards to friends and family after birthdays, Christmas and any other treat or gift occasion
3. Themed Writing Paper – this always helps with kids’ enthusiasm!  Our Charlie and Lola kits have stickers too, to embellish those letters to Grandma.
4. Autograph Books – I’m sure all kids go through that phase of wanting to collect autographs of famous (and not-so-famous) people
5. Travel Journals – not just for the grown-ups!  Guide your kids into doing something creative on holiday – it might even keep them quiet for a while!

It’s a year-long celebration of reading in all its forms…designed to raise awareness of literacy issues and to promote the simple joys and pleasures of reading. It’s not just a schools thing either…young and old are encouraged to read something…anything…so long as we’re reading!