American writer Jessamyn West once commented that writing is a solitary occupation, that one must be alone, “slightly savage,” and uninterrupted if he or she is to complete a work.

During November, thousands of writers the world over turn the often-solitary art into a community event, striving to pen the rough draft of a 50,000-word novel in 30 days.

National Novel Writing Month, also known as NaNoWriMo, began in 1999 in the San Francisco Bay Area. The first year the event was held in July and included 21 writers who, according to co-founder Chris Baty on the NaNoWriMo website, “wanted to make noise.” In 2000, organizers established a website, enabling writers from around the world to participate, and changed the month to November in order to “more fully take advantage of the miserable weather.” By the third year, Baty wrote, “a literary tornado” touched down and 5,000 writers participated. In 2013, National Novel Writing Month became an official non-profit organization with events in January and February to assist writers with formatting manuscripts and other pre-publication steps. According to the website, 310,000 adult novelists and 89,500 young writers participated in November 2013.

Amy Eames, co-owner of Through the Reading Glass used book store in Langley, said the sense of accountability and a deadline during NaNoWriMo help her to remain focused and motivated.

Eames, who has long dreamt of becoming a published author, is presently in the midst of writing an urban fantasy novel. As of Tuesday, she said she was well on track to meeting the 50,000 word goal with 35,000 words penned thus far. Though she doesn’t anticipate finishing the novel by Dec. 1, she said the 50,000 words provides a solid start.

“It’s always nice to have other writers here,” she said. “It’s nice to know you’re not alone.”

“When everybody suffers together it seems to be much more entertaining,” added shop co-owner Chris Peterson, who has taken part in the event in past years.

During November, Peterson and Eames extended the store hours and invited NaNoWriMo participants to stop in for writing sessions, attracting a handful of novelists as well as a few more shop patrons.

On the main floor of the bright purple building located at Langley Village, the co-owners sell used books as well as new books published by Whidbey authors. Upstairs, the two have arranged a cozy space for writers to gather and work.

“It runs the gamut from memoirs to high fantasy, sci-fi, general fiction, mystery, romance,” said Peterson, in regard to the types of stories visiting NaNoWriMo writers are working on.

Eldritch Black, a Clinton resident and author, said he and his writing group have been meeting at the shop regularly for sessions.

The group, which is composed of about seven authors, meets year-round, but Black noted that a few of the members are also participating in NaNoWriMo.

Black said he first became involved with NaNoWriMo when he moved to the United States from London in 2008. At first, he recalled, the challenge of penning 50,000 words in 30 days seemed daunting, almost impossible.

“But when you’re faced with that challenge, you rise to it,” he wrote in an email to The Record. “And when you hit your stride, you realize increasing your word count is actually quite doable all year round.”

His recently published novel, “The Book of Kindly Deaths,” which is available for purchase at Through the Reading Glass, was written in part during NaNoWriMo 2013. Black said he had already penned about two-thirds of the novel, but recalled that participating in the national writing month helped him to “knuckle down” and finish up.

While the ultimate goal of NaNoWriMo is to complete a 50,000 word novel within 30 days, many writers like Black and Eames take the month as an opportunity to work on existing projects or to get a strong start on a new one. The objective of NaNoWriMo, according to its web site, is to encourage writers to complete at least 50,000 words — if this means completing an entire novel, it’s all the better.

“You find a strange rhythm when you’re working with other writers. It’s probably the same for runners in a marathon, or anyone else trying to work towards a goal within a group,” Black wrote. “I think one of the most helpful aspects in working with others is that writing is most often such a solitary pursuit. So when you see other people typing away it offers encouragement.”

Wayne Ude, chief academic officer and master of fine arts program director at the Northwest Institute of Literary Arts, hosted evening writing sessions at the old Bayview School in November.

Ude said that for most of the month he has written alone. He speculates that foul weather during the first week of November may have deterred some from driving to Bayview and noted that in following weeks, when the skies were somewhat clearer, one or two writers visited regularly.

The sessions remained pretty quiet, recalled Ude, with a few initial greetings and progress updates followed by the tapping of keys and scratching of pens on paper.

Ude concurred with Black and Eames that being in the presence of fellow authors seems to help with focus.

“Writing in coffee shops is certainly popular these days; it’s rare to find a coffee shop which doesn’t have at least a couple of people working hard on their laptops,” he said. “The change in setting seems to help one avoid the distractions available at home, which seems a little counter-intuitive since coffee shops are full of their own distractions — conversations, people ordering, and so on. But writers seem able to block all that out.”

“Give it a month or two, let the dust settle, read through the brand-new story you’ve created and give yourself a well-deserved pat on the back,” wrote to NaNoWriMo participants.

For more information on NaNoWriMo, visit nanowrimo.org.