Some days, I can sit down in front of the laptop and stare at the blank screen until my retinas are aching. At other times, I will sit down and a whole article or story pours out. However, as an average, if I write 1,000 words of quality material in one sitting, I am happy. So if someone asked me to write a novel in six days, I would seriously consider their sanity. Seriously!

Yet that is exactly what one group of American authors is going to attempt.

From October 11-16, thirty-six Pacific Northwest authors are going to write a 60,000 word novel in a six-day writing marathon. And as if that isn’t going to be tough enough, they are going to do it live! Seattle7Writers and Richard Hugo House, as part of the Seattle Arts Crush festival, are organizing this groundbreaking event.

To keep followers up-to-date on the novel as it progresses, there will be large screens at Hugo House for the in-house audience. If you can‘t make it to Seattle for the event, the organizers have also set up live streaming and live chat online at www.thenovellive.org. And if the authors involved did not have enough to do, they will regularly update followers via Twitter and Facebook.

The Novel: Live! will kick-off on October 10, when the novel’s story elements will be decided upon. With the help of the local community; themes, locations, and characters will be chosen for the authors to work with. The following day, armed with the basic story information, Jennie Shortridge will start the proceedings with a two-hour shift at the computer. Six days later, Garth Stein will have the honor of typing the last words. Editing will be done on the fly so once Garth has leant back in his chair, The End flashing on the screen, the novel will be digitally published and made available on all eReader devices.

Seattle7Writers group has stated that all sales of the completed novel will be donated to various literacy non-profit organizations in the Northwest. If you want to follow this amazing attempt, or see the authors involved, visit the Seattle7Writers website or go directly to The Novel: Live!.