National Novel Writing Month began yesterday, as thousands of writers struggle to pound out 50,000 words in a single month. Last year 119,301 writers participated, and 21,683 actually completed the writing marathon. This year, writers have a number of freebies and discounts to make the writing process more exciting.

CreateSpace is offering successful NaNoWriMo winner a a free proof copy of their book. Scrivener has a special NaNoWriMo trial edition of the novel writing software that authors can use for free.

Finally, Rachel Kaufman interviewed Jessica Burkhart about her 2006 fairy tale ending to her NaNoWriMo experience. Here's an excerpt: "When the month-long writing spree ended, Burkhart started revising Take The Reins, a story about tween girls at a competitive equestrian school. A month later, an agent found a blog post she'd written about the novel and asked to see the manuscript. The rest is history: The Canterwood Crest series is now five books long, with seven more to come.