UPDATE, SEPTEMBER 1, 2011: I actually ended up raising a total of $130, thanks to a few last-minute backers. Sweet!

It worked! After hustling friends, family and total strangers for a little over a week, I am proud to say I’ve reached my modest $120 goal with my Kickstarter fund, and will be officially participating in this year’s 3-Day Novel Contest.

The Arthur Dent Method, not to be confused with the Lester Dent Method (photo by Laurie Sparham, © Touchstone Pictures, via IMDb)

As mentioned in my previous post, the goal was to see if I could raise enough money to pay for the contest’s entry fee ($55), as well as a bit of additional cash to pay for my writing fuel (i.e. food and drinks with plenty of caffeine) over this 3-day novel-writing marathon. I’ve officially raised the $120 I asked for, so my project is going to be funded as of August 31. Of course, if you still want to support my dirty, filthy writing habit — as well as pin down a chance to name one of the characters in my story! — you can still donate any amount to the cause. $25 pledges net you a character name, while $5 pledges will get you access to my behind-the-scenes blog that will be updated during the contest.

Thanks to each and every one of my backers, who’ve made this crazy dream possible. While $120 may not seem like a lot of money, I’m really impressed by the people who read my description of the novel I intend to write and decided to back it. Not everyone wants to take a chance on art, you know? And while there are tons of different campaigns on Kickstarter (and IndieGoGo, and lots of other fundraising sites popping up daily), I’m happy to know that my campaign managed to catch the eye of a few people who don’t even know me, who were willing to help fund to a total stranger’s goal. That, to me, is the greatest thing about Kickstarter and other fundraising websites.

Now that my 3-Day Novel’s funding is secured, it’s time to write up an outline! As mentioned in my Fuel Your Writing piece, “The 3-Day Novel Contest: One Writer’s Experience,” outlines are invaluable to the 3-Day Novelist — even though they’ll most likely fall by the wayside once you get started. I’ve been reading an excellent article on the subject of outlining genre fiction (“How to Write a Book in 3 Days: Lessons from Michael Moorcock”), and plan to use the Lester Dent method (not to be confused with the Arthur Dent method…) this year to keep things moving forward at a steady pace. Mad props to Hugo Vaillancourt for recommending this piece!