November 1st marked the first day of this year’s National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo. If you’re one of the thousands of people worldwide attempting to write 50,000 words that may (or may not; quality is optional) somewhat resemble a novel by the end of the month, Literature & Latte is offering a special NaNoWriMo ’11 trial version of Scrivener for free. (For more on NaNoWriMo, check out “Write a Novel in 30 Days with NaNoWriMo” by Jason Snell, Macworld Editorial Director and board member of the Office of Letters and Light, the non-profit organization that operates the writingfest.)

Unlike many word processors, Scrivener is designed for long-form writing such as novels, screenplays, and essays. It features extensive tools for gathering and organizing research, templates for composing a work, and export options that include EPUB, Word, PDF, HTML, and Mobipocket. (It’s so useful, in fact, that we published Kirk McElhearn’s $10 “Take Control of Scrivener 2” and we’re running a 50-percent-off sale on that book and Michael Cohen’s “Take Control of TextExpander” through the end of November.)

Although Literature & Latte normally offers a 30-day trial of its writing software, this version has been modified to expire on 7 December 2011 so participants don’t find themselves with nonfunctional software near the end of November. NaNoWriMo writers who break the 50,000 word mark by the end of the month can buy the software for 50 percent off its $45 price (for the Mac version; the Windows edition costs $40). Everyone else is eligible for a 20 percent discount using a code at checkout.