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Check it Out: Is There a Writer Hiding Inside You?

Submitted by B. Wood on

November is NaNoWriMo, which is a shortened form of National Novel Writing Month. The premise is simple, but not easy: aspiring writers commit to producing 50,000 words of a novel during the month of November. NaNoWriMo has been a nonprofit organization since 2006, and has a website dedicated to supporting burgeoning writers as they “find their voice” by offering structure and encouraging communities. Many communities also have local groups who organize to write in the same place and support each other - these events are referred to as “write-ins’. FVRL offers some writing programs year round.

“But Beth,” you all are saying, “It’s already past November 1. Do I have to wait another year to start writing?” Of COURSE not, silly geese! The spirit of NaNoWriMo is to plan a writing schedule and stick to it. Fifty thousand words divided by 30 days = 1667 words per day. If you start tomorrow, you still have 14 days in November. That’s 23,338 words - a very good start on a novel, nonfiction book, or memoir. I, myself, have the attention span of lint, and although I have tried NaNoWriMo, I think this column is exactly my speed.

The foundation of a successful novel is a great idea for a story, and you’ve got to come up with that on your own. But there are lots of other facets to good writing, and I - and the library, and other writers - can help you with that. Most books on writing are in the nonfiction area of the library, in the 808s. Here’s a list of books about writing that might help you get started:

Still not sure you have a book waiting to spring forth? Let me close with the names of some books whose authors began them as a NaNoWriMo project, and went on to become published authors.

New at the Library

Fiction

Nonfiction

Children

Pale yellow background with orange capital letters reading "1000 words"
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