Sunday, October 23, 2011

NaNoWriMo Nears!

Have you always wanted to write a novel? Maybe you even have a dusty half-finished manuscript in a dresser drawer or saved on your computer somewhere. Someday, you tell yourself, when you are not so busy, when you have that good idea, when you can take a workshop, when... But that day never comes.  Wouldn't you like to get this goal off your bucket list and be able to tell yourself that you've written a novel? Well, have I got an idea for you...

Every year, hundreds of thousands of ambitious, caffeinated, foolhardy writers across the world try, during the month of November, to write an entire 50,000-word novel. Yes, you read that right: they create an entire novel, from beginning to end, during just one month. And believe it or not, many succeed! Read more here. We even have the official how-to book by NaNoWrimo's founder, Chris Baty: No Plot? No Problem!

Here are just a few NaNo novels that have been published, and are now available at your local Pima County Public Library (here's the complete list):
If you're inspired to write your own novel in November, or even want to get started writing at a slower pace, here are some more books on writing by a few of my favorite authors, to get your creative juices flowing!
P.S. If you'd like to take a creative writing class, have you heard about Universal Class? It's something new that you have access to for free with your library card -- you get to take an online class with a qualified instructor, with the option of receiving continuing education certificates, or just for fun. Check it out, it's the last link on this page.

-Jenny

6 comments:

  1. As a veteran WriMo, I can heartily recommend doing this. However, you have one error in this posting: it's 50,000 words, not 60,000 words. 1667 words every day for 30 days is plenty! No need to tack on an extra 10,000.

    Are there any plans for write-ins at any of the library branches? I haven't seen anything about this on the Tucson NaNo forum, but I think it would be a cool idea.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi Elise,

    Thanks for catching the typo! Agreed, 1,667 daily words is PLENTY to worry about.

    At the Flowing Wells branch, we're hosting some writing workshops to have fun playing with words, geared towards tweens, teens, and adults (http://www.library.pima.gov/calendar/?TheSearch=nanowrimo), and we got a promotional kit from the nice NaNoWriMo folks, with a fancy window sticker and everything.

    Best luck with your novel!
    -Jenny

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hi, Jenny!


    I'm Jason, NaNoWriMo Municipal Liaison for Tucson. Great hearing you're using the kit! We've got a regional forum where many of our participants gather--among other things, it has a calendar that lists local events:

    http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/regions/usa-arizona-tucson#regional_forum

    On that note, would you mind if I added a link to your calendar on our regional forum? While we currently don't have any write-ins scheduled for libraries, this would still be a great way of getting aspiring authors into the library.


    Thanks for giving NaNo a mention!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hi Jason,

    Absolutely, that's great! Thank you, and thanks for providing that link!

    Also, writers may be interested to know: all the Pima County Public Libraries provide free wifi.

    Jenny

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hi Jenny. Thanks for the helpful post. I had trouble finding the link for Universal Class. Could you reply with the link or additional contact info for it?
    Thanks,
    Shellie

    ReplyDelete
  6. Hi Shellie,

    Sure, here is a link that will take you directly to it, if you copy and paste it into the address bar in your browser:

    http://www.library.pima.gov/research/databases/interstitials/?type=nonstatewide&link=http%3A%2F%2Fpimaaz.universalclass.com%2Fregister.htm

    Since that's a little long, you could also get there by this shortened version:

    http://1.usa.gov/vSRVO9

    Once you are logged in (you will need your library card handy, unless you are visiting from a library computer), just follow the steps to create and account and register for any classes that interest you! There are a wide variety of topics, and you are able to take up to five classes at a time.

    Hope this helps!
    Jenny

    ReplyDelete

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