November is National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo). This is an annual event that encourages people to write a novel between November 1 and November 30. Many bestselling novels began as part of National Novel Writing Month. These include Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen, Cinder by Marissa Meyer, The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern, Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell, and The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan.
The web-based nonprofit NaNoWriMo was created to help aspiring novelists meet the goal of writing 50,000 words, which is the minimum length for a novel. Its objective is to help writers produce a workable rough draft rather than publication ready story. Participation is free. Users need only to register for an account. Then beginning mid-month, they can begin uploading their text to verify the word count. Novels can be written in any language and any genre with any theme whatsoever. Quite simply, if you believe you’re writing a novel, then so does NaNoWriMo. It offers the support of an online community in addition to writing resources and pep talks from established authors. Alexander Chee, Jenny Han, Alaya Dawn Johnson, Daniel José Older, and Maggie Stiefvater are giving this year’s pep talks.
KHCPL is a 2016 NaNoWriMo Come Write In! Center. KHCPL South will host a NaNoWriMo weekly workshop from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. every Sunday in November. Meet with other writer, swap ideas, get inspired, conduct research, or simply write.
For those for whom writing is a solitary art, KHCPL also offers free Wi-Fi, quiet study rooms, and public access computer. You can also visit our NaNoWriMo resource page on Pinterest.
KHCPL’s collection contains both books to help you hone your writer skills and conduct research. Writers’ Manuals in KHCPL’s Collection include:
- The Art of Fiction by John Gardner
- Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott
- Characters & Viewpoint by Orson Scott Card
- The Elements of Style by William Strunk Jr. and E. B. White
- How to Write Like Tolstoy by Richard Cohen
- On Writing by Stephen King
- On Writing by Eudora Welty
- Steering the Craft by Ursula K. Le Guin
- This Year You Write Your Novel by Walter Mosley
- Writing Down the Bones by Natalie Goldberg
- Writing Your Novel from Start to Finish by Joseph Bates
- Zen in the Art of Writing by Ray Bradbury