Tag: National Novel Writing Month

NaNoWriMo Challenge Alternatives

- Elena Leave a comment

This November marks the first Novel Writing Month since the official NaNoWriMo organization shut down. If you’re looking to join a new writing challenge, check out the following websites. Every challenge listed is completely free to join and offers tons of writing resources and online community events throughout November.

Novel November from ProWritingAid
The Novel November challenge follows the traditional format of writing 50,000 words in 30 days. ProWritingAid offers:

  • Word count tracking in whichever writing software you prefer
  • Free live sessions with best-selling authors
  • Daily writing sprints and networking events
  • Planning workshops in October and resources for editing, publishing, and marketing in December
  • Badges and rewards for hitting goals

Novel 90 from AutoCrit
Struggle to complete 50,000 words in just 30 days? The Novel 90 challenge expands the time limit to 90 days, beginning October 1st and ending December 31st.  AutoCrit offers:

  • Teams based on planning style, led by a best-selling author with the same style
  • Live events, writing sprints, and daily motivational emails
  • Closing prize draw for all registrants, as well as special prizes for challenge finishers

NovelEmber from World Anvil
World Anvil is best known for their worldbuilding tools. This year, they are offering a self-reported writing challenge of 50,000 words in 30 days. World Anvil offers:

  • A dedicated channel in the World Anvil Discord server
  • Weekly Twitch streams on Fridays
  • Writing tips and guides on World Anvil social media
  • A badge and certificate for finishers

The PaWriCo Challenge from Pathfinders Writing Collective
The PaWriCo Challenge runs for 90 days from November 1st to January 31st. Pathfinders offers:

  • Completely customizable goal, from word count to time limit
  • Community events through Pathfinders Writing Collective Discord server
  • Goal tracking through the free TrackBear app

Need inspiration for your new novel? During the month of November, look for the “Published NaNoWriMos” displays at all three branches.

National Novel Writing Month

- Rachel Leave a comment

 

Crest for National Novel Writing Month
Crest for National Novel Writing Month

Are you trying to write the next great American novel? Do you find yourself needing motivation to write?

If so then you will be happy to learn that November is National Novel Writing Month.  Authors from all around the world are members of the National Novel Writing Month website.  On this website, you can track your writing progress, get pep talks, talk to fellow authors on the forums, and meet other authors in your area.  According to the website,

“National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) is a fun, seat-of-your-pants approach to creative writing. 

On November 1, participants begin working towards the goal of writing a 50,000-word novel by 11:59 PM on November 30.

Valuing enthusiasm, determination, and a deadline, NaNoWriMo is for anyone who has ever thought about writing a novel.”

 

If you want to challenge yourself to write 50,000 words during the month of November, then check out the National Novel Writing Month website:

 

http://nanowrimo.org/

 

Happy Writing!

National Novel Writing Month

- Ann Leave a comment

I read Letters to a Young Poet by Rainer Maria Rilke (inspired by Whoopi Goldberg’s character in Sister Act II: Back in the Habit ) when I was sixteen and wanted to be a writer. Then I read it again a few years later when I still wanted to be a writer, but was faced with the reality of paying bills and making career decisions.  It always amazes me how much a book can transform you, but also how much your perception of a book can evolve as you change. I’ve never stopped wanting to write, but I have become much more aware of the things that I’ll probably never say.

“Things aren’t all so tangible and sayable as people would usually have us believe; most experiences are unsayable, they happen in a space that no word has ever entered, and more unsayable than all other things are works of art, those mysterious existences, whose life endures beside our own small, transitory life.” – Letters to a Young Poet, Rainer Maria Rilke

So, since it is National Novel Writing Month, I thought I’d make some reading suggestions for my fellow writers-in-waiting out there.  There are plenty of style books and how-tos saturating the market, but some of the best manuals for writing come from writers themselves.  They’re filled with humor and pragmatism, and may help you learn to find your voice, rather than your marketing plan.

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On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King
Elements of Style by William Strunk and E.B. White
Why I Write: Thoughts on the Craft of Fiction edited by Will Blythe
Steering the Craft by Ursula K. Le Guin
Why I Write by George Orwell
Letters to a Young Poet by Rainer Maria Rilke