Wordcraft – Are we ready to WriMo now?

I’m writing about NaNoWriMo – the national (although now international) novel writing month – of November. And no, I haven’t flipped the pages of my calendar too fast. Because NaNoWriMo is now virtually a year-round event, and the warmups have already begun!

To bring WriMo newbies up to speed – NaNoWriMo is designed to get writers off to a running start on a novel by asking them to put 50,000 words down in a single 30-day period, from November 1-30. The point is to juice up our creativity and turn off our nagging internal editors – those voices in our heads that tell us what we’re doing doesn’t make sense, our spelling/grammar/plot structure are terrible, that we’ll never, ever be able to write an entire book. Instead, put those voices to work spitting out words so fast our fingers can barely keep up with them.

You say you don’t hear voices in your head? Sure, you do. You’ve just been afraid to admit it. Until now.

So join the hundreds of thousands of participants yearly who make the NaNoWriMo pledge to make those voices earn their keep, starting today (October 25) at the free webinar, “How to Push Through to the End, with We Need Diverse Books,” from 11 a.m. – noon Pacific Daylight Time with authors Adam Silvera and Stacey Lee. Log into the website for details.

Yes, a free webinar. Because everything is free at NaNoWriMo, a bona fide nonprofit organization. (Although they love donations. Not to mention purchases of cool merchandise advertising the event!)

Then keep looking to the site for events with actual people in your region. In my part of North Texas, the Dallas Public Library’s central branch will host members of the DFW Writers’ Workshop, ready to provide help with outlining our books, creating characters, finding time to write, or whatever's bugging potential writers. Suitable for teens and adults (must be at least 13 to participate in NaNoWriMo), in the third-floor Conference Room B of the library, 1515 Young Street, Dallas, from 6 – 7:30 p.m.

Still in North Texas, the DFW Rhinos will host a potluck lunch from 1 – 3 p.m. this Saturday, October 29, at Hurst Christian Church, 745 Brown Trail, in Hurst. Then on Halloween, Rhinos hold a midnight write-in from 8 p.m. October 31 to 6 a.m. November 1, also at Hurst Christian Church. See the DFW Rhinos Facebook page and the “regions” button at the NaNoWriMo site for more events.

Want more help? It’s OK to go outside NaNoWriMo. The Writer’s Garret, 10809 Garland Road, Dallas, has some in-depth workshops great for novelists. Consider “Developing Characters,” November 1, from 7-10 p.m. with writer Sanderia Faye (The Mourner's Bench) and/or “Never Let Me Go: How to Craft your Chapter’s Beginning and End,” November 13, from 1-4 p.m. with writer Weina Dai Randel (The Empress of Bright Moon).  For each workshop, the early bird cost for Writer’s Garret members (through October 30) is $45. Regular price is $60 for members, $75 for nonmembers. See the site to join and/or register for classes.

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You're probably wondering: is there life outside of NaNoWriMo? Strangely enough, yes, but some of it is moving along quickly. Today, October 25, (at 11:59 p.m. CDT) is the deadline for the Writers Guild of Texas flash fiction contest. See the WGT site for details and entry fee for non-WGT members.

Today is also the regularly-scheduled last-Tuesday scene read for the Dallas Screenwriters Association. Although only DSA members may bring scenes, the reading is free and open to the public, at Half Price Books, 5803 E. Northwest Highway, Dallas. Castings start at 6 p.m., readings about 7 p.m.

Finally (for now), I was excited to see that the Writers League of Texas from Austin will bring its Texas Writes programming to a couple of small-town libraries in the deep Piney Woods of my native East Texas in the coming year. Librarians interested in bringing a free half day of presentations and panel discussions by accomplished writers to their communities of less than 12,000 people may contact the WLT for an application. 

Wordcraft – NaNoWriMo is nigh: Ready, set, write!

Well, I did it, registered my pledge to write a novel (or at least 50,000 words of one) through NaNoWriMo starting November 1. The acronym is short for National Novel Writing Month, the annual, now international Internet-based writing event that takes place each November.

The goal is to foster creativity by turning off our inner editors and pounding out the words. Last year, 325,142 participants worldwide started the month as housewives, students, mechanics and actors and ended as – novelists. More 250 NaNoWriMo novels have been traditionally published, including Water for Elephants, The Night Circus, Wool, Fangirl and more. But this isn’t the time to worry about publication, not even about how well you write or whether you think you can write at all. It’s about putting words down. Nothing else can happen until the words are out of our heads and on the page.

This year’s NaNoWriMo page lets you decide whether you’re a “plotter” – the person who starts the month with outlines and character sketches – or a “pantser” (as in flying by the seat of yours) who starts with nada. I’m probably cheating by starting with a few thousand words from a short story that participants at this year’s FenCon Dallas-area writing workshop said didn’t tell them as much as they wanted to know. So here comes the rest of the story!

NaNoWriMo participants in North Texas (aka DFW Rhinos) are already preparing, with more than 60 public write-ins on their calendars for November, including the upcoming midnight write-in from 8 p.m. October 31 – 4 a.m. November 1.

Not in Texas? Check the NaNoWriMo site for activities in your part of the world, including a virtual write-in, live stream event tomorrow, October 28, beginning at 3 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time. Let me know how you’re doing. I won’t even hate you if you write way more than 50,000 words!

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Maybe you think pounding out 50,000 words in November won’t leave you with time for anything else. But like saving room for a slice of pumpkin pie after Thanksgiving turkey, save a little time for some other literary events in North Texas. You never know when inspiration will strike.

October 27: Monthly scene readings sponsored by Dallas Screenwriters Association, Half Price Books, 5803 E. Northwest Highway, Dallas. Only DSA members may have work read, but the readings are free to the public. Pages must be submitted by 6 p.m., casting follows immediately, with readings usually started by 7 p.m.

Now through November 16: The Writers’ Guild of Texas first annual flash fiction contest. A thousand words maximum. Cash prizes. Submissions are limited to WGT members, but at only $25 for an annual membership, consider joining.

November 7: Texas Writes program on memoir writing, sponsored by the Writers’ League of Texas. Starting 1 p.m. at the Pottsboro Area Library, 104 North Main, Pottsboro, Texas (about 90 minutes north of Dallas on I-75). Free, but pre-registration suggested. Call (903)78607264.

November 14: The Writers’ Guild of Texas  also sponsors a fall workshop, 9 a.m. – noon, in the Richardson Civic Center, 411 W. Arapaho Road, Richardson, Texas. Bestselling author Taylor Stevens is this year’s instructor. Cost: $25 for members, $35 for nonmembers.

November 16: Pandora’s Box Poetry Showcase Dallas hosts readings by local and nationally-known poets. Margo Jones Theater in Dallas Fair Park, beginning at 8 p.m. Free.

November 20: First Annual 24-Minute Script Contest and Festival, sponsored by the Dallas Screenwriters Association. At Brown Lane Studios, 1499 Regal Row, Suite 505, Dallas, starting 8 p.m. The event is free to attend, but only DSA members may compete.

Wordcraft -- Prepare to get our WriMo on

It’s been a couple of years since I’ve accepted the challenge to join the National Novel Writing in a Month challenge¾ to tap out 50,000 words, basically a first draft¾ of a novel in the month of November. But I found an old idea, aka plot bunny, in my files and thought, why not put it to use? So NaNoWriMo, count me in again!

The point of NaNoWriMo, as its devotees name this event, is to turn off your inner editor for a month and let the words flow. Don’t stop to correct spelling, punctuation, grammar. Save that kind of revision for the next eleven months. Words have to be written before they can be revised. Instead, believe that by 11:59 p.m. on November 30, in whatever time zone we live in, we can hope to have the raw material on the page, on our screens, to do the revision that will make our dreams a real full-length story.

Oh, and that word “national” in the name? Don’t worry, fellow writers of the Earth. Since its start in San Francisco in 1999, NaNoWriMo has become a nonprofit organization with more than 300,000 participants from around the world.

So you’re thinking, today’s only October 20. We’ve still got twelve days until the first of November. Why are we talking about NaNoWriMo now? Well, because I’ve found that, although the dream of free-flowing words is a great one, those words come more freely if I have some idea where they’re going.

Those of us in in the Dallas-Fort Worth area can start those ideas flowing at the kick-off party for the DFW Rhinos group this coming Saturday, October 25, from 2 to 5 p.m. at the HalfPrice Books Flagship Store 5803 E. Northwest Hwy. in Dallas, Texas. We’ll be in HalfPrice’s community room in the back of the store. Feel free to bring light snacks or drinks (nothing messy and no dark-colored or red drinks, please.).

More information about the party and other NaNoWriMo events in North Texas, see the DFW Rhinos Facebook page.

Don’t forget to register at the mother organization, http://nanowrimo.org/ for inspiration, prep tips, and information on how to upload your novel for the official word count.

So am I going to spend the next six weeks blathering about nothing but NaNoWriMo? Of course not! There’s way too much else going on in the local world, things like author readings, conferences, workshops, and more. I’ll use the heraldic emblem that illustrates this post for NaNoWriMo posts to give readers fair warning of the content.

Despite all the hoopla, I don’t intend to consider anyone, least of all myself, a failure if we fall short of the magic 50,000. But if 50,000 seems overwhelming, break it down. After all, that it’s only 1,667 words a day or 1,725 if you take time off for Thanksgiving, or¾ but we’re doing the math already, right? Every word is a victory!