NaNoWriMo in St Albert

A few weeks ago, we heard from STARFest authors Alissa York and Anita Rau Badami on how to get started writing stories of your own. As November is National Novel Writer’s Month (or NaNoWriMo, as it is more commonly known) there has never been a better time to start. NaNoWriMo isn’t necessarily about celebrating our novelists. Rather, it acts as motivation to write. Those who participate in NaNoWriMo are expected to write an entire novel, start to finish, during the month of November. It doesn’t have to be good, and you are, of course, allowed and encouraged to keep working on it after the month is over. What is important is that you were able to spend the month writing. Devoting yourself to the task is an accomplishment in itself. If you’re still unsure, Marty Chan, the Writer-in-Residence at St. Albert Public Library, has a few tips to show you that it can be done.

“The first time I participated in NaNoWriMo, I wrote the ugly first draft of what eventually became my published novel, The Ehrich Weisz Chronicles: Demon Gate. If a serial procrastinator like me can find success with NaNoWriMo, so can you. Here are my tips.

1. Create first, second guess later. Writers tend to shut down when they start to judge their own work as they are writing. You have no idea if your story is good or not until you’ve finished the first draft, so stop criticizing until you’re done.

2. Break the writing task into bite-sized pieces. If I had six hours to work on my draft, I’d probably spend two of them writing and the rest on Facebook or Twitter. Instead of long stretches of writing, go with short intense segments.

3. Writing is cumulative. If you only get 300 words written in one day, that’s still productive. Think of NaNoWriMo as a way to develop your discipline for writing every day.

4. When you’re blocked, relocate your writing space. The change in venue can free up your creativity.

5. Conflict is king. Get your character in trouble whenever and wherever you can. This will force you to problem solve, and it will help create a higher word count.

Enjoy yourself when you’re writing the first draft. This time is for you to play. The revision process is when you have to roll up your sleeves and work.”

You’ve still got half of November left to go, and Marty is offering a few workshops at the St. Albert Library to help those who need a little extra push. Whether you publish anything in the end or not, NaNoWriMo can act as a great introduction to writing. There is no harm in grabbing a pen and seeing where your mind will take you.

To find out more about how NaNoWriMo started, and how it has spread across the world, visit their website here.