by MJ Moores
Have you heard about MiMu? Have you seen his cute little face with the mask and wide, bright eyes? Surely, you’ve noticed the old-fashioned typewriter he’s sitting behind under the moonlight?
No?
Well, then I think it’s about time we introduced you to the new mascot for WCYR’s Mini Muse Milestone Challenge… or MiMu for short.
It has long been tradition to celebrate personal writing goals during the month of November. The WCYR used to hold a mini-NaNo challenge in tandem with the large National Novel Writing Month organization. However, in recent years, a number of controversial issues arose with their moral compass and we have decided to branch out on our own to celebrate writerly goal-setting during November.
This year, in addition to the two $5.00 draws we held (one for making your personal goal known by telling us about it in the Facebook group Word By Word – won by Cathy Miles and one for sharing how well you did over the course of the month – won by Val Tobin) we also felt creating a mascot for our new challenge would be a fun way to celebrate.
We pooled options from everyone who belongs to the Word By Word group to gather a solid list of contenders. Then, we held our first poll where anyone could vote up to three times for their favourites. From that poll, we selected the top three with the most votes and invited everyone to select just one. The winner, with 70% of votes, is the cute little raccoon you see above.
For offering the winning idea, Maaja Wentz earned a fabulous book bundle, holiday mug, and engraving of her choice (she chose a wooden bookmark). We presented Maaja with her winnings at our first annual MiMu writing celebration on December 6th from 7pm-9:30pm in Newmarket at Goblets & Goblins restaurant. The invitation went out over social media in the two WCYR groups, Members Corner and Word By Word,for anyone who crafted or supported word-weaving during November. Those who joined us that evening received a small gift with the new mascot engraved on it.
The food was excellent, the company fantastic, and the laughter contagious. We hope to see you visit the Word By Word writing support group throughout the year and we look forward to celebrating MiMu with you in 2025!