November is National Novel Writing Month

…and the WCYR wants to celebrate it with you! 🙂

What is NaNoWriMo?

Some writers call it “inspiration”, some refer to it as a “kick in the pants”, while others still see it as a “challenge” beyond the norm. It can be any one or all of these for you, too.

The official NaNoWriMo Team’s focus is to challenge writers of all genres and levels of craft to write 50,000 words in one month.

Yes, you read that right. 50,000 words. ONE month. The month of November.

The idea is to challenge yourself to go beyond your comfort zone and push yourself to write 1666.67 words each day in order to “get the words on the page”. NaNo isn’t about having a polished novel, or part of a novel, at the end of a month. It’s about taking what’s stewing inside your head and getting it down on the page so that you can take that “sand” you’ve shovelled into the sandbox (words on the page) and start building sandcastles with it after the challenge. Click here for the official rules and how to register your participation.

But not everyone is excited about someone else setting a “goal” for their writing… let alone such a LARGE goal as 50K words in 30 days.

This is where the WCYR steps in with an alternate solution:

Get into the “spirit” of NaNoWriMo by challenging yourself — and making that challenge public with us on our Word By Word facebook group all about setting realistic personal writing goals each month. But, the month of November is about pushing the envelope (and the words out). If you usually focus on getting 500 words written each week, consider pushing yourself to try for 600. Do you have a project you keep putting off? This is a great time to challenge yourself to write 800 words a week or maybe even 500 a day?

WOAH!

I know… is it possible? Could you do that? How would you have to accommodate your daily schedule to fit that in?

And that’s why we have Word By Word. It’s a support network of WCYR writers who will not only help keep you accountable, but help you reach your goal. We all know writing is a solitary act, so think about celebrating your daily accomplishments with others who know how difficult writing is. 🙂 And, if you’re having a bad day or are struggling between watching your favourite TV program vs. writing for an hour, we’ll help get you inspired and rev up that muse.

We even offer “Write In” days.

For the month of November, the WCYR invites you to stop by one of the local coffee houses on Main Street for a beverage (on us!) and some shared writing time.

Write In Schedule:

~~Thursday Nov. 2nd @ Books/Cafe & Things, Newmarket Main St. S ~ from 9:30am-11:30am (Jenn Sharko)~~

Saturday Nov. 11th @ Covernotes Cafe, Newmarket Main St. S ~ from 9:00am-11:00am (Nanci Pattenden)

Thursday Nov. 16th @ Covernotes Cafe, Newmarket Main St. S ~ from 9:30am-11:30am (Jenn Sharko)

Saturday Nov. 25th @ Covernotes Cafe, Newmarket Main St. S. ~ from 1:00pm-3:00pm (Doug Owen)

~~Thursday Nov. 30th @ Covernotes, Newmarket Main St. S ~ from 9:30am-11:30am (Jenn Sharko)~~cancelled

Note: Any member of the WCYR or “Friend” of the WCYR is welcome to participate in one or more of our Write-Ins. Each time you stop by to write or share your writing progress, your name will be added to the Mini-Nano participant list for one of two chances to win a free book of fiction.

Last year we had 12 official participants in the WCYR Mini-Nano Challenge who strove for an “above average” writing goal in celebration of National Novel Writing Month. Not everyone achieved their goal, but everyone did get into the spirit and got words on the page — the ultimate goal of any writing challenge.

Below are excerpts of the writing several of our Mini-Nano participants worked on in 2016. Help us celebrate some of last year’s achievements by giving a listen and leaving a comment below.