News / Life / Clark County Life

Check It Out: Is there a writer hiding inside you?

By Beth Wood

Published: November 16, 2024, 6:05am

November is NaNoWriMo, which is a shortened form of National Novel Writing Month. The premise is simple, but not easy: aspiring writers commit to producing 50,000 words of a novel during the month of November.

NaNoWriMo has been a nonprofit organization since 2006, and has a website dedicated to supporting burgeoning writers as they “find their voice” by offering structure and encouraging communities.

Many communities also have local groups who organize to write in the same place and support each other — these events are referred to as “write-ins.”

“But Beth,” you all are saying, “It’s already past Nov. 1. Do I have to wait another year to start writing?” Of COURSE not, silly geese! The spirit of NaNoWriMo is to plan a writing schedule and stick to it. Fifty thousand words divided by 30 days equals 1,667 words per day. If you start tomorrow, you still have 14 days in November. That’s 23,338 words — a very good start on a novel, nonfiction book or memoir.

I, myself, have the attention span of lint, and although I have tried NaNoWriMo, I think this column is exactly my speed.

The foundation of a successful novel is a great idea for a story, and you’ve got to come up with that on your own.

But there are lots of other facets to good writing, and I — and the library, and other writers — can help you with that.

Most books on writing are in the nonfiction area of the library, in the 808s.

Here’s a list of books about writing that might help you get started:

“On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft” by Stephen King (2010): King’s memoir covers how writing has helped him personally as well as writing as an art.
“You: The Story: A Writer’s Guide to Craft Through Memory” by Ruta Sepytis (2023): How to use your own memories to discover your writing voice and usage of details.
“Writing on Empty: A Guide to Finding Your Voice” by Natalie Goldberg (2024): The author’s journey to overcome her writer’s block.
“1000 Words: A Writer’s Guide to Staying Creative, Focused and Productive All Year Round” by Jami Attenberg, ed. (2024): In a similar approach to NaNoWriMo, author Attenberg guides you through writing 1,000 words per day to stay motivated.
“Screenwriting: The Sequence Approach” by Paul Joseph Gulino (2024): Guidance for screenwriting hopefuls through the structural analysis of feature films, television series and streaming content.
“Writing Picture Books: A Hands-On Guide from Story Creation to Publication” by Ann Whitford Paul (2018): A guide for crafting stories for children ages 2-8.

Still not sure you have a book waiting to spring forth? Let me close with the names of some books whose authors began them as a NaNoWriMo project, and went on to become published authors.

“Fangirl” by Rainbow Rowell.
“The Night Circus” by Erin Morgenstern.
“Cinder” by Marissa Meyer.
“Water for Elephants” by Sara Gruen.

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