Event to give writers a nudge

NOVEL WRITING MONTH

Creator: Chris Batey in 1999

Web site: www.nanowrimo.org

Sign-up deadline: Nov. 25

By Heather Jones

SPECIAL TO THE CAPITAL-JOURNAL

Writing a novel in 30 days sounds like a lot of work, but writers from National Novel Writing Month, also known as NaNoWriMo, will give it their best shot.

Lissa Staley, adult services librarian for the Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library, 1515 S.W. 10th, said starting and finishing a 50,000-word novel is a great accomplishment.

Staley serves as a NaNoWriMo municipal liaison and will participate in the event for the second year.

"The goal is to make yourself do it quickly," Staley said.

Writing begins on Nov. 1 at 12:01 a.m. All 50,000 words, or approximately 175 pages, must be completed by midnight Nov. 30, when computers will tally the word count.

The writing program is for anyone who has ever thought of writing a novel.

Sign-up for NaNoWriMo 2004 started Oct. 1 and can be done through their Web site, www.nanowrimo.org, through Nov. 25.

In last year's event, 25,500 people participated nationally, with 3,500 crossing the 50,000-word line. This year, event coordinators are hoping for about 40,000 participants and about 5,000 winners.

Staley said 24 local participants have signed up in this year's event.

Throughout November, Staley will organize local events called writing meetups, which will be at in the cafe at Hasting's Books Music & Video, 6317 S.W. 22nd Place. The first will be from 7 to 9 p.m. Nov. 9 and the second from 3 to 5 p.m. Nov. 14.

The meetups are for encouragement and for sharing of ideas, Staley said. For information, contact Staley at (785) 580-4552 .

At the end of the month NaNoWriMo will host a "Thank God It's Over" party where all participants regardless if they met the goal will gather and celebrate.

Heather Jones is a student at Washburn University. She can be reached at (785) 295-1180.

Copyright 2004
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved.