Saturday Discussion – Write a Story: National Novel Writing Month

Okay, folks,

I meant to write this post last week (and then again last night), but better late than never! November is National Novel Writing Month (a.k.a. NaNoWriMo), and as one of the official Municipal Liaisons, I love to encourage people that if you have story burning inside you…a story that you’ve had brewing for months…years…decades maybe. This is the time to write it.

Go to the NaNoWriMo website to get started and sign up for free account and to start keeping track of your wordcount!

The goal of NaNo is to write a 50k-word novel in 30 days, which can be accomplished by writing 1,667 words per day for 30 days. Now…you’d have to double that to get it done by November 30th but if that story is calling out to you (or perhaps it is the Holy Spirit!), you can do it! If not, you’ll have at least 25k words of a book, which is much better than no words.

The cool thing is that all over the world, hundreds of thousands of people are attempting the same thing. In the Shenandoah Valley alone we’ve collectively written 1.5 million words since November 1st. I mean, it’s pretty awesome.

So, we talk a lot about diverse literature here. We need more out there. Especially if you are #ownvoice and have a story, let it be heard! Scream it from the…laptop! 🙂 We want to hear it!

Do you hate writing? That’s okay! Writers need readers, too. No pressure! I just think it’s a really cool thing to be a part of, an awesome way to meet neat people in your community, and good way to get words on the page.

Have you done NaNoWriMo? If so, tell us about it below!

Advertisement

Open Discussion – NaNoWriMo

Happy Saturday, folks! We’ve had several discussions about our favorite diverse Christian reads and why it is so important to have more diverse Christian fiction out there. So, today’s blog is both a discussion and a call-to-action!

Are you tired of people writing characters from your culture the wrong way? Or not seeing anyone from your culture represented in Christian fiction? Well, there’s a sure-fire way to fix it. Write a book yourself!

November is National Novel Writing Month! It is where all over the world thousands (maybe millions) of people have taken up the torch to write a book in a month (50,000 words in 30 days). There are tons of supportive people out there to help you both online and in person. Find where your home region is on the NaNoWriMo website.

Personally, I have fallen in love with NaNo. Prior to NaNo, it took me 3+ years to write a book. Since starting NaNo 5 years ago, I have written 10 books. And my first published book, Vivir el Dream, was actually written during NaNo.

NaNo is just a big ball of awesomeness. There are so many people that have said, “Wow, you write books? I always wanted to do that.” If you’re one of those people, that could be the Holy Spirit nudging you. Does God want you to write a book? If so, don’t be like Jonah and go the other direction. Let NaNo swallow you up and bring you to authorship! (Okay, I had a bit of fun with that analogy).

Here’s the discussion part…Do you write books? Have you ever done NaNoWriMo? Have you ever considered writing a book? Are you interested in trying out NaNo this year and want more info?

Remember: God doesn’t call the equipped, He equips the called. 🙂 Have a blessed Saturday!