Even though I write for a living, the idea of writing a novel is daunting. Even my longest pieces don’t come close to a novel. (My editors might disagree.)
But I’ve signed up to do something that is a little crazy, given my schedule, but I like the challenge!
The National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) is an international event in which participants commit to writing a novel (about 50,000 words, the word count for a short novel) during the month of November.
Our city has a lot of writers in its midst.
Seattle ranks first for word count (more than 38 million), average number of words (more than 30,000) and number of donations (almost 13,000).
Fremont’s own Writer’s Cramp is participating in this year’s challenge. Tonight’s class (6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.) begins the first of a six-week focus on the event at WC’s usual place, Fremont Abbey, 4272 Fremont Ave. N. (Caffe Vita across the street is the overflow spot.)
The “local word jock” who teaches the classes, Taylor Houston, writes:
Writer’s Cramp is gearing up for the main event by focusing on fiction writing. Classes will include readings and discussion on writing plot and setting, crafting characters, adding dialogue, and related topics. We will also spend time just getting our brains and pens warmed up by doing lots of loosely directed free-writing. It’s all in good fun, and any writer should find the activities fun and interesting, even if he or she is not writing a novel this November.
Classes are $5-$10 per session (donation) or $30 for the six weeks.