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Thirty days and nights of literary abandon!

October 24, 2012 | Erin | Comments (0) Facebook Twitter More...

That's the slogan of National Novel Writing Month.

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What is that, you ask?

Run by the The Office of Letters and Light, is a NaNoWriMo (as it's known for short) is "a novel-writing program for everyone who has thought fleetingly about writing a novel but has been scared away by the time and effort involved." Heavy pencil graphic

Participants begin writing on November 1. The goal is to write a 50,000-word (approximately 175-page) novel by 11:59:59 PM on November 30. 

Published novels that have come out of NaNoWriMo include Erin Morgenstern's The Night Circus and Sara Gruen's Fying Changes, Water for Elephants, and Ape House.

Anyone can join. Your starting point is creating a login on the website. Here you can get tips, pep talks, have other authors help you edit, the list goes on. Don't forget to check out the Toronto NaNoWriMo group while you're there.

Nov 1 is a week away. Start those creative juices flowing! Here are some good places to start:

 

IndexAround the Writer's Block

So stop blaming yourself and start harnessing the power of brain science to overcome resistance and develop a productive writing habit. Bane uses the latest breakthroughs in brain science to help you understand where writing resistance comes from and her three-part plan rewires the brain's responses to the anxiety of writing, and thus helps you develop new, reliable writing habits, leave stress and anxiety behind, and become the writer you've always wanted to be.

 

 Mastering Creative Anxiety Index

Here are 24 lessons for writers, painters, musicians, and actors from "America's foremost creativity coach," Eric Maisel. Maisel shares various strategies, including artist-specific stress management; how to work despite bruised egos, day jobs, and other inevitable frustrations; and what not to do to deal with anxiety. Implementing these 24 lessons replaces the pain of not creating with the profound rewards of free artistic self-expression.

 

 

IndexThe Everything Creative Writing Book

Writing well enough to get published takes hours of practice, the ability to take criticism, and expert advice. This easy-to-use guide teaches you the basics of the writing craft.

 

 

 

Inspired Creative Writing Index

52 fresh techniques for putting thoughts into words. For aspiring authors planning an epic novel, plotting a screenplay, or wishing to bare their poetic soul, this books offers tactics and exercises to get imagination flowing from the first line to the final word.

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