A worthy challenge for aspiring writers

National Novel Writing Month, fondly known as NaNoWriMo, began in 1999 as a straightforward challenge to write 50,000 words of a novel in thirty days. Each year, on November 1, hundreds of thousands of people around the world began to write, determined to end the month with a brand new novel. NYPL says, “They enter the month as elementary school teachers, mechanics, or stay-at-home parents. They leave novelists.”

Seven years after the first challenge was started, NaNoWriMo officially became a nonprofit organization. “Our programs support writing fluency and education. Our website hosts more than a million writers, serving as a social network with author profiles, personal project libraries, and writing buddies,” says NaNoWriMo.org.

There are several ways that NaNoWriMo helps budding novelists, including tracking words for writers like Fitbit tracks steps. They also host real-world writing events in cities around the world, with the help of almost 1,000 volunteers, local libraries, and community centers.

Solano County has its own group that provides encouragement for future novelists. The first event is a kick-off online on October 31 at 6:30 pm, with writing workshops scheduled throughout the month. For more information, visit nanowrimo.org/dashboard and sign up to join the Solano County region.