Packed NaNoWriMo Launch Event!

On Saturday, I had the opportunity to speak to a group of soon-to-be NaNoWriMo winners at the Orange Public Library. The event was a kickoff for National Novel Writing Month—a nationwide “contest” in which writers all over the country endeavor to write a 50,000-word novel in thirty days. If you’re doing the math, that’s 1,667 words every day, written before or after work, at lunch, etc. You get no breaks, not even for holidays. Fueled by coffee and determination, these brave souls face the blank page every day as they set out to complete an entire novel, no matter how good or bad it might be. If you finish, you win—those are the only rules.

I started my own novel-writing career by participating in this inspiring and soul-challenging event. If you’re an aspiring novelist, or if you’re just looking for a creative challenge, I highly recommend you check out http://nanowrimo.org. If you’re in North Orange County, check out our local chapter. Consider diving in: The payoff is incredible!

Thanks to Orange Public Library Foundation Executive Director Linda Cundiff, North OC NaNoWriMo Municipal Liaison Eddie Louise Clark, Mark Wimberly, and Kevin Staniec for making this possible.

I’ll be posting the transcript of Saturday’s inspirational speech on NaNoWriMo Day 1: November 1, 2016—stay tuned for it. Enjoy some photos from the event below.