November is National Novel Writing Month. People all across America (and beyond) will be trying to write 50,000 words in one month. (That’s more than 1,500 words per day!) 50,000 words is about the size of a small novel.
In honor of NaNoWriMo, Grimes Public Library will be having author visits, writing challenges, and giving out starter kits to patrons so they can set their own writing goals for the month. Teens and adults can stop in at the library from Oct. 31st – Nov. 5th to get a starter pack full of everything you need to survive NaNoWriMo! If you have questions about NaNoWriMo or about signing up for the writing challenge, a librarian will be available to help on Saturday, Nov. 5th.
Make sure to like our Facebook page for weekly writing challenges! You can submit an entry to the writing challenge by emailing your work to sheila@grimeslibrary.org . The entry with the most likes will get a prize at the end of the month. (There’s no age limit on entries for Facebook challenges.)
If you are looking for an extra challenge, you can participate in our Grimes Public Library Writing Challenge (Ages 13+)! To participate, you must have an account on NaNoWriMo.org. Teens and adults will try to write as many words as they can in the month of November. The adult and teen with the most words by the end of the month will win a prize! To enter, please send either your NaNoWriMo username or a screenshot of your NaNoWriMo dashboard showing your final word count to sheila@grimeslibrary.org by Saturday, Dec. 3rd.
Facebook Writing Challenges
See Facebook for details.
All ages can compete and the winner will be determined by likes on our Facebook page.
New challenges are posted on Mondays in November.
Here are the rules:
-Must be at most one page in length
-If typed, it must be at least size 12 font
-If hand-written, it must be legible
-No profanity, crude language, or excessive violence. (If it was a movie, it would be rated PG)
-Challenges will be posted on Mondays in November and all entries are due the Saturday of that week
-Entries must be original work submitted by the author or the legal guardian of the author
-By submitting an entry to the contest, the author grants Grimes Public Library staff the right to share your submission online via Facebook and on the library’s website
-No names will be posted on entries that are shared to Facebook
To submit your work to our contest, please do one of the following:
-Email the submission to sheila@grimeslibrary.org in a word document
-Bring in a copy of your work to the library with your name and phone/email address written somewhere on the submission
-Take a picture that is clear and legible and email it to sheila@grimeslibrary.org
Contest winners will be notified via phone or email in December.
Writing Challenge #3 – Due Sat., Nov. 26th at 11:59 PM
Central Iowa Authors has set up times to meet during the month of November. They invite writers to come and work on their novels at libraries, restaurants, and wineries in the area. For more information, make Central Iowa Authors your home region on your NaNoWriMo account. Or email sheila@grimeslibrary.org
