Betty's Tips 11/13

Dear Readers,

Ah, November...that time of year when visions of hot cocoa, home-cooked meals, and yes, sugarplums, dance in my head and make my tummy grumble. Winter is so close and I'm ready to slow down, refocus on family, and bake, bake, bake. Maybe knit an afghan to complete the Rockwell image?

But wait...there's one more thing to consider for the brave of heart and sharp of mind. One last throw-back to spring in the spirit of rebirth: November is NaNoWriMo month!

The concept of NaNoWriMo started in 1999 when 21 writers had the idea to shut down their inner editors, silence their egos, and just WRITE in 30 days. Thirteen years later, in 2012, there were over 200,530 participants with over 3,320,188,000 words submitted. In order to earn a certificate and all the hard-won bragging rights, you need to submit at least 50,000 words into the NaNoWriMo system (all encoded so no one ever reads the submissions) by 11:59 PM on November 30. Sound daunting? If you focus on the word count minimum, it is. But trust me and think back to how fun brainstorming can be (remember 3^rd grade writing prompts when your teacher told you to write without even worrying about spelling?). It's a lot like that. Accept the challenge and you get to spend a month just trying to keep up with your characters while they show you where they want to go. Plus, when you stumble your blissful but sleep-deprived self into the dining room for Thanksgiving dinner, no one will blanch if you have flour in your hair or fall asleep in the mashed potatoes. They'll know you're a writer and that's something to be thankful for.

Go to http://nanowrimo.org for more information like rules, submission guidelines, and how to sign up. Think that's all the site is good for? Not at all! You can also read pep talks from professional writers such as Neil Gaiman (yeah...seriously) and Kate DiCamillo (Tales of Despereaux and Because of Winn-Dixie), check out the expanding list of NaNoWriMo authors who have been published, like Water for Elephants author, Sara Gruen, and find writing events in your area. Know a budding writer under 18? NaNoWriMo has a young writer's competition, too.

Need inspiration since, technically, you're supposed to start a new project- as in word one- on November 1st? Here are some sites that can wake up your muse:

http://www.writersdigest.com/online-editor/7-creative-writing-prompts-to-spark-your-writing

http://www.workingwritersclub.com/creative-writing-prompts/

http://www.writing.com/main/writing_prompts

http://youngwritersproject.org/ (for young writers)

Happy writing!

Betty Wryte-Goode

Betty Wryte-Goode is a writer, mother, and wife who lives in the Lehigh Valley. Her passions include writing, reading, shopping, gardening, and exploring the internet. Betty is always looking for writing tips, so if you have any you would like to share, please send them to her through our Submissions/Contacts page.