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Take our 2009 NaNoWriMo survey! and read about our great finish!
November is National Novel Writing Month, a free annual event helping to motivate writers to start and complete a 50,000 word novel in thirty days. In 2007, over 100,000 people worldwide participated. Nearly 15,000 of them successfully crossed the finish line. Last year in the Chicago Western Suburbs region (centered in Naperville) an amazing 81 out of 148 participants achieved winner status.
Our region finished 56th in the world (out of 344 regions) in average word count, ahead of France.
The fun began Saturday, October 10th, at the 95th Street Library, with a two hour preparatory event. Another prep event was October 24th, also at the 95th Street Library. Then we had an exciting kick-off at the Naperville Municipal Center October 31st, 11:45 am-3 pm.
Starting midnight November 1st, folks began the actual novel writing. The 95th Street Library will hosted write-in events 1-4 pm each Sunday in November. Warrenville City Hall also had write-in events November 7th, 14th and 21st (1-4 pm). The Plano Library had write-in events November 7th, 14th and 21st (12:30-3:30 pm). All participants and their friends and family are welcome to attend the TGIO party December 5th at the Naperville Municipal Center. Come visit http://naperwrimo.org/wiki for local event information. Come fulfill your dream of becoming a novelist. See http://www.nanowrimo.org and send your questions to mliaisons - AT - naperwrimo.org
| Date | Event | Location |
| Sat 10/10 1-3 pm | First prep session | 95th Street Library |
| Sat 10/24 1-3 pm | Prep and info session | 95th Street Library |
| Sat 10/31 11:45 AM-3 PM | Kick-off party | Naperville Municipal Center, rooms BC |
| Tues, Oct 27, 8 pm CDT | Jabber online prep session | Naperville - at - conference.jabber.writing.teiru.net |
| Sun, Nov 1, 1-4 pm | Write-in | Children's Program Area, 95th Street Library |
| Wed, Nov 4, Nov 11, Nov 18, Nov 25, Dec 2: 6:30 pm | weeknight write-in | Caribou Cafe, Riverbrook Shopping Center, 1523 North Aurora Road #107, Naperville, IL 60563 |
| Fri, Nov 6, 12:15 pm | weekday write-in | Panera Bread, 25 Rice Lake Square, Wheaton, IL 60187 |
| Sun, Nov 8,15,22 and 29, 1-4 pm | Write-in | Room A, 95th Street Library |
| Sat, Nov 7, 14, 21, 1-4 pm | Write-in | Warrenville City Hall |
| Sat, Nov 7, 14, 21, 12:30-3:30 pm | Write-in | Plano Library |
| 12/5 11:45 am-3:30 pm | TGIO Party | Naperville Municipal Center (lunchroom) |
In Aurora? Check out this forum thread
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Q: What does this cost?
A: Absolutely nothing is required. Donations to cover the nanowrimo.org
website and administrative costs are accepted but are not necessary.
Q: What do the winners get?
A: A PDF file proclaiming them NaNoWriMo winners if they manage to
complete at least 50,000 words in 30 days. More importantly, the
happiness of completing at least 50,0000 words of a novel. In addition,
Lulu.com has been giving winners a free paperback copy of their
completed novel.
Q: 50,000 words in 30 days seems foolhardy...
A: Actually, it turns out to be roughly 1,670 words per day, which turns
out to be manageable. There are some exceptionally prolific writers who
produce four times that amount... but many just barely get over the
hump. The NaNoWriMo website and online discussion forums provide a lot
of support; and we are organizing some weekly meetings locally for
participants to use for writing and discussing their work.
Q: Do I have to publish my novel?
A: No. Some participants share their novels with other participants for
critiquing; a few participants have had their NaNoWriMo novels
published. There are no requirements here.
Q: What about my privacy?
A: While you do have to provide an e-mail address in order to register,
the NaNoWriMo forums give participants fine control over what
information is made available to others. E-mail address and identity
information can be concealed and the NaNoWriMo team has a strong privacy
policy. E-mail addresses are not shared or sold and you have to
explicitly sign up to receive e-mail announcements from the NaNo team
during November.
Q: How do I sign up?
A: Sign-ups can be done through the http://www.nanowrimo.org website
beginning October 1, 2009. The NaNoWriMo contest proper begins at 12:01
midnight November 1st.
Q: Who coordinates things for the Chicago Western Suburbs region?
A: We (Tim Yao (NewMexicoKid) and Katherine Lato
(KatherineWriting) and Dave Dean (TRRDEDEAN))
are volunteer municipal liaisons for the Chicago Western Suburbs region
of NaNoWriMo. We are enthusiastic participants of previous NaNo's who
want to help others find the joy of completion that we've found. We
organize the kick-off writing session, weekly writing sessions and the
TGIO party at the end.
If you have any questions or suggestions, please feel free to contact us at mliaisons -AT- naperwrimo.org
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