Once again, we have a wonderful series of prep sessions planned for early Fall. Saturday, September 28, 2-4 pm - Warrenville library (Todd Hogan presenting) Saturday, Oct 5, 1-3 pm - Nichols community room, Naperville Library (Katherine Lato presenting) Saturday, Oct 12, 1-3 pm - 95th Street Library, room A (Roger Lubeck presenting) Saturday, Oct 19, 1-3 pm - Nichols community room, Naperville Library (Frank Dahlman presenting) While we're at it, here's more planned things: 10/26 - Meeting Rooms BC (Kick-off), Naperville Municipal Center 12/7 - Meeting Rooms BC (TGIO), Naperville Municipal Center You can see events that we have planned at: http://naperwrimo.org/events And on the Google Calendar (also displayed on that page) when things get closer.

UPDATE: You can now find the notes for these preparatory workshops as well as past prep workshops dating back to 2008.

While supplies last, we'll be handing out these useful idea rings, chock full of writing prompts, at each of the four prep sessions. See the story on Positively Naperville.

Hello! If we're interested in attending one of the prep sessions, do we need to RSVP or can we just show up?

SusanWood wrote:
Hello! If we're interested in attending one of the prep sessions, do we need to RSVP or can we just show up?

You can just show up for the prep sessions. (There will be an RSVP for the kick-off potluck, so be sure and sign up for that.)

That said, it can be useful to know how many people are going to be at each session, so if you'd like to sign up, just note in this thread which one(s) you're planning on attending, and one of the MLs will modify the original posting. Seeing who else is going helps build community.

First prep session is this Saturday--September 28th -- at the Warrenville Library. Todd will discuss NaNoWriMo's goal of 50,000 words in 30 days, why a writer might want to accept the challenge, some ways to hit the goal, and some of the hurdles that the writer might expect during those 30 days. We'll explore ways to get ready for November, how to get oneself psyched and excited to begin writing, and how to maintain that enthusiasm through 30 days. We'll talk about the other sessions that are offered, the benefits of associating with the Journey, and writing in general.

I have a lot of material for Saturday's prep session on "Characters Are Story." Wonder how much I'll get through? Come and find out. (And if you can't make it, don't worry, I'll post a link to my material--I even have it available on the Kindle since that's how I've been reviewing the material.)

This exercise-intensive workshop will cover characters: getting them to do things, having reasons for what they do, keeping backstory short, avoiding flat characters, and having bad stuff happen. The exercises can be used to explore the characters in your novel, or to help find the story in the characters. Iwill also share tips for how to finish the first draft in November, something I havedone every year since Ijoined NaNo in 2006.

The material for my session is available (in multiple formats) at:

http://www.katherinelato.com/prep/

Hope you find it useful.