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| − | == Have you ever dreamed of writing a novel? == | + | = About Novel Quest = |
| | + | == Have you ever dreamed of writing a novel? == |
| | + | Every year people around the world take the plunge and become an author during the month of November. If you've always wanted to write a novel, or try to write a novel, then this is the year to take advantage of Novel Quest. It is a free, annual challenge that takes place every November, where novelists strive to start, write and complete the writing project of their choice (e.g., write the first draft of their 50,000+ word novel in just 30 days or spend 50 hours of editing to get their novel to its next phase). |
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| − | 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 2009, over 160,000 people worldwide participated. Over 32,000 of them successfully crossed the finish line. Last year in the Chicago Western Suburbs region (centered in Naperville) 95 out of 179 regional participants achieved winner status, an amazing 53%!
| + | Our Novel Quest region of Naperville represents the cities and suburbs west of Chicago and has partnered with area libraries to offer preparatory workshops. |
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| − | The fun begins Saturday, October 2nd, 1-3 pm at Nichols Library in downtown Naperville, which will be hosting a two hour kick-off event to give people enough time to successfully prepare for their November writing marathon. NaNoWriMo Municipal Liaisons will be on hand to answer your questions and guide the preparatory exercises. There will be a second prep event October 9th (1-3 pm) at the Aurora Public Library and a third prep event October 16th (1-3 pm) at the 95th Street Library. Bring a dish to share and come celebrate the start of NaNoWriMo at our pot-luck lunch kick-off party October 30th at the Naperville Municipal Center (11:45 am-3 pm).
| + | We also partner with many area libraries to offer write-in events in November for people to use to work on their novel while others around them are working on theirs. For more information see the [http://naperwrimo.org/crawl Library Crawl] page. |
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| − | Starting midnight November 1st, you can begin the actual novel writing. The Nichols and 95th Street Libraries will host write-in events 1-4 pm on Sundays in November (Nov 7 and 21 at 95th Street; Nov 14 and 28 at Nichols). Other write-ins will be held on Saturdays in November at the Warrenville City Hall and Plano Library. All participants and their friends and family are welcome to attend the TGIO party December 4th at the Naperville Municipal Center. Come visit http://naperwrimo.org for more detailed event information. Fulfill your dream of becoming a novelist. See http://www.nanowrimo.org and send your questions to '''mliaisons -AT- naperwrimo.org'''.
| + | All participants and their friends and family are welcome to attend the TGIO party. Come visit http://naperwrimo.org for '''[http://naperwrimo.org/events more detailed event information]'''. Fulfill your dream of becoming a novelist. |
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| | + | = Frequently Asked Questions = |
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| | == Frequently Asked Questions == | | == Frequently Asked Questions == |
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| | Q: What does this cost? <br> | | Q: What does this cost? <br> |
| − | A: '''Absolutely nothing is required'''. Donations to cover the nanowrimo.org website and administrative costs are accepted but are not necessary. | + | A: '''Absolutely nothing is required''' to participate in Novel Quest. |
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| | Q: What do the winners get? <br> | | Q: What do the winners get? <br> |
| − | 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, CreateSpace has been giving winners a free paperback copy of their completed novel. | + | A: A PDF file proclaiming them winners if they manage to complete their pre-stated project goal (e.g., 50,000 words written in 30 days). Each participant can set their own goal. More importantly, winners achieve the happiness of completing their writing or editing project. |
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| | + | Q: Where can I find out more information about the local events?<br/> |
| | + | A: Check out the '''[[2024 Events]]''' page for detailed information about the local events. |
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| | Q: 50,000 words in 30 days seems foolhardy... <br> | | Q: 50,000 words in 30 days seems foolhardy... <br> |
| − | 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. | + | 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. |
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| | Q: Do I have to publish my novel? <br> | | Q: Do I have to publish my novel? <br> |
| − | 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. | + | A: No. Some participants share their novels with other participants for critiquing. There are no requirements here. |
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| − | Q: What about my privacy? <br>
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| − | 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.
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| | Q: How do I sign up? <br/> | | Q: How do I sign up? <br/> |
| − | A: Sign-ups can be done through the http://www.nanowrimo.org website beginning October 1st. The NaNoWriMo contest proper begins at 12:01 midnight November 1st. | + | A: We recommend you go to [our Novel Quest substack|https://novelquest.substack.com/] and subscribe to stay informed about our programs. |
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| | Q: Who coordinates things for the Chicago Western Suburbs region? <br> | | Q: Who coordinates things for the Chicago Western Suburbs region? <br> |
| − | A: We (Tim Yao, Katherine Lato and Dave Dean) are volunteer municipal liaisons for the Chicago Western Suburbs region of NaNoWriMo (Illinois::Naperville). 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. | + | A: We (Tim Yao, Sam McAdams, Jenny Johnson, and Jenn Bauer) are volunteer Quest Guides for this region of Novel Quest. We're here to organize the local events and help answer questions. |
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| − | Q: Say I join the region, what do I do next? <br>
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| − | A: If you haven't already done so, please come to our [http://www.nanowrimo.org/eng/node/200 welcome] thread and post a note introducing yourself to the other participants. You can say something about who you are and what you are writing. There are several other threads of interest in our [http://www.nanowrimo.org/eng/node/200 regional forum]. You can also [http://naperwrimo.org/wiki/map2009.shtml place yourself on our regional map] and [http://naperwrimo.org/wiki contribute to our regional wiki site] that is going to serve as an example of next year's official NaNo wiki engine. You can also go to [http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nanowrimo-west-suburbs/ the yahoogroups nanowrimo-west-suburbs e-mail list] and subscribe to it. This list is used for communications within the group during the normal year and especially for planning in preparation for the next NaNoWriMo.
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| | If you have any questions or suggestions, please feel free to contact us at mliaisons -AT- naperwrimo.org | | If you have any questions or suggestions, please feel free to contact us at mliaisons -AT- naperwrimo.org |
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| − | == hipster PDA ==
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| − | The [http://merlin.blogs.com/43folders/2004/09/introducing_the.html hipster PDA] is a cool, retro-low tech solution to information management. One uses a collection of blank and written 3x5 index cards bound with a binder clip or collected in a special carrier to jot down notes. Here are some pertinent links:
| + | = Resources = |
| − | | + | == Which Novel Writing Books are Recommended? == |
| − | *[http://gurno.com/adam/j2/index.php?p=44 Tricking out the hipster]
| + | See [[Book Recommendations|Book_Recommendations]] |
| − | *[http://radio.weblogs.com/0114670/categories/hipsterPda/2005/06/14.html Hipster PDA: Plans, Ideas, Information ... all in the back pocket]
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| − | *[http://www.douglasjohnston.net/weblog/archives/2005/06/11/diyp2_hipsterpda/ D*I*Y Planner Hipster PDA Edition]
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| − | *[http://www.slowburnproductions.com/2005/09/hipster-pda-tips-for-people-obsessed.html Hipster PDA Tips for People Obsessed With Productivity Pr0n But Bad At Actual Productivity]
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| − | *[http://www.43folders.com/2005/01/organizing_your.html Organizing your Hipster PDA]
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| − | <br>
| + | == What other resources are there? == |
| | + | Glad you asked. We have a [[Useful_references_for_writers]] page where there are a lot of links collected! |
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| − | == Which Novel Writing Books are Recommended? == | + | == What happened with NaNoWriMo? == |
| | + | See the [[Old NaNoWriMo FAQ]]. |
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| − | See [[Book Recommendations|Book_Recommendations]]
| + | <headertabs /> |
