“NaNoWriMo” Enters the Panhandle

Goodwell, Okla. — National Novel Writing Month, or “NaNoWriMo”, will kick start with an introductory meeting on October 1st and 3rd as the beginning preparation of the annual event in November. Oklahoma Panhandle State University will be participating in the month-long challenge, where students, staff, faculty, and community members are encouraged to join and write a novel, series of short stories, fiction piece, or whatever you may be interested in.

Grant Faulkner, the executive director or NaNoWriMo, explains, “NaNoWriMo is more than just a writing challenge. NaNoWriMo is an opportunity to step out of your everyday life, open your mind to infinite possibilities, and create new worlds with people from around the globe. It’s a joyous leap into unexplored worlds, a laboratory of the imagination, a chance to free yourself from the obstacles that prevent you from telling your story. Our stories help us understand ourselves and others, so we need our stories more than ever in this age to bridge connections and heal divides.”

NaNoWriMo is a world-wide creative writing challenge in which participants spend the month of November writing a 50,000-word novel. For anyone that has considered writing a novel, anyone that has been putting off writing a series of short stories, and anyone that claims they don’t have enough time to write, this challenge is for you! An anticipated 400,000 individuals from around the world will be signing up next month to support and keep accountable the others taking on NaNoWriMo.

Along with the support from the NaNoWriMo organization itself, Panhandle State will be hosting workshops throughout October and “write ins” throughout November to keep the participants on track. There will also be a Facebook group to encourage accountability with word counts and a sense of community within the NaNoWriMo culture.

All are welcome at the informational meetings being held on October 1st at 7 p.m. and October 3rd at 12:30 p.m. (not required to attend both), where NaNoWriMo at Panhandle State will be discussed and topics for the workshops will be chosen. In order to prepare for the marathon of writing a 50,000-word novel in November, Professor of English Dr. Jennifer Justice will be hosting workshops on October 8th at 7 p.m., October 10th at 12:30 p.m., October 15th at 7 p.m., October 17th at 12:30 p.m., October 22nd at 7 p.m., and October 24th at 12:30 p.m. covering various topics related to novel writing. Participants are encouraged to attend any and all workshops.

On the official start date of November 1st, Panhandle State will be hosting a welcome party in McKee Library from 12:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. in order to kick off NaNoWriMo. Once the month is in full swing, “write ins” will be offered in the library as a supportive time to join other participants while they jot down their thoughts. Those will be happening on November 4th, 11th, 18th, and 25th from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., as well as every Monday through Thursday from noon until 2 p.m. Wrapping up November and celebrating the participants’ accomplishments will be a party on November 30th from 2 p.m. until 4:30 in the afternoon. All of the events will take place at McKee Library on Panhandle State’s campus.

The event coordinator, Dr. Jennifer Justice commented, “it’s really easy to say “one day I will…” or “if I had the time I would…” when it comes to a project you want to work on for yourself. NaNo Month is about giving yourself that push, about turning “one day” into “now.” The idea of writing 50,000 words in a month is intimidating, but the point of NaNo Month is to get yourself moving and to finally get around to that writing project you keep putting off. Remember, you’ll never get to 50,000 words if you don’t even start.”