NaNoWriMo, what is that?

November is National Novel Writing Month. On November 1, participants all over the world begin working towards the goal of writing a 50,000-word novel by 11:59 p.m. on November 30.

In Maine, there is a statewide community with a number of “Come Write In” meetups happening in libraries and coffee shops all month which can be found here (type in Maine).   Locally, the St George River Café, in Warren, is one of the “Come Write-In” sponsored locations. They plan to have NaNoWriMo themed events on Tuesday nights during November, starting at 5 p.m..

Previously, When Penobscot Bay Pilot covered NaNoWriMo in 2013 “Get Crackin’ Scribes”, there was only one Maine group. This year, Maine split up into eight regions with one named  “Elsewhere,” an at-large region that everyone is welcome to join if they wish, but if you fall in one of the other regions make sure to check there for more localized information.

Writers tend to help one another along, encouraging one another to keep their word count goals on track. The Maine NaNoWrMo Facebook group, a closed group with 428 members, functions as a virtual cheerleader, particularly when writer’s block sets in. When member Rebecca Douglass, posted “Just past halfway and I'm feeling the slumps. I know the cure: throw a curve at my protagonist. But I can't even think of a curve. Nothing but straight lines. Ugh.” she received many encouraging suggestions to keep plugging.

For the Midcoast region, the focus includes Bath to Bar Harbor along the coast. They welcome those in surrounding areas too, like Brunswick/Topsham and Ellsworth/Hancock/Winter Harbor. To sign up for the Midcoast region visit https://nanowrimo.org/regions/usa-maine-mid-coast

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com