Written by Writing Education Specialist, Sharma Shields
Citing controversies and economic issues, the non-profit organization known as NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) disbanded this year, but organizations like ProWritingAid* are introducing similar writing platforms. You can sign up for Novel November on the ProWritingAid website for free and, alongside thousands of other writers, attempt to reach 50,000 words on a manuscript by month’s end.
Spokane Public Library is also celebrating novels this November, introducing the first annual Novel Day at the Liberty Park Library on Saturday, November 15th. Novel Day will feature workshops and panel discussions with lauded novelists from around our region. Writers at any and all stages of their writing careers—even those who have not yet penned the first sentence—are welcome to attend.
In an age of reels and streaming and quick content, we need meaty, well-honed novels now more than ever. Novel Day is our local way of celebrating the craft of writing and the novelists who keep engaging us in longer and more complex tales. We hope you can join us!
Here are the day’s events (please follow the links to register for the workshops—no need to register for the panel discussions):
10:15am – 11:15am
- Getting Started on Your Novel - A Writing Workshop with Shawn Vestal
Liberty Park Library, Events Room
Shawn Vestal, a novelist who has won the WA State Book Award in Fiction, offers a workshop on how to dive in and begin a novel. Register to attend.
- Freeing Your Characters - A Writing Workshop with Alexandra Teague
Liberty Park Library, Study A
Award-winning writer and University of Idaho professor Alexandra Teague discusses the art of liberating characters on the page. Register to attend.
11:30am – 12:30pm
- PANEL: Drafts, Doubts, Discoveries: Novels from Start to Finish – With Authors Sonora Jha, Chelsea Martin, & Tara Karr Roberts
Liberty Park Library, Events Room
Three celebrated Northwest novelists discuss the joys and pitfalls of the novel-writing process. No registration necessary.
1:30 – 2:30pm
- PANEL: Settings 101: The Art of Writing and Researching Place - With Rebekah Anderson, Chris Bieker, and Carla Crujido
Liberty Park Library, Events Room
Three Northwest writers discuss the process of writing novels set in the Inland Northwest. No registration necessary.
- Strategies for Editing a Novel with Kris Dinnison - A ‘Novel Day’ Writing Workshop
Liberty Park Library, Study A
A workshop to help with editing the first draft of a novel, led by the author of ‘You & Me & Him.’ Register to attend.
*Thank you to one of our regulars at our weekly Write Together events, Phyllis, for giving us the heads up about ProWritingAid!
