Where Writers Gather

San Bernardino Municipal Liaison for NaNoWriMo Theresa Moore met with local residents at the Feldheym Library on Saturday, Oct. 25. The event was designed to share information about NaNoWriMo, or National Novel Writing Month, to local residents. There are over 1,200 writers that currently make up the NaNoWriMo community in San Bernardino, led by Moore, and organized online. NaNoWriMo was began by Chris Baty in 1999, when he and 21 others located in the Bay Area decided to challenge each other and find out if any of them could produce a novel in one month’s time. After choosing 50,000 words as the standard length of a novel, the challenge began. Now this competition is conducted annually worldwide, garnishing the participation of over 100,000 people. There are 10 different genres to choose from, and all of those over the age of 16 may compete. A K-12 section has also been added for young writers. This version of the challenge allows children to be involved, and provides more flexibility in word count as well as a virtual classroom led by Moore, also long time educator and military veteran. During the information session, Moore described the general process of writing, answered questions from attendees, and provided personal anecdotes and experiences from her 7 years of participation. Being the municipal liaison, Moore oversees all of the writers in the San Bernardino region. This includes organizing events such as this to inform participants beforehand, sending out motivational letters throughout the process as writers strive to write roughly 2,000 words a day, and conducting “write-ins” for those who wish to participate. A “write-in” is an event held weekly, such as those that will be held at Feldheym Library on Wednesdays from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. in Kellog room A, and are for those in the community to be able to participate with others as they continually add to their word count. Moore said, “there are many different types of challenges and games played during these ‘write-ins’ to help inspire participants and make the challenge more interactive.” She urges those who participate to visit local “write-ins,” especially when one hits “the inevitable wall of writers block.” Those who attend have the opportunity to bounce ideas off of others and solve problems they may have written themselves into. To sign up for National Novel Writing Month, if over 16, simply register at www.nanowrimo.org. If under 16, the link is ywp.nanowrimo.org. There are also facebook groups such as “I.E. Writers” and “San Bernardino Nanos,” as well as a twitter page @SanBerdoNano for those who seek to be involved.