National Novel Writing Month
National Novel Writing Month is a fun, seat-of-your-pants approach to novel writing. Participants begin writing November 1. The goal is to write a 175-page (50,000-word) novel by midnight, November 30.
Valuing enthusiasm and perseverance over painstaking craft, NaNoWriMo is a novel-writing program for everyone who has thought fleetingly about writing a novel but has been scared away by the time and effort involved.
Because of the limited writing window, the ONLY thing that matters in NaNoWriMo is output. It’s all about quantity, not quality. The kamikaze approach forces you to lower your expectations, take risks, and write on the fly.
INTERVIEW | Cheri Paris Edwards
Cheri, describe yourself for our visitors.
At age 51, I am in college, completing my Bachelor’s degree. I will graduate in the fall and have applied to grad school. It is my plan to earn a Master’s Degree in English with a concentration in Creative Writing. I’d like to teach part-time at the Community College level and to coordinate and facilitate writing workshops for ‘at-risk’ youth. And, of course I expect to continue to write fiction. I am also considering writing a non-fiction offering examining educational practices and theory that might best benefit ‘at-risk’ youth.
I enjoy working with youth and this year I tutored 15 or so hours per week at the Champaign area middle school and high school for a District-wide program called AVID. I enjoy gospel, jazz, oldies, and neo-soul music. I am the mother to two young men who I have parented mostly on my own. One is 17 and the other 27.
INTERVIEW | Nicole Tadgell
Nicole, describe yourself for our visitors.
I enjoy hiking, birdwatching, gardening, quilting, and of course, reading.
Who are your favorite authors? Favorite books?
When I was a child, my favorite books were: “Big Sister, Little Sister” “What’s in the Dark?”, and “Rain Makes Applesauce”. When I was a little older, I loved books by Laura Ingalls Wilder and Anne McCaffery. Now that I’m grown up, I enjoy reading books by Grace Lin, Holly Black, Richard Peck, Sharon Creech, Jacqueline Woodson and many others.
GUEST BLOGGER | Marina Woods
Creating the STAR in Your Heart
God given dreams are so amazing. They fuel us with passion, determination, expectancy, desire, inspiration and motivation to fulfill our purpose here on earth. You are blessed and fortunate to know in your heart that you have a creative talent (one of many I’m sure!) and that there are thousands if not millions of people praying for a book just like yours. Can you imagine how meaningless life would be without the star in your heart?
Join Us on Facebook!
About the Editor
Tyora Moody is the editor at Written Voices Blog and the Podcast Host. She is a writer, online book promoter, graphic designer and an all-around encourager. Join her each week as she blogs about "African American Literature That Edifies the Soul.