Write Your Own Novel: NaNoWriMo Starts Today

Editor's note: November is National Novel Writing Month, in which amateur writers from around the country try to bang out a book in 30 days or less. In this article, Davis Patch editor Justin Cox shares his NaNoWriMo experience. See below for how to join the fun here in Roseville.

If you’ve ever thought about writing a book, but decided it was too lofty a project, continue reading this article. Or share it with friends. 

I know a little something about NaNoWriMo, because I did it myself last year. In order to finish a 50,000-word book in one month, you must write about 1,700 words every single day, which is pretty ridiculous. You just have to charge forward; no looking back.

I woke up every morning and wrote for an hour while I drank coffee and ate cereal. I lived in San Francisco at the time, so I continued writing on the bus to work. I usually wrote a bit more when I got home because ideas would pop into my head throughout the day. I had a loose plot idea, but beyond that, I made it up as I went along. 

You can see my charted progress in the image that accompanies this article.

It was an amazing, but exhausting, challenge. A friend of mine completed it as well. We now have books (with self-designed covers) sitting next to one another on our bookshelves. I think that’s pretty cool, even if the books are choppy and raw.

The NaNoWriMo website functions like a social network, so you can workshop your ideas in online forums and meet up with other people in your town. I did this once a week in San Francisco, where thousands of people took the challenge.

Visit the Sacramento region's page here to find local events. Create an account. And let us know if you start writing!

There's a Roseville write-in planned for 6-8 p.m. Saturdays at , 916 Pleasant Grove Blvd. Read the forums to follow meetings as they pop up.