Time to pick up your pens, writers. 🖋
If you’re an aspiring or published author, you might already know that November is NaNoWriMo (that’s National Novel Writing Month). Over the course of 30 days, writers are challenged to pen 50,000 words — the length of a short novel. If you meet the goal, you “win,” which means you have the beginnings of the next Great American Novel and bragging rights forever.
Need a little something to keep you motivated? The Buncombe County Public Library is hosting events throughout the month, including author events, write-ins, and special workshops. Here are a few highlights:
- Denise Kiernan Author Event | Thursday., Nov. 10 | 7 p.m. | 5 Foundy St. | Free | Join New York Times bestselling author Denise Kiernan in The Wedge’s Cloud Room for a special NaNoWriMo event.
- Read Local, Write Local Author’s Fair | Saturday, Nov. 19 | 1-4 p.m. | Black Mountain Library | Free | Join authors and illustrators as they talk about their books and writing — copies of their work will also be for sale.
- Write-Ins will take place Nov. 5, Nov. 12, Nov. 16, Nov. 17, Nov. 18, and Nov. 21 at various times and locations.
- See the full schedule of events.
If NaNoWriMo is your gateway into even more writing, check out these organizations + programs.
- Flatiron Writers Room, 5 Covington St. | This organization offers online workshops, classes + retreats on topics like pitching your novel, science fiction writing, and storytelling for performance. Bonus: the building offers a co-working program specifically for writers, in case you need a room of your own.
- The Great Smokies Writing Program | This collaborative program, facilitated by UNC Asheville + The Asheville Graduate Center, offers five, ten, and 15-week courses on topics like The Literary Ecosystem, humor writing, and The Architecture of the Poem. Check out more courses.
