Centralia Timberland Library staff hung a string of lights with inspirations for NaNoWriMo writers. Area libraries and businesses are hosting write-ins this month for the annual competition.
On any Saturday this month, a visitor to the Chehalis or Centralia libraries won’t have to venture far from the stacks to find new novels being dreamed up. In the meeting room of the Vernetta Smith Chehalis Timberland Library and above the festively lit stairs of the Centralia Timberland Library, Lewis County writers will be talking about character development, tapping fingers against keyboards, and trying their hardest to write 50,000 words apiece before Dec. 1.
For aspiring novelists around the country, every November is National Novel Writing Month. NaNoWriMo, as it’s affectionately known, challenges each participant to finish a 50,000 word novel by 11:59 p.m. on Nov. 30 — the equivalent of writing 1,667 words per day for 30 days. Novels can be of any genre — fantasy, romance, Western, etc. — but must be produced fast. For anyone taking on the challenge this year, the Chehalis and Centralia libraries, as well as The Station Coffee Bar, are hosting weekly write-ins. Anyone is welcome to join for these dedicated writing times.
Amy Flugel, who is writing a fantasy novel this month, has been the municipal liaison for the Lewis County NaNoWriMo group for the last two years.
“I try to be a cheerleader,” she said. “Often, attendance dribbles out toward the end of the month, but this year we have a good group of people coming.”
Write-ins offer novelists a supportive place to work on their drafts; as an example, Flugel mentioned someone who was having a bit of a hard time with his writing: “I’ve been able to drag him to some of the write-ins. He’s finding it very productive to be around writers even if they’re not talking.”
In fact, spans of silence can be quite helpful for a distracted mind that’s attempting to put words on a page. For this reason, Flugel periodically runs “Word Sprints,” five minute mini-competitions at write-ins where the group writes for five-minutes without speaking.
“Whoever can get the most in that five minutes gets a little prize,” Flugel explained.
Jennifer Vandenberg, a NaNoWriMo participant and very fast typist, has been known to win Word Sprints quite frequently. She’s also “won” NaNoWriMo — meaning she’s completed her 50,000 word novel — every year since 2010.
“Along with writing 50,000 words, which I could do any month, there’s the energy and competition, and hanging out and writing with other people, that to me makes NaNo something I would never miss,” she said.
Three years ago, Vandenberg moved to Lewis County from Salem, Oregon, which has a large and active NaNoWriMo community.
“What I love is the fact that we are not as big, but we are equally as passionate,” she said of the Lewis County group. “Everyone who comes to the write-ins, they want to be there and they love the fact that NaNo happens. We have a good group of writers in the county.”
Even the write-in locations themselves are making efforts to support the creative spirit. Three members of the Centralia library staff dreamed up a new way to feature this year’s write-ins. Librarians Michelle Ryder, Devin McCosh and Meghan Mortensen decorated the stairway with multi-colored lights and writing prompts.
“We wanted to offer inspiration for writers,” Mortensen said.
The writers themselves seem to be providing it for others — Mortensen remembers them vividly, even from when she first started her job at the library: “I was working in the stacks, and it was so inspiring for me to come to work every day and realize that I was walking amongst these people’s visions, dreams and stories. Offering a space for something like that does a huge service to our community.”
