National Novel Writing Month to kick off with local events

Do you have a story that you always wanted to write? This November is your chance to join hundreds of thousands of people around the world, and commit your ideas to paper! National Novel Writing Month (or NaNoWriMo), a non-profit event founded in 1999 by The Office of Letters and Light, challenges people to write 50,000 words during the month of November.
The best thing about NaNoWriMo is that you’re not tackling this daunting goal alone. Once you set up a profile on the nanowrimo.org website, you have access to pep talks from published authors, word count trackers, noveling forums, and regional calendars with information about all the wonderful NaNoWriMo events in your hometown.
With more than 800 participants, the Santa Cruz County region of NaNoWriMo is a vibrant and supportive writing community, and we want to meet you! We will be hosting many write-ins and other events throughout our county this November where you can meet tons of creative, amazing, and friendly people who will cheer you on as you work towards writing those 50,000 words. Write-ins will take place at Coffee 9 in Ben Lomond, along with Cafe Amigo and Coffee Cat in Scott’s Valley, among other places.
I personally first started participating in NaNoWriMo eight years ago, when I was 14. At my high school, they didn’t offer creative writing classes, and NaNoWriMo was my way of filling that void. Through NaNoWriMo, I learned a lot about writing and the value of belonging to a writing community. Getting involved in this amazing program introduced me to a group of imaginative, encouraging, supportive writers who shared my love of writing and coffee, who were perfectly happy to have conversations about plot lines, characters, and settings. No matter how difficult balancing writing with schoolwork was, the uplifting words of other Wrimos inspired me to keep on going.
All the events are free and open to the public. Find the Santa Cruz County region by visiting www.nanowrimo.org and clicking on Local Events>> Find a Region. Check out our regional calendar for specific times and dates. Our next event is at 1 p.m., Wednesday, Nov. 6 at Coffee Cat, 255 Mount Hermon Road, in Scotts Valley. All are invited.
Writing 50,000 words is difficult, but if you join us, you’ll have hundreds of people rooting for you, making it that much more exhilarating and rewarding when you cross the finish line.
We look forward to seeing you!
– Claire Davidson is an avid writer and supporter of National Novel Writing Month.
Upcoming National Novel Writing Month write-ins
1 p.m., November 6 at Coffee Cat, 255 Mount Hermon Road, in Scotts Valley
3 p.m., November 10 at Coffee 9, 9505 Highway 9, in Ben Lomond
1 p.m., November 13 at Coffee Cat
1 p.m., November 20 at Coffee Cat