Having Trouble Writing? Add a Monkey!

November 26, 2012

I have embarked on the insane adventure that is NaNo for the sixth year in a row. For those of you who have not heard of it, NaNo(WriMo) stands for National Novel Writing Month. Every November people all over the world try to write a 50,000 word novel in 30 days.

Every year is a different adventure. For the first time, I am writing a horror novel. Well, it started out as a horror novel. I have struggled this year to get my story started. Usually, about the second week in, my story begins to write itself. Characters begin doing unexpected things like running into houses that they are supposed to be running away from, or going to a town that I never knew existed in my world. This year, my story decided to delay the whole taking off thing. Now, my story is finally deviating from my original plot. It has gone from horror to comedy in one scene.

This is exactly why I love NaNo. A horror book turned comedy, all because of a monkey. When you are trying to get 50,000 words written in 30 days, insane things happen in your novel. I was stuck, I couldn’t think of where to take the plot, so I created a monkey. Yes, the monkey actually moves the plot forward! How great is that?

It is NEVER too late to start NaNoing! So, if this sounds intriguing, feel free to join us in our last write-in at North Oak on Wednesday November 28th at 6:00 p.m. If you are a teenager and want to participate, come visit us tonight November 26th at 6:00 p.m. for a teen write-in. Happy writing!

Jennifer G.
North Oak Branch