- Write a novel in a month!
- Track your progress.
- Get pep talks and support.
- Meet fellow writers online and in person.
National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) is a fun, seat-of-your-pants approach to creative writing. On November 1, participants begin working towards the goal of writing a 50,000-word novel by 11:59 PM on November 30.
Valuing enthusiasm, determination, and a deadline, NaNoWriMo is for anyone who has ever thought about writing a novel — or if you're feeling rebellious, a memoir, a collection of short stories, or any other type of writing you'd like to try. (November is also the national month for lots of cool creative projects.)
Whatever you choose, New Lenox Library is here to support you. If you're new — hey, we are, too! If you're an old Wrimo pro, talk to us, drop a note in the suggestion box by the elevator downstairs, or contact us about your participation in the program. We're just dipping our toes into NaNoWriMo see if New Lenox is interested, and we'd love to hear from you.
See the Events Calendar for more information on the Writers, We group that meets at the Library.
Hang Out at the Library
Grab a desk, group table, or study room. Write by yourself or with friends. Reserve a study room in advance, or drop in to see what’s available (4 or 6 persons maximum).
Read about Writing
Check out the 808 section in Non-Fiction for great advice from writers like you.
Take a Break
If the weather’s nice, take a walk around the beautiful Commons outside.
NaNoWriMo Programs for All Ages
National Novel Writing Month
National Novel Writing Month believes in the transformational power of creativity. They provide the structure, community, and encouragement to help people find their voices, achieve creative goals, and build new worlds—on and off the page. Sign up to track your word count, hear about local events, and connect with other writers of all ages locally and globally.
Local Groups
- USA: Illinois: Naperville, our nearest active live group, has awesome events planned at area libraries and businesses, including prep workshops and write-ins.
- USA: Illinois: Elsewhere is hosted by a Springfield resident for any Illinois areas not covered by other regional groups, and includes writers from all over Illinois.
The Young Writers Program
The Young Writers Program promotes writing fluency, creative education, and the sheer joy of novel-writing in K-12 classrooms. We provide free classroom kits, writing workbooks, Common Core-aligned curricula, and virtual class management tools to more than 2,000 educators from Dubai to Boston.
Go to YWP.NaNoWriMo.orgNational…Well, A Lot of Stuff Month
Not too keen on writing a novel? There are plenty of other challenges going on!
- National Playwriting Month — Naplwrimo’s mission is to nurture and support playwrights of all levels while fostering community and the creation of new theatrical works on a global level.
- National Solo Album Month — Write, Record, and Release a Whole Album in November! Try checking out our Digital Media Lab if you need to record on a budget. Joliet Library’s Digital Media Studio (Facebook) has great audio recording equipment, too.
- NaNoDrawMo — NaNoDrawMo is a personal challenge to push would-be artists beyond the bounds of comfortable “when I have time” practice for one month and see what happens. Loosely defined goals are for each participant to produce 50 individual works/drawings between Nov 1 and Nov 30.
- Celebrate National Family Literacy Month with 30 Days of Families Learning Together. Check out these great resources from the National Center for Families Learning, too.
If you just can’t get enough, here’s the List of Timed Artistic Challenges throughout the year.
Have an awesome time!