Deb O’Keeffe has been named as the new NaNoWriMo municipal liaison for the Okanagan region. NaNoWriMo asks writers from all across the world to sit down during the month of November and try and find the time to write a novel. (Gary Linn photo)
There are too many Canadians to count who talk for years about taking the time to sit down and write their first novel.
For residents across the Okanagan Valley, a global event that encourages budding writers from around the world to find the time to “produce a rough draft of their first novel” has a local flavour.
The event is called NaNoWriMo, which is short for National Novel Writing Month, which encourages amateur writers of all ages to sit down and write 50,000 words in 30 days throughout the month of November, said Deborah O’Keefe, the newly appointed Okanagan Region NaNoWriMo municipal liaison.
“This is a fun, seat-of-your-pants approach to finally getting that novel written,” said O’Keefe, who lives in and works in Penticton. “Whatever your age, whatever you’re writing, this works!”
Beginning Nov. 1, dozens of Okanagan writers will join nearly 400,000 other participants all over the globe in rolling up their sleeves and pounding out the prose, she said.
This year marks the first year the Okanagan has its own NaNoWriMo region and she’s excited about leading the campaign, said O’Keefe.
“It’s been a long time coming!” she said. “Being our own region means our ‘Wrimos’ will be better connected during the event. To celebrate, we’re having online prize draws for participants throughout November using our new regional forum.”
Okanagan NaNoWriMo and the Kelowna Public Library have also teamed up for a free NaNoWriMo Kick Off party on Thursday, Oct. 22 at the Ellis Street branch starting at 6 p.m. “That’s where participants – or the simply curious – can find out what NaNoWriMo is all about, hear from those who’ve made it across the 50,000 word finish line, get a NaNoWriMo Fun Pack and meet other Wrimos. There will be food and prizes,” said O’Keefe.
Both the Vernon Library and the Kelowna Library will host regular” write-ins” throughout November where participants can bring their laptops and write together.
Other November write-ins at additional spots throughout the Okanagan are being planned.
More than 250 novels begun as NaNoWriMo projects have become published works, including bestsellers Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen and The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern.
Chris Batty, a San Francisco-based writer, organized the event back in 1999.
“Chris and four friends had talked about writing their own novel for many years,” said O’Keefe. “In 1999, they finally got together and decided to quit talking and start writing. The five of them co-wrote a book and NaNoWriMo grew from them.”
Participants from as far away as Antarctica now sign up for NaNoWriMo, she said.
O’Keefe used to live in the West Kootenay area of B.C. and was upset when she discovered the Okanagan wasn’t represented in NaNoWriMo activities, she said.
“I was determined to do something to allow the Okanagan to become its own region,” she said. “When you become your own region, you get to host community forums and other events and build up momentum.
She has compiled a lengthy email list of interested citizens across the Okanagan region and many of them have committed to trying to write their first novel beginning the first day of November, she said.
O’Keefe is also planning a series of “revision forums” across the Okanagan for those who enter NaNoWriMo.
“It will allow them to meet as a group and go about the task of revising the original draft of their novel,” she said.
Vivian Arend from Nelson, who has become a bestselling author, got her start as a writer through NaNoWriMo, said O’Keefe.
There are no judges, no fees and no pressure involved, she said.
“This is just a fun way to quit talking about and start doing something about working on that first novel,” she said. “If you do the math, you have to write 1,667 words a day in November to get to the 50,000 word mark that constitutes the length of the average novel.
“NaNoWriMo is about getting over the hump and finding the time.”
She expects the write-ins in Kelowna throughout November to attract solid response.
“Sometimes you find inspiration when surrounded by other writers, but this also offers an opportunity to bounce ideas off fellow writers and just get positive feedback,” she said.
For information about Okanagan NaNoWriMo, contact Deb O’Keeffe at [email protected].
To register for November’s writing event, go to www.nanowrimo.org.
KEITH LACEY
Osoyoos Times
