Friends of Montclair Library

It’s National Novel Writing Month, aka NaNoWriMo! In what organizers describe as “a fun, seat-of-your-pants approach to novel writing,” participants attempt to write a 50,000-word (approximately 175-page) novel between November 1 and November 30. If you’ve always wanted to try writing a novel instead of just reading them, here’s your excuse to get started! Check out the NaNoWriMo website for details, inspiration and encouragement.

If you’re writing, the library makes a nice, quiet place to work on your novel. Or maybe you’re looking for some inspiration? The official manual for the event, Chris Baty’s No Plot? No Problem! A Low-Stress, High-Velocity Guide to Writing a Novel in 30 Days is not surprisingly already checked out with a hold on it. But, assuming you have time to read while writing your 1,667 words per day, how about one of these books at the Montclair branch for inspiration?

Elmore Leonard’s 10 Rules of Writing by Elmore Leonard
So You Want to Write: How to Master the Craft of Writing Fiction and the Personal Narrative by Marge Piercy and Ira Wood
On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King
Thirteen Ways of Looking at the Novel by Jane Smiley
Fiction: The Art and Craft of Writing and Getting Published by Michael Seidman
The Faith of a Writer: Life, Craft, Art by Joyce Carol Oates
Get that Novel Started! (And Keep it Going ’til You Finish) by Donna Levin
Making a Literary Life: Advice for Writers and other Dreamers by Carolyn See
Spilling Ink: A Young Writer’s Handbook by Anne Mazer and Ellen Potter
Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life by Anne Lamott (not at Montclair, but it’s a classic, worth requesting)