Write your first novel this month with help from the Shoreline Community College Library and teaching staff

NaNoWriMo is a worldwide non-profit that challenges people to write a 50,000 word novel in 30 days.

Shoreline Community College's Ray Howard Library is a prime sponsor of NaNoWriMo and offers a series of free, in-person workshops for budding novelists.

We offer our workshops to anyone in the community which includes high school / middle school students, senior citizens, those looking for personal development, and our own students who have attended these workshops regularly over the last six years.

It is not necessary to register. Just come to the Library for one or all of the sessions on the listed dates and time. (campus map)

All events are open to the public! Parking is free after 4:00pm in all lots. See Know Before You Go page for accessibility, mask wearing, where to meet in the library and other information: https://library.shoreline.edu/beforeyougo/building

Research and Creative Writing
Wednesday, November 2, 2022, 6 – 6:45pm
Shoreline Community College
16101 Greenwood Ave N.
Shoreline WA 98133
Park anywhere (it's free after 4:00pm) 

Room 4202 in the library

Come to this session that caters to those doing the National Novel Writing Month challenge where you try to write an entire novel in a month!

Writing something historical? A murder mystery with medical details? Need believable facts or references? Attend this session to get quick and easy tools for looking stuff up! 

Lauren Bryant, a librarian at the college, will be leading this session to guide you through fact-checking, background research, and exploratory tools that are good for writers. Bring something to type on or write with to get the most out of this session.

Building Blocks of Mystery
Wednesday, November 9, 2022, 6 – 6:45pm
Shoreline Community College
16101 Greenwood Ave N.
Shoreline WA 98133
Park anywhere (it's free after 4:00pm) 

Room 4202 in the library

Come to this session that caters to those doing the National Novel Writing Month challenge where you try to write an entire novel in a month! 

Get expert help from Rebecca Demarest for writing a murder mystery. Incorporate aspects of law, private investigators, government involvement, and the perpetrator into your mystery. Get a recipe for your villain and suspects along with resources that spawn ideas.

Character and Plot
Wednesday, November 16, 2022, 6 – 6:45pm
Shoreline Community College
16101 Greenwood Ave N.
Shoreline WA 98133
Park anywhere (it's free after 4:00pm) 

Room 4202 in the library

Come to this session that caters to those doing the National Novel Writing Month challenge where you try to write an entire novel in a month! 

Gary Parks is a creative writing instructor published in Portland Review, Black Warrior Review, Grey's Sporting Journal, Alaska Quarterly, Spindrift, and others. This session will cover strategies for creating characters and developing a plot for a novel or short story.

Music and Literature
Wednesday, November 23, 2022, 6 – 6:45pm
Shoreline Community College
16101 Greenwood Ave N.
Shoreline WA 98133
Park anywhere (it's free after 4:00pm)
Room 4202 in the library

With an MFA in Creative Writing, Michael Overa has a solid academic background in fiction writing. His award-winning work can be found in over 30 publications including two short story collections, This Endless Road and The Filled In Spaces. 

In this session Michael Overa will address some musical tropes that come up in literature and how you can create prose that allows readers to "hear" your story as well as read it. Music is such a wonderful way to incorporate a more sensory experience in a story. Learn more about how it's been done well and how novels have succeeded at using music to tell a story!

Rethinking Revision
Wednesday, November 30, 2022, 6 – 6:45pm
Shoreline Community College
16101 Greenwood Ave N.
Shoreline WA 98133
Park anywhere (it's free after 4:00pm)

Room 4202 in the library

Come to this session that caters to those doing the National Novel Writing Month challenge where you try to write an entire novel in a month! As we approach the end of National Novel Writing Month, many will start revision or editing their novel. The cursed word "editing" doesn't have to be a chore as we can approach it with a creative and fun set of strategies.