“Fall”-ing into Some Writing Opportunities

Hello again! The temperature may be decreasing, but the amount of available literary events sure isn’t! Here is a quick summary of some opportunities for the near future.

NaNoWriMo

Essentially, NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) is a writing event where thousands of people attempt to write a 50,000 word novel during the month of November. I like to view this as a fun and challenging month-long “free fall” writing exercise: an opportunity for you to find some ideas for later use, explore new genres or thoughts, and learn more about yourself as a writer. With NaNoWriMo, the experience is more important than the finished product.

However, it is important to note that NaNoWriMo is not always for everyone—it can be extremely time-consuming! If November is already a busy month, trying to juggle NaNoWriMo may be more stressful than educational. Nevertheless, if you’ve got the time and are willing to experiment, I recommend trying it out.

For more information, visit the NaNoWriMo website here.

Young Voices Conference

Once again, the Toronto Public Library is hosting its annual Young Voices conference for writers aged 12 to 19. The conference will occur from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, October 26 at the Toronto Reference Library (789 Yonge Street).

The day will consist of interesting and innovative writing workshops run by published writers and artists, with ample opportunity for youth to learn about the writing craft and interact with other talented young writers from across the city. There will also be an opportunity for you to publish your work in an instant anthology created for the conference!

There are a limited number of spots at the conference, so if you’re interested, register soon here.

Fellow youth blogger Benjamin Gabbay will be presenting at the conference, and his workshop will take place from 10:45 am to 12 pm, in which he will teach participants how to brainstorm the perfect story and fend off writer’s block by stringing together a watertight plot line.

Take a look at the flyer here.