Ignite Curiosity with your Novel Opening

You may only have one page to impress an editor with your novel.

If you’re a writer or aspiring to become one, NaNoWriMo is a great place to get your story flowing with the month-long challenge to write a 50,000-word manuscript. We want to help you succeed in your writing goals, so we’ve put together a series of writing workshops meeting on Saturdays beginning at 10 am at Haggard Library. Each workshop is followed-up with dedicated writing time and space at the library from 11 am – 12 pm.

During our next workshop on November 23 – Opening Scene, Revisited – you’ll learn why you should revisit your opening after writing your novel, great examples of first sentences and scenes, and how to get your story really going with an inciting incident.

If you’re looking for some reading material on how to write a novel, check out these titles from our catalog. You can see our full NaNoWriMo inspiration reading list here:

• First You Write a Sentence by Joe Moran (2019)
• The Story Cure: a Book Doctor’s Pain-Free Guide to Finishing your Novel or Memoir by Dinty Moore (2017)
• How to Write like Tolstoy: a Journey into the Minds of our Greatest Writers by Richard Cohen (2016)
• Just Write: Here’s How! by Walter Myers (2012)
• Sol Stein’s Reference Book for Writers by Sol Stein (2010)

Don’t forget to come by our workshops! These are the perfect way to learn more about the writing process with your peers, as well as learn about library resources to help you succeed. Each meets at Haggard Library at 10 am on the dates below. No registration required!

• November 2: Oh, I Have an Idea! Learn a systematic process of turning an idea into a full story already passed
• November 9: Characters: the Good, the Bad and the Passerby. Better manage your characters by dividing them into tiers already passed
• November 16: Let’s Write Captivating Dialogue! Get the in-depth scoop on making dialogue meaningful and dynamic already passed
• November 23: The Opening Scene, Revisited: make your novel opening more suitable to the story as a whole