NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) begins November 1st – here’s your annual incentive to tell your story
Re-Write your Story
Re-Claim your Voice
Re-Discover the power of your Words
Dear Writer!
You’re in the right place.
Dear person unsure if you’re a writer!
You are still in the right place.
Dear journaler, poet, doodler, word nerd, academic writer, business writer, blogger and any other self-identifying word person…
For 30 days in November, you are invited to get messy here, to let your story ripple onto the page, to discover more about who you are as a creative, and as a writer.
Receive daily encouragement. Be nourished by collective creativity. Take what you need and leave with a full heart.
It’s time for you to give yourself 30 days of writing.
20 Min DAILY Check-in, Writing Tip & Inspiration
We meet LIVE ONLINE at 8am PDT daily via Zoom (will be recorded as well).
Helping you get you out of the mindset of ‘ummmm I dunno’ into ‘yessssssss I’m ready to go!
90 Min WEEKLY Writing Workshop
We gather LIVE ONLINE Saturday at 9am PDT for a Story from the Core Writing Workshop (will be recorded as well).
Supporting you to discover your way forward as a writer.
- Your Core Story
- The Tragic Flaw
- Say the Hard Thing
- The Unanswerable Question
The Final Saturday (Nov. 29th) is our 2 Hour Story Salon (reading).
2 Hour WEEKLY Writing Group
You are invited to TinaO’s Tuesday Night Writing Group
Listening to what you need right now to keep you curious, inspired, and engaged in your writing practice.
Re-veal your Truth
Re-lease your Story (let it out)
Re-imagine your Narrative
Let’s tell your story. Let’s make magic in the mess!
Have you ever felt like your story is “too much, too big, too… (fill in the blank)? Does the blinking computer screen or a blank page fill you with equal amounts dread as excitement?
Yeppp – you’re in the right place alright. This is a place for you to discover what its like to write out on the edge of the unknown, yet communicate directly from the centre of what you do know. This is writing without judgement looks like. This is free-falling and free-styling at the same time. This is allowing the mess to lead the way.
“Clutter and mess show us that life is being lived…Tidiness makes me think of held breath, of suspended animation… Perfectionism is a mean, frozen form of idealism, while messes are the artist’s true friend. What people somehow forgot to mention when we were children was that we need to make messes in order to find out who we are and why we are here.”
— Anne Lamott
What is NaNoWriMo?
NaNoWriMo is short form for: National Novel Writing Month which began in 1999 as a daunting but straightforward challenge: to write 50,000 words of a novel in 30 days. Each year, beginning November 1st, hundreds of thousands of people around the world begin to write with the goal of completing a first draft by November 30th.
The mess is where our yes lives.
It’s a 30 Day Messy Yes Fest of Writing.
A messy draft is a collection of everything that lights you up about the story and everything that freaks you out at the same time.
It’s everything you love or remember deeply about your story.
It’s the unfiltered you – saying what you need to say
It’s your inner knowing finding its way onto the page
It’s the risk you’ve been wanting to take but haven’t given yourself permission for
It’s the conversation you’ve been having with yourself, finally spoken aloud
It’s where you discover what you didn’t know you knew
It’s creativity without the critic
It’s courage made visible
It’s exploration without expectation
It’s your permission slip to begin
“If you always wanted to write, and now you are ‘A Certain Age’, and you never got around to it, and you think it’s too late…do please think again. I watched Julia Glass win the National Book Award for her first novel, ‘The Three Junes’, which she began writing in her late 30’s. As she held up her National Book Award (13 years later), she said, ‘This is for all the late-bloomers in the world.'”
— Elizabeth Gilbert
Re-claim your Creative Power
Re-build your Trust (in yourself as a writer)
Re-own your Authority
What is the 30 Day Messy Draft Challenge?
30 Days of Writing
You get to decide what, why, how, where, when… In a traditional NaNoWriMo challenge, the goal is to reach 50,000 words, and we’re going to set you up for that, but we’re not holding you to it.
Why?
Because: write as many words as the story needs.
Learn how to craft a story that engages the reader:
- Big Ideas and the 3 Act Structure
- Actionable Plot
- Conflicts that Move
- Characters that Feel
- The Indulgent Introduction
- Dangly Bits & Gap Fillers
This is an Expressive Arts-informed writing experience. No writing experience necessary. Bring yourself, your heart, and your willingness to be heard.
Re-connect to your Creative Spirit
Re-turn to yourself
Re-gather the Scattered Pieces
What Can I Expect During the 30 Day Messy Draft Challenge?
- Oct 31st – RECEIVE your Welcome Package via email.
- Nov. 1st – TAKE PART in our Daily Encouragement via Zoom 8:00-8:20 am PST (20 minutes). The recording will also be in our private Facebook Group, with a daily writing prompt and tip. Receive daily story crafting tips as you discover who you are as a writer. Be nourished by collective creativity.
- Four Generous Touchpoints each week:
- Monday – Receive (via email) a roadmap for your week ahead (for those going for 50K words, or wanting to get the end of their draft by Nov. 30th)
- Tuesday – Jump in to our Tuesday night writing group 5:30-7:30pm PDT.
- Thursday – Explore creative prompts (via email) designed to deepen your voice and reveal your truth
- Saturday – Enjoy a 90 minute Writing Workshop LIVE with TinaO
- Saturday November 29th – LIVE Story Salon – Where we have an opportunity to read out loud to our fellow writers! Share your work. Witness others. Leave with a full heart and mind.
What Is My Time Commitment?
You decide. Your NaNoWriMo writing experience is entirely yours to shape.
If you’re aiming for the 30k-50k word goal, here are some nourishing rhythms to consider:
30 Min Daily Pages = 30 ideas to explore
8 Min Daily Writing Prompt = 30k words of possibility
2.5 hours / day – 1500 word goal = 18k words on the page
1 – 4 hour Saturday writing workshop = 14k words + community energy
If you’re coming to play, to heal, to discover… Choose what feels nourishing. Honour your energy. You are welcome here exactly as you are.
This is your story. This is your time. This is your pace. You get to decide all the way across the finish line!
You Will Leave With:
- 30,000 – 50,000 words on the page – Your story, finally visible
- All of your ideas gathered in one place.
- A clear story path forward – You’ll know where you’re going
- An inspired skeleton of your entire story from beginning to end
- Writing skills that will serve you forever
- Great confidence – You ARE a writer
- A joy-filled experience – Writing can be fun again
- New friends who understand the journey
- Laughter, warmth, and collective creativity
If…
You’re just starting and have no idea what you want to write
→ Explore freely. Discovery awaits you here.
You’ve never written anything before
→ Learn gently. We’ll guide you here.
You are between drafts and feeling kind of lost
→ Find your way. Clarity will come here.
You don’t know anyone
→ Be warmly welcomed. Connection happens here.
You are an experienced writer who just needs a friendly cohort
→ Be celebrated. Your wisdom enriches us here.
You can’t commit to the Tuesday night community gatherings
→ Participate in what serves you. You are invited here.
You don’t need all the tools we send you
→ Take what resonates. You are encouraged here.
You’re just dipping your toe in to see what this is about
→ Test the waters. All good. We’re glad you’re here.
You’re carrying a story that feels “too much, too big, too full”
→ Be gently held. There’s space for all of it here.
You’re super motivated to GET ALL 50,000 WORDS onto the page
→ Go for it! You are LOVED and cheered on here!
Whoever you are, whatever you are here to do, if you are putting words on the page, are kind and encouraging, you are welcome here.
Take what you need. Give what feels right. Be exactly who you are.