South Coast authors to inspire writers through NaNoWriMo workshops

Kiama and Gerringong libraries are bringing together four acclaimed South Coast authors for its third annual National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) workshops.

Each Tuesday in November, a new author will lead a one-hour workshop to inspire writers during the global 50,000-word NaNoWriMo challenge.

NaNoWriMo began in 1999 and now involves hundreds of thousands of people around the world writing during November each year.

Last year, Gerringong Library branch supervisor Lauren Watkins said that while NaNoWriMo was focused on fiction, they liked to provide variety for fledgling and experienced writers through their selection of successful South Coast authors.

“Even though it’s a novel writing month, we like to have one non-fiction session because then that’s giving the attendees a different type of skill,” Lauren said.

This year’s non-fiction element will be incorporated in the final session for the month with author and farmer Fiona Weir in the Telling Short-Form Stories workshops, helping writers explore narrative non-fiction and memoir.

Fiona will also share how to tell stories in bite-sized chunks, such as newsletters, Substacks, blogs, newspapers and magazine columns; sometimes even cookbooks.

Real life stories were also touched on through the first workshop called Threading Your Life Into Fiction, held on 5 November with Helena Fox.

In the workshop, she discussed how she wove elements of herself and her own life into her award-winning novels.

Other authors part of the workshop series will include romance novelist Karen Deen with the Evoking Emotions in Romance Readers workshop.

Karen will teach writers how to get readers to lose themselves in the story and be left full of emotion by the end.

It will be followed by Pamela Cook on Get Writing, a workshop to help writers get words on the page.

Pamela will share her tricks for living a “writing life”, including the importance of regular writing sessions, along with guiding participants in short writing sprints to get creative juices flowing.

Lauren said that during last year’s event they often attracted a diverse range of writers and ages, some of which were already published authors.

“The main thing we want to do is support our local community, make the library a place that our local authors want to come to and remind them too that we’re here and if they want to launch a book or hold an event, they can approach us at any time,” she said.

“Building those relationships with our wonderful local authors is really important to us.”

Lauren said there were many challenges authors faced when attempting to write a book, so the workshops helped guide writers.

“It’s a massive job and it’s such a nice thing to have a frame to work within,” she said.

NaNoWriMo workshops available for bookings are Evoking Emotions in Romance Readers with Karen Deen on 12 November at Kiama Library; Get Writing with Pamela Cook on 19 November at Gerringong Library; and Telling Short-Form Stories with Fiona Weir on 26 November at Kiama Library.

Cost is Adult 15-plus: $25 per session or $90 for all sessions, and Concession: $20 per session or $75 for all sessions. Bookings essential as places are limited.