Dear NaNoWriMo author,

Hey there! Many items to share…

LOVE MOVIES? WRITE ONE!
Some of you may not know that we run two ginormous, free writing events: NaNoWriMo in November, and Script Frenzy in April. For Script Frenzy, the goal is to write a movie, play, graphic novel script, comic book script, or a collection of TV shows or shorts in 30 days. You can even do a screenplay adaptation of your NaNoWriMo novel!

Script Frenzy’s finish line is 100 pages, and it has the same raucous energy and unpretentious atmosphere as NaNoWriMo. ScriptFrenzy.org is also home to the legendary Plot Machine, which issues all visitors a free, guaranteed Oscar-winning plot for their scripts. I took part in the Frenzy last year and writing a screenplay was the biggest creative shot in the arm I’ve had since first doing NaNoWriMo in 1999. Give it a try; you’ll see what I mean. www.ScriptFrenzy.org.

Also, a shout-out to teachers and parents: Script Frenzy has a separate Young Writers Program created with budding scriptwriters in mind. We spend March getting young authors up to speed on movie, play, and TV scriptwriting basics before unleashing them on their own projects in April. Come on by! http://ywp.scriptfrenzy.org.

GROUND BROKEN ON NEW NANOWRIMO YWP SITE
Speaking of kids…We’ve broken virtual ground on the brand-new NaNoWriMo Young Writers Program site. It’ll be launching this fall, and we’re excited to see it underway. I was hoping the site would consist entirely of a Flash animation of a largemouth bass singing Elvis Costello’s “Everyday I Write The Book.” Because if there’s one thing that gets students and educators excited about writing, it’s mid-period Elvis Costello.

But Tavia insists we clutter up the new site with inspiring content, interactive writing chal lenges, and downloadable workbooks for kids, teens, and teachers. Whatever. We’ll keep you posted.

THE END OF MUGS AS WE KNOW THEM
We love our ceramic NaNo mugs, but the truth about ceramic mugs is that they get very nervous when confined to small, bubble-wrapped spaces. When mugs get nervous, they tend to slough off their handles. It’s taken us four years of mailing out replacement mugs to finally convince us to move to the more durable (yet less timeless) travel mugs. This means the 104 beautiful, black ceramic bistro mugs we have in stock now will be the last of their kind we sell. To send them off on a suitably ceremonial note, we dropped their price to $12, and encased them in acres of bubble wrap to keep them safe en route to you. http://store.lettersandlight.org/home.php?cat=6

NANO PEP TALKERS: WHO WILL LIGHT YOUR NOVELIST FIRE?
Last year we had professional novelists pen ou r November pep talks. Neil Gaiman, Sue Grafton, Tom Robbins, and heaps of other generous souls delivered sermons that dried our tears, lifted our crumpled bodies off the floor, and set us lovingly back at our writing stations. On the NaNoWriMo blog, we’re discussing who we should ask to write pep talks this year. Come by and offer your thoughts! http://blog.nanowrimo.org/node/105

Hope you’re having a great noveling off-season!

Chris
NaNoWriMo