The “write like a demon out of hell” phase of That November Thing is now upon us. Are you ready? Pretending to be ready? In a full panic? Remember, you still have roughly 12 hours or so to get ready. Bwahaha.

Here’s what’s on deck:

1. Midnight Writing. There’s a looooong tradition of starting the season off on a high note by participating in a write-in at 12:01 a.m. on Nov. 1. Please join the fun! It’s not an official activity and it’s not on the calendar, but if you’re up an on Discord, people tend to “word war” for about an hour or so before collapsing to bed. (I might or might not be present thanks to Halloween plans, but anyone is welcome to run informal word-wars at any time on Discord!)
2. Write-Ins. Our first write-in of TNT is the community virtual activity on Friday night from 7p to 8p (or later!) on Discord. I cannot attend — Nov. 1 is a Catholic holy day of obligation — but I will be hosting the first in-person write-in, on Saturday morning from 10a to noon at Jason’s Books & Coffee. We’ll be in the conference room in the back, so if you have cat allergies, uh, sorry. The other write-ins over the course of the month will be up front, but on Nov. 2, Fourth Form Martial Arts Studio has “Uechi Olympics” from 11a to 1p (an overlap) so we writers will sequester in the back for our inaugural go-around.
3. Write-In Schedule. Although our Events calendar is your one source-of-truth, in general we’ll see virtual write-ins on Mondays, Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. All are on Discord. In-person write-ins occur on Tuesdays (Holland), Wednesdays (Grandville), and Saturdays (Wyoming).
4. Bookstore Salons. Those of you who’ve participated in the Salon program at Jason’s Books & Coffee should take note that in November, we’re closing at 4p instead of 8p on Wednesdays so folks can attend the Wednesday evening write-in at Panera Bread instead.
5. Day of Knockout Noveling. DOKN is coming! Use the #event-planning channel on Discord to arrange for rides or share potluck items. DOKN is Saturday, Nov. 9, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
6. Merchandise! Thanks to our merch pre-orders! Because our account is brand-new, we have been subjected to a banking hold on our pass-through orders. When that hold lifts, everyone’s orders will be prepared and shipped by our vendor. (It’s not the vendor’s fault, it’s our card processor’s.)
7. TrackBear. Still time to join our leaderboard!
8. Survey. Still time to take the beginning-of-season survey! We’ll shut it down in the next few days.
9. Fantasy Quest. For those participating in Fantasy Quest, Jason will release updated points totals every Monday. You don’t need to submit anything (except a few cases of proving you did something, like posting flyers). We’re up-to-date on the math, so yay! Lots of people are already starting the month with double-digit points totals.

This is it, folks. Time to git-r-done.

We’re deeply grateful to each of you who have stayed with us as we left NaNoWriMo HQ for greener pastures. Our community is a leader internationally (that’s no joke!) in surviving the NaNoPocalypse and coming out stronger for it.

Mel and I, and Rippy, wish you the best of success in achieving your 2024 TNT goals. Whether we see you in person, virtually, or not at all, you are still a valued part of the WMAA family.

So eat some candy, scare some kids, and get your manuscripts handy. TNT draweth nigh!