We’re now into the first week of October. How’s your prep coming? Do you have a fully fleshed idea? A weakly fleshed idea? No idea at all? You’ve still got time, and to help you get ready, we’ll be preparing weekly updates to help get you ready to write ALL THE WORDS.

This Week’s Prep Event

To get the party started, we’ve set up a series of weekly PREPtober events to help you get ready to write. This year, our four events are more heavily craft-focused.

On the evening of Wednesday, October 4, we’ll assemble for “Writing for the Market — Genre, Theme, & Archetypes.” In this session, Jason will lead a half-hour reflection about literary viability that often bedevils emerging authors who seek agents or small-press publishers. The emphasis of this conversation is on the why of genre and archetype conformance, and how theme can make-or-break a novel pitch. After the reflection, the group will workshop participants’ specific questions or barriers around commercial literary viability. And, despite the topic, we’ll try to keep it fun! 🙂 Even if you’re writing just for yourself, this chat will give you new nuggets to consider about the big-picture structure of your novel.

The session occurs from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Jason’s Books and Coffee, located at 1590 44th St. SW, Wyoming, 49509. Some of you may recall this venue as the location of last year’s PREPtober events as well as the Day of Knockout Noveling. There’s no cost to attend, and no expectation that you’ll purchase any books or coffee from the bookstore. Light snacks and beverages will be available for free. You’re welcome to come early, to enjoy the bookstore’s seating to read, write, or relax in peace.

This session is in-person only. If you’re planning to attend and either need or can offer a ride for others, please pop into our Discord server.

Reminders, Updates, & Opportunities

A few other things:

• If you haven’t yet taken the regional survey, now’s the time. People interested in hosting a write-in should complete the survey by the 15th of October so we can get everything finalized.
• Our long-time participant and all-around swell guy John Winkelman, who is a seasoned programmer, developed a small web app that generates story prompts. Go check it out!
• The GR Queer Writers group meets every Friday year-round from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Lotus Brew, on College Avenue in Grand Rapids. If you’re curious, drop Jason a note and he’ll connect you with one of the regular attendees.
• Want to host a write-in but aren’t sure if you can find a place? Bettie’s Pages in Lowell is working on becoming a Come Write In location; one of their booksellers reached out to invite our participation.
• Subscribe to the blog! Our blog is the “source and summit” of the region’s news alerts and official messages. Given how many who don’t participate are subscribed to our region on the NaNoWriMo page, it’s quite likely that soon, we’ll stop double-posting these messages as NaNo Mails.

Have a tip, resource, or opportunity to share with the region? Let us know by dropping a note through our Contact Us page.