The Word Weaver – The Writers' Community of Durham Region

And the December Challenge Winner is…

The NaNo Zone

by Renny deGroot

I didn’t make it to 50,000 this year. Am I sad and downhearted? Do I feel like a failure? Not at all.

For the past four years, I have participated in that global phenomena of attempting to write 50,000 words on a novel during the month of November. I have made it to the finish line in previous attempts, but this year I only went halfway. Why do I feel great about that? Well, I wrote almost every day. I added a whole section to my work-in-progress new novel which had been lying in the doldrums for several months and, most importantly, I’m excited again about what I’m writing.

I’m in the zone. That place where I become immersed in the story. I dream about my characters. I wake up in the morning and realize that I’ve missed an important scene. I have conversations with my people when I’m out walking the dogs through the woods. I hear their voices in my head and can’t wait to put their words on the page. That zone.

This is what NaNoWriMo has done and I’m grateful to the challenge for engulfing me. I’m also glad for my writing buddies who took up the challenge as well and gave me a glimpse of the baton ahead, forcing me to step it up.

I’m a solitary writer so didn’t join in with the write-ins, and yet, I know that I am part of something big. Part of the writers’ worldthat unique place where we start with nothing and create entire new landscapes. I feel at one with Charles Dickens, Margaret Atwood and names I have yet to discover.

And now, I’m going back to Ireland, 1942, because my characters are calling out to me.

How to submit to The Word Weaver

The Word Weaver can be the first of a writer’s many paid publishing credits and has kickstarted many writing careers.

The Word Weaver is evolving to better suit our members’ busy lives and needs. We’re moving away from the multi-page newsletter published quarterly, toward publishing one story or article each month.

When can I submit to The Word Weaver?

Submissions will be received EACH MONTH, from the 1st day of the month until midnight on the 7th day of the month. The author of the selected article will be compensated (see below). They will be notified, and the article posted on the WCDR website, no later than the 15th of each month.

What are you waiting for?