Karen Auld, motivational speaker and personal coach
For 24 consecutive hours, about 35 writers participating in National Novel Writing Month converged upon Flemington’s community art space at 90 Main Street. From Saturday at noon until noon on Sunday, with computers and sleeping bags in tow, participants from as far away as Rhode Island collectively wrote more than 220,000 words.
NaNoWriMo is a 501-c(3) organization which promotes literacy and writing. Starting on November first, they challenge participants to write a minimum of 50,000 words worth of a novel by midnight on November 30th. Local area kick-off parties were held in a variety of locations, including the Somerset County Library System, where multiple NaNoWriMo-related events are scheduled throughout the month. Popular novels that began as NaNoWriMo projects include Water for Elephants, Anna and the French Kiss, and Forest of Hands and Teeth.
Write All Night was the first event of its kind in New Jersey. Tickets were free. It was organized by Central New Jersey Wrimos, a regional subgroup of the larger NaNoWriMo organization. Co-municipal liaisons Bill Patterson and Richenda Gould teamed up with local freelance writer Dr. Michele Blood to make their idea a reality.
Bill, Richenda, and Michele received an outpouring of support from local merchants and organizations. Jeff Hersch and Mike Haller of FlemingtonDIY, in concert with the Flemington Business Improvement District, provided the venue, and Century Link equipped the space with DSL to enable the writers to conduct necessary research online.
Home Depot’s manager, Ed Flynn, was one of the first business persons to lend a hand. He provided six long tables for the writers to use during the event. Bob Benjamin of Flemington Furs offered generous prizes for winning writers, as did Linda Morris of the Luggage Factory.
The participants enjoyed a pot luck dinner on Friday night that included a smorgasbord of options which filled two tables to overflowing. To feed and fuel the participants throughout the remainder of the writing marathon, Main Street Bagel stepped up to the plate with hot, fresh bagels at 5 a.m. ShopRite provided a gift card, and Mike Ulhde of Act 2 Books donated coffee-making supplies and snacks.
The event was not without its hurdles. Despite the heroic efforts of councilmen Phil Velella and Brian Swingle, who personally came to 90 Main to help, the building’s heater refused to function. Velella brought in space heaters that participants gratefully accepted. One side of the building lost power during the wee hours, but the writers soldiered on, sharing outlets and taking turns recharging laptop batteries and other devices.
The inaugural Write All Night experience included an impressive array of speakers, all of whom donated their time and expertise. The speaking schedule began with Sheriff Brown, who walked participants through the arrest process, and demonstrated hand-cuffing procedures at the nearby historic Courthouse. He was followed by funeral director and EMT DJ Wright and Hunterdon County Prosecutor Tony Kearns. Rounding out the law-related speaking group was attorney and writer John W.Hartmann.
Janet Quartarone, an actor/director from Flemington treated participants to an inside look at the world of theater. D2 Paranormal, a team of ghost hunters, presented information of interest to writers in the paranormal genre. The writers also got the inside scoop on mental illness from advocate and writer Hymm Herself.
A special capstone presentation was provided by Karen Auld, the founder of the Society of Ultimate Living and creator of the Soul Goals Plus app. A writer herself, Karen explained the importance of goal setting and affirmations in the writing process. She had participants laughing and even dancing with a fun “ergonomics break” specifically for writers.
Organizers Patterson, Gould, and Blood hope to make Write All Night an annual event, and to continue to hold it in Flemington. They have big plans for next year.
We Are Supported By:
