Each week we look at a collection of a few books on a topic. You can explore the books on your own, or use them as a foundation for building a display in your library! 

(All the book links below lead to Amazon; if you click on one and buy things from Amazon, CMLE may receive a small percentage of Amazon’s profits. Thanks!)

Have you or perhaps your students or patrons taken part in National Novel Writing Month? It sounds like so much fun, and it begins Nov. 1st which is next week! We thought we’d like to encourage you in your creative endeavors, so here are some books to read or recommend if you plan to tackle this exciting challenge:

No Plot, No Problem! by Chris Baty “Let Chris Baty, founder of the rockin’ literary marathon National Novel Writing Month (a.k.a. NaNoWriMo), guide you through four exciting weeks of hard-core noveling. Whether you’re a first-time novelist who just can’t seem to get pen to paper or a results-oriented writer seeking a creative on-ramp into the world of publishing, this is the adventure for you.”

Save the Cat! Strikes Back by Blake Snyder “Inspired by questions from the author’s workshops, lectures, and emails, this book listened and provides tips, tactics, and techniques to solve your writing problems and create stories that resonate: The 7 warning signs you might have a great idea or not; 2 sure-fire templates for can’t miss loglines; and, more.”

Imagine That! How Dr. Seuss Wrote The Cat in the Hat by Judy Sierra “Kid-friendly prose (with Seussian rhyme for Ted’s dialogue) and whimsical illustrations by award winner Kevin Hawkes recall the work of Dr. Seuss himself. Writing tips from Dr. Seuss and exclusive letters from the author and illustrator, detailing how they created this book, are included!”

And here are some successfully published books that were started during NaNoWriMo. These authors did it, so can you!

Don’t Let Me Go by J.H. Trumble “Some people spend their whole lives looking for the right partner. Nate Schaper found his in high school. In the eight months since their cautious flirting became a real, honest, tell-the-parents relationship, Nate and Adam have been inseparable. But when Adam graduates and takes an Off-Broadway job in New York—at Nate’s insistence—that certainty begins to flicker.”

The Atlas of Forgotten Places by Jenny D. Williams “Masterfully plotted and vividly rendered by a fresh new voice in fiction, The Atlas of Forgotten Places delves deep into the heart of compassion and redemption through a journey that spans geographies and generations to lay bare the stories that connect us all.”

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell (this book made me so happy, I had no idea she started it during NaNoWriMo!) “Cath is a Simon Snow fan.
Okay, the whole world is a Simon Snow fan…But for Cath, being a fan is her life—and she’s really good at it. She and her twin sister, Wren, ensconced themselves in the Simon Snow series when they were just kids; it’s what got them through their mother leaving. Now that they’re going to college, Wren has told Cath she doesn’t want to be roommates. Cath is on her own, completely outside of her comfort zone. She’s got a surly roommate with a charming, always-around boyfriend, a fiction-writing professor who thinks fan fiction is the end of the civilized world, a handsome classmate who only wants to talk about words… And she can’t stop worrying about her dad, who’s loving and fragile and has never really been alone.”

If you need more bookish encouragement:

• Book Riot’s article “12 Books to Get You Through NaNoWriMo”
• Bustle’s post “8 Best-Selling Books Written During NaNoWriMo That Show You It Can Be Done”
• Mental Floss has this list of published books that began during NaNoWriMo
• And this article from the Signature site offers several title suggestions to help with your storytelling (including the new Philip Pullman book, can’t wait to read that!)