The Contest

Every year, November holds a challenge for all aspiring writers: write a 50,000 word first draft of a novel. This year, GCL wants to invite young writers to try a challenge too: write a 5,000 word short story!

Any writer ages 12-18 can submit a short story by November 30th and library staff will vote for a winner. Winner will receive a $25 gift card to Starbucks, and have a cover designed for your story! The winning story will be printed out and available for the public to read at the library.

We will also be posting ALL submissions on the library website (if you would not like your story posted please mark that in your submission).

We are so excited to see what the young writers of Germantown are capable of!

What is NaNoWriMo?

November is National Novel Writing Month! Aspiring writers put their writing skills to the test and attempt to complete a full 50,000 word manuscript during the month of November. It’s used as motivation to get your ideas down! Don’t worry about it being perfect. It’s a first draft: All it’s gotta do is exist.

Need Ideas?

If you would like to participate, but don’t know where to start, try the following:

• Read short stories from our November YA Display!
• Check out the GCL Writer’s Club Google Drive for prompts, writing challenges, and ideas!
• Talk to your friends about what you’d like to write
• Check out the NaNoWriMo Official Site!
• Think about your favorite books and why you like them, and try to incorporate that into your story!
• Think about your favorite genre of books or movies, why do you like it? Try incorporate elements of the genre into your story.

Submission

When you’re ready to submit your story, click here to access the submission form.