Des Plaines Librarians Write Mystery Novel

The following information was submitted by Jacqueline Dennison of readers’ services at the Des Plaines Public Library.

November was annual National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo for short. Each year, participants scramble to write an entire novel, from beginning to end, within just one month. The goal is not necessarily to write the perfect novel, but to get something down on paper, sometimes with the intention of later editing and perfecting the work. 

This year, the staff of the Des Plaines Public Library decided to participate by writing a group novel. How does a group write a novel? The participants decided together on a genre and premise, and then set to work. Each day in the entire month of November, one person wrote a chapter of the book, continuing the story from where it left off the previous day. The only rule was that we must accept anything already written — no pretending it had all been a dream and then changing the story entirely. Entitled Murder in the Des Plaines Library, the finished novel is part homage to favorite mystery cliches and part violent thriller.  

We met our goal this year of completing this story. Click here to read Murder in the Des Plaines Library.

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