Join Illinois Novel Quest to succeed at your writing goals
Every year, people dream of writing a novel. No matter where you are in your journey to complete your story, Novel Quest is a free event designed to help motivate writers to complete their draft novel in 30 days in November.
You can set the writing goal (e.g., 60,000 words, edit your first draft) to complete in this single month, all with the support of your fellow writers.
Novel Quest offers participants a supportive community of writers and dedicated writing time (offered in person by volunteers and on Zoom, Google Meet, and Discord). It also offers free workshops in October to help folks prepare for the challenge kicking off Nov 1.
The Writing Journey (writingjourney.org) is presenting three interactive writing workshops in partnership with the Nichols Library, 200 W. Jefferson Ave. in Naperville. All workshops are offered in a hybrid mode (in-person or virtual participation).
These workshops are sponsored by the Nichols Library and the Writing Journey. To register, visit naperwrimo.org/prep_workshops_2026.
• Oct. 10 — Writing Workshop: Welcome to the Novel Swamp from 1 to 3 p.m. in the Nichols Library co-working space.
This workshop will focus on three approaches to planning your novel. Whether you’re a meticulous planner, a seat of your pants-er, or somewhere in the middle, this will help you plot a course to succeed in your Novel Quest. Bring nothing but paper and leave with a game plan!
• Oct. 17 — Writing Workshop: Crafting Dialogue That Brings Stories to Life from 1 to 3 p.m. in the Nichols Library co-working space.
It’s one of the cornerstones of writing novels. Many writers find their easiest approach to writing a first draft is to focus on the dialogue.
Good dialogue isn’t just characters talking — it’s where personalities collide, secrets slip out, and tension thrums on the page. In this hands-on workshop, participants will dig into what makes fictional dialogue feel alive (and why real-life conversation, um, often doesn’t).
Participants will play with techniques like beats, dialogue tags, and just enough dialect to add flavor without turning your prose into a puzzle. Along the way, they will tackle the fine art of saying more with less — because sometimes what your characters don’t say does the heaviest lifting.
Expect plenty of quick exercises, a bit of experimentation, and maybe a few lines of dialogue that surprise you. Whether you’re gearing up for Novel Quest or just looking to sharpen your ear, this workshop will help you make your characters sound like themselves — and keep your readers listening.
• Oct. 24 — Writing Workshop: Story Wall Party from 1 to 3 p.m. in the Nichols Library co-working space.
Do you have no idea what to write for Novel Quest this year? Is your novel idea only half-baked? Do you have plot holes you don’t know how to solve? If you answered yes to any of these questions, come to the Story Wall Party, a brainstorming event designed to help participants come up with ideas for their novels, get advice, and iron out potential story issues. If you don’t have an idea for a novel yet, you’ll walk away from this workshop with several.
• Oct. 31 — Novel Quest Kick-off (virtual-only) from 1 to 2:30 p.m.
Have a relaxed interactive discussion about Novel Quest, what to expect, the events that are available in November, and share how you have been preparing, the questions you might have, the tips you might like more information on.
This event will be offered to virtual attendees (register to receive the Zoom link). For information, go to naperwrimo.org or novelquest.substack.com.