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Take heed! If you didn’t know, November is National Novel Writing Month. The idea is simple: write 50,000 words of fiction in a month (that’s 1,667 words a day, number-crunchers). All that it takes to participate is the decision that you’re going to do it. Okay? Great. Now re-read the title of this post.

Look at that post title. Just LOOK AT IT. It’s such thrilling news that I had to use an exclamation point where the Chicago Manual of Style would probably rather I didn’t!

But that’s the thing: in NaNoWriMo, you are not going for style. You aren’t even really going for substance. You’re just going. You’re going to point your flashlight at the darkness, suss out the shapes in front of you, and plunge ahead. You’re going to load up your schooner, set a course for terra incognita, and circumnavigate the hell out of your own personal globe. You’re going to cry (I mean, probably. I always do). You’re going to be a writer because you’re going to be writing.

Now, some people look down on NaNoWriMo because quote-unquote real writers do not need to fill in goofy charts or crank out words like they are so many widgets and count them like they are so many beans. Some people are also jerks. The big secret about NaNoWriMo is that it’s just a fancy way to give yourself permission—or a kick in the butt—to do what Real Writers do every day, and that is string words together.

In other words, if you’re waiting for a sign to get started, this is it.

Someone once told me that publishers hate NaNoWriMo. Well, I’m here to say that 1. that guy is also a jerk and 2. no, we don’t. We at Quirk love anything that makes more writers, because more writers means more books, and more books can’t not be a good thing. So all this month, we’re going to bring you special NaNoWriMo-themed posts, giveaways, advice, and commiseration throughout November. We’ll talk writing, revision, and how to take your first steps into the world of Being A Writer.

Speaking of which: tell us stuff! What are you excited for or trepidatious about? What's your word-churnout-strategy? How can we make these posts interesting enough to entice you into procrastination? Leave thoughts, questions, and suggestions in the comments, and we'll pick three random commenters next week to win a copy of Secret Lives of Great Authors! 

You can also enter our Rafflecopter below! Good luck! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Halloween is days (day?) away, but fear not, procrastinator! There’s no need to resort to a pedestrian triangles-and-smile face on this year’s decorative gourds. Try one of these groovy ideas on for size!

Dudes and dudettes, let us be real for a moment: life can be pretty gnarly at times. Doubly so if you happen to be a character in some nerd’s novel (what’s the deal with a bildungsroman, anyway?). When the proverbial shizzle hits the fan, you’re gonna need one righteous support system to safely lead you past the core conflict into a groovy dénouement. In the most trying of times, that is when you truly require a great bro.

Bros can come in all shapes and sizes. The important thing is that you find yourself a homie that will stick by your side through thick and thin. Sure, you may get all up in each other’s grills from time to time, but—at the end of the day—your bro will unfailingly come through for you, every time. So, without further ado, let’s celebrate some of the most epic literary broships of all time.

Welcome to The Geek's Guide to Dating Webseries!

From local bloggers to podcasters, indie video game developers to celebrated filmmakers, hard hitting journalists to award-winning storytellers, over the next few months geeks-of-all-kinds will be sharing their love stories and dishing out advice.

In this week's video, you'll met Lansie Sylvia and Andrew Panebianco, two First Person Arts storytellers from Philadelphia. Philly folks might recognize Lansie from Philly Give & Get.

Hit play to learn how these two met, how building a story together can be an excellent bonding experience, and why Andrew is the sweetest guy ever. Enjoy! 

Earlier this month, our friends up at Random House Canada issued a challenge to local bookstores. They wanted to see who could whip up the most fantastic, Halloween display featuring Quirk titles. 

Well, here's the winner. 

Forster's Book Garden, a indie bookshop located in Bolton, Ontario, put together this amazingly gory and creepy window display, featuring Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs, 100 Ghosts by Doogie Horner, Tales from Lovecraft Middle School by Charles Gilman, and The Resurrectionist by E.B. Hudspeth… accompanied by chains, rats, crows, spiderwebs, and severed body parts. Awesome. 

You can learn more about the bookshop over on their official website, and follow them on Twitter and Facebook. Check out more photos below! 

This summer I was busy getting married and moving into a new house. So when it came to choosing a character to cosplay this year I had some important criteria. The costume had to be…

1. Easy
2. Inexpensive
3. Epic*

*(Obviously.) Otherwise, what’s the point? 😉

It didn’t take me long to decide on Kaylee Frye from Joss Whedon’s short lived, but greatly loved TV series, Firefly. Here's how you can make one, too!