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72 Little Hours
We’re a month away from Labour Day weekend, and that means it’s almost time for this year’s 3 Day Novel Contest.
What is the 3 Day Novel Contest, you ask? Well, it’s exactly as horrifying as it sounds. It’s Vancouver’s answer to NaNoWriMo, except instead of having to hammer out 1,000 words a day for an entire month, you get it all over with in 72 frantic, hysterical hours, during which contestants spew out an average of 100 pages each. Whether they’re any good is secondary; what matters is that you switch off your internal editor, stop making excuses, and write like a maniac.
Of course, quality is not entirely secondary, because the grand prize is a publication deal. And next Wednesday, August 6, you can hear last year’s winner, John Kupfershmidt, read from his novel In The Garden of Men. The reading will be followed by a pep rally for this year’s contest, which will take place from 12:01 a.m. on August 30 to midnight on September 1.
So, if you think you’ve got a novel in you but you can’t seem to find the time or the focus, this is the time to buckle down, lock the doors, take the phone off the hook, and try not to go insane or develop carpal tunnel before the three days are up.
Registration instructions are here. It costs $50 to enter, and cheques must be in the mail by August 29.
The launch event is free and starts at 6 p.m. on August 6, upstairs at The Rivoli at 334 Queen Street West.
Photo of previous winning titles by soaleha from the Torontoist Flickr Pool.