It’s late July — we’re still comfortably 13ish weeks out from The First of November. And yet, there’s no time like the dog days of summer to get every “I” dotted and “T” crossed as we look forward to That November Thing.

Here’s what’s on deck this year:

Theming

We’ve developed a theme this year: Undying Creativity.

What better way to observe the death of the non-profit organization formerly known as National Novel Writing Month than to have Rippy the Weasel perched triumphantly upon NaNoWriMo’s tombstone? Even though the international community has lost its sponsor, we West Michiganders are still here, keepin’ on keepin’ on. That’s no small achievement — a testament to our local cadre’s perseverance and good spirits.

With this undying creativity theme comes the usual suspects: MONSTERS AND ZOMBIES. And a Halloween party, go figure! Our promo materials will feature variations on the logo and the theme of being creative in dark times will sometimes appear in our programming.

We’ll have merchandise available for this program year in the store, sometime in September. Look for it soon!

The All-New MonsterQuest Challenge

Our “points quest” program is back and better than ever!

In previous years, we celebrated winners in a pole-position kind of way: someone was first, someone was second, etc. That approach is great for the fiercely competitive, but it left a lot of high achievers in the dust. And we don’t want that! So this year, we’re going with gold/silver/bronze tiers, but any number of people can place into a tier. Our goal is to ensure that all participants who meaningfully engage can achieve bronze, but it’s a real stretch goal to make gold.

Winners will be celebrated on a plaque that will be permanently affixed to the wall of Jason’s Books & Coffee. Each year, we’ll hoist a new plaque!

We’ll develop threshold point counts to qualify for each tier. The basic idea is that a combination of word-count totals, consistency-of-writing targets, social interaction, donation totals, and other heroic feats will earn points. Certain activities or milestones across each of several different clusters earn points; the combined total of points in all clusters works like a thermometer toward bronze, silver, and gold status.

Even though we’re including a donation cluster in the program this year, we’re designing it so that a person can realistically attain gold without having to donate. With MonsterQuest, as with all of WMAA’s events, we are open at no cost, and that will never change.

More information about the MonsterQuest program, including clusters and point opportunities, will be released in late September.

Events Schedule

Please mark Ye Olde Calendars for the following action-packed activities:

• Saturday, October 4: Fall Writers’ Conference (9a-3p, Jason’s Books and Coffee). The loose theme is “craft” with workshopping on the docket related to the creation of compelling characters and their associated conflict arcs. Registration is required.
• Saturday, October 11: GRRWG Fall Conference. (This is not a WMAA-sponsored activity, but we like GRRWG and it could be a useful thing.) Michigan author Jane Kolven will present “Authorship and AI: Writing and Publishing in the Age of Artificial Intelligence.”
• Saturday, October 25: Kickoff! We are planning for a 2p event at Allendale Township Library again. However, we cannot formally register until August, so hold the date for now!
• Friday, October 31: Halloween Party! We’ll meet at the bookstore at 8p and go until 2a. As per our tradition, we’ll hunker down for a midnight word sprint or three. Costumes encouraged. Adult punch available. Bring a snack to pass (optionally) — we’ll have pizzas delivered for the group.
• Saturday, November 22: Day of Knockout Noveling. Doors open for a potluck-style writing extravaganza at 10 a.m. and they won’t close until 6 p.m. Despite the late date of DOKN, it’s still the weekend before Thanksgiving, and the weekend after Grand Rapids Comic Con. We’ll also have a silent auction this year, but it’ll be an electronic one, run through our new fundraising platform. The new opportunity offers greater transparency and allows for remote participation. We want to breathe new life into the silent auction, so expect a message about donating to it in October.
• Saturday, January 17: Winter Writers’ Conference. The theme is self-editing. Details and registration link will be provided in November.

We are inquiring of a Holland-area bookstore about hosting a TGIO/TEIN party at the tail-end of November. Stay tuned for details.

Scheduling in-person write-ins begins in early October. Write-in hosts must (a) set a confirmed venue and schedule, and (b) agree to a background check and training around our policies for the protection of minors and potentially vulnerable adults. We are aiming to have in-person write-ins spread across the entire region, including in Kent, Ottawa, and Muskegon counties.

And Other Things (dot dot dot)

• Congratulations to Bob (rckthewriter) for achieving first place in the 2023 and 2024 PointsQuest challenges, and to Tara (swcky) for achieving second place. Bob has earned a trophy — which is still inbound on a slow boat from China (literally) — and Tara has earned a gift card. In addition, the top nine finishers in 2024 will also receive one free T-shirt with the 2025 theme, as soon as the store is refreshed. Rounding out the Top 9 were Harper, Andrew, Emma, Allison, Tiffany, Amy, and Darla; I’ll reach out to you separately to give you a discount code for your store order.
• If you haven’t checked it out in a while, we encourage you to review our Code of Conduct.
• We’ve implemented a new fundraising infrastructure based on the popular Givebutter platform. This year, all event registrations and donations will be managed through the platform. To donate, visit our website and click Donate from the top menu, go straight to the donation form on Givebutter, or text WMAA to 53555.
• Speaking of money, last year we earned $550 in donations to WMAA. Revenue was basically split into thirds, from donations, the silent auction, and income from merchandise sales.
• We thank Emma (chris_anthem_um) for stepping up in 2025 to audit and report on MonsterQuest point totals and standings. That’s a big load off of Jason’s shoulders!
• We thank Bob and Tara for stepping up to assist with some advertising and reminding people about events. Look forward to invitations to help grow our community!
• We thank Allison (allihawk) and Andrew (kinggramjohnson) for developing a minors’ track this year. Initial ideas are around two events, one for kids aged 8 to 12 and another for people aged 13 to 18. Details are still being developed, but we hope this is a safe and encouraging way to help the next generation of authors to get a head-start on their writing careers.

Whew! That’s a lot. Stay tuned for more, and please join the Discord server if you’d like to keep up with the community in real-time.