BY AMANDA HASS | The Statesman On Friday, Nov. 13 from 6 to 9 p.m. at Somers Main Lounge at the College of St. Scholastica, the UMD Writing Club will be teaming up with the CSS Arts and English Club for a night in the celebration of writing.
“This event brings the best students at two universities together to write and celebrate writing,” said UMD professor David Beard.
The event includes a writing contest, a designing book cover contest, silent auction, word games and food.
Both contests will be held from 6 to about 7:30 p.m. Two professors from UMD and one professor from CSS will be judging the contest.
The event is also a part of the nationwide celebration of writing, NaNoWriMo, which stands for National Novel Writing Month.
NaNoWriMo is a time where everyone who wishes to participate writes a certain amount of words on one night in order to get deals on publishing and supplies for writing.
“Participants begin working towards the goal of writing a 50,000-word novel by 11:59 p.m. on November 30,” Veronica Fiscus said.
“It is going to be a really fun night. The theme for the event is ‘Writing Dangerously,’” Fiscus said.
The silent auction is a way to raise money for each club. “The items in the auction are all from the Duluth and Hermantown community,” Fiscus said.
Some of the items include gift cards to Blackwater and Tavern on the Hill, apparel and other items from UMD and other local businesses.
CSS Arts and English Club plans to use the money raised for a theater night. UMD Writing Club, on the other hand, is still deciding on how to use the money.
UMD Writing Club was founded by Fiscus in the fall of 2014 after the old writing club at UMD had died out. Fiscus wanted to bring it back to encourage and reach out to other writers.
“Veronica Fiscus has led the Writing Club into new levels of excitement and energy,” Beard explained.
Members of UMD Writing Club have been published through Indie Authors Press and many other publishing companies. One student told Fiscus, “Because of you, I got published.”
“This club is all about writing and having a good time doing it. I just want everyone to love writing as much as I do,” Fiscus said.
Writing Club is a place where writers can develop their abilities and meet professional writers. The Writing Club also brings in authors to review works of members and also provide connections for internships.
“Students interested in writing get together to write, meet professional writers and to celebrate reading and writing,” Beard said.
UMD Writing Club has encouraged writers to write, and the event on Nov. 13 is just another way for writers to demonstrate their abilities and get involved in the writing community.