NaNoWriMo is an international event, and we’re taking a Road Trip to NaNo to hear about the stories being written every year in our hundreds of participating regions. Today, David Rivera, our Municipal Liaison in the USA :: New York :: White Plains & Westchester County region urges you to seek out your small lights:

As the concrete-tied train tracks make their way towards the big city, there are several stops along the way—including Westchester County, connected by the train to the big city called New York. Westchester County is a small light—a spark of imagination—illuminated by arguably the greatest city on this planet. 

The small light is where many of us writers are. We only need to check in with our small lights to channel our imaginations toward a final destination, whether it be the big city, act two, or an agent taking a look at what you have and saying “Yes”.

November is coming. To get ready, we’re taking a Road Trip to NaNoWriMo. On the way, we’ll hear from writers about how their cities can inspire your novel. Today, Margaret in New York City, NY dares you to reorient your writerly perspectives: 

New York: The City That Never Sleeps. It’s a common phrase, but it means a lot more than last calls at 4 a.m. and a 24-hour subway system. This town doesn’t run on one schedule, it runs on over 8 million.

Bodegas, hot dog carts and $1 pizza places line the streets of Midtown Manhattan and the Village, catering to this continual flux of pedestrian traffic. Trains full of 9-to-5ers pour out of Grand Central Station, giving way to tourists, then pre-curtain-call diners, then club-goers and night shift workers, on to the late-night partiers and night owls, until, as dawn breaks, early-shift workers and audition-goers pass through, re-starting the cycle all over again.