Category: YMCA Simcoe Muskoka

2025 Muskoka Novel Marathon Now Open For Registration!

Hello Readers!

What I will cover today: My love for a yearly writing event AND the OPEN REGISTRATION period for that event.

Writing in Muskoka…the balcony at the Port Sydney Community Hall where the Muskoka Novel Marathon is currently being held.

Today I wanted to talk to you about the MUSKOKA NOVEL MARATHON. This is a yearly novel writing event that, without which, I would not be where I am today on my writing journey.

I first heard about the MUSKOKA NOVEL MARATHON in 2006. I was halfway through the writing of my very first novel, SUMMER ON FIRE, at the time. I had not yet found MY WAY in the creative journey of novel writing. I was doing okay, slogging along, but I knew there was something missing. Writing a novel in the conventional way just wasn’t working for me. Not fully, anyway. I was not happy writing a novel throughout the course of a year…or years. I really struggled to keep myself on task and invested. I had to find another way.

When I heard about the MUSKOKA NOVEL MARATHON, my ears perked up. Something about the creative writing process of the marathon spoke to me and my scattered non-linear way of thinking. I knew I had to give it a go, so I registered for the 2007 marathon that was taking place in Huntsville, Ontario that July.

First, you have to understand HOW DIFFICULT that decision was for me, an introvert who shied away from meeting new people at every opportunity I could get. It was a terrifying concept, registering for that first year’s marathon. I almost didn’t…so high was my anxiety. I even stopped midway there on the 2-hour road-trip up to Huntsville. I seriously considered turning around, with my tail between my legs, and going back home.

I’m SO glad I powered through.

That year I only took part in the 48hr marathon. When I registered, I was still really struggling with the concept of writer. I felt I was able to grant myself 2 days to the craft, but 3 seemed crazy. I was quite unkind to myself back then. I couldn’t justify giving myself a full 3 days grace to explore creativity. Two would have to do!

I wrote the entire first draft of what would later become my favourite novel of all I would write…SEBASTIAN’S POET.

After my 48hrs were up, I said goodbye to all my new writer friends (it was an incredible experience and everyone truly welcomed me on board. I was one of them. Imposter syndrome melted away during that weekend), got in my car, and drove home. I think I was the only writer not staying for the entire 72hrs. It was actually hard to leave, but leave I did.

The car journey home was a psychedelic trip like nothing I had ever experienced. I was tired, exhilarated, overwhelmed. I had brought a world into existence just by writing about it. I was definitely on a creative high. The three deer jumping out of a ditch and into my path was just one of the oddities that occurred during that trip back from Northern Ontario. I was electric.

SEBASTIAN’S POET won the 2007 Best Adult Novel Award. It has since gone on to be published. It’s my homage to Leonard Cohen and the Beaches area of Toronto…all wrapped into one story. A folksinger befriends a neglected young boy and his even younger brother and helps them to navigate in the tumultuous 1970s Beaches world. One of my main characters was closely modeled after Cohen. Can you guess which one? That’s right…the folksinger!

The original cover of Sebastian’s Poet.
The current cover of Sebastian’s Poet.
Just outside the beautiful Muskoka Novel Marathon venue in Huntsville, Ontario! (This is no longer the venue, but the new venue also has a body of water at its doorstep.)

After that year, I was hooked. I kept going back…and I even gave myself the full 3 days of creativity going forward after that first year.

Muskoka Novel Marathon. 2014. Friends I’ve met along the way.

When I tell you the MUSKOKA NOVEL MARATHON changed my life, I am not just throwing that phrase around lightly. It definitely made me the writer I am today. Here’s a list of the awards I’ve collected at the marathon over the years…

AWARDS WON

  • 2007 – Best Adult Novel Award-Sebastian’s Poet, (BIC) Bum In Chair Award
  • 2008 – Best Adult Novel Award-The Reasons, (BIC) Bum In Chair Award
  • 2010 – Best Young Adult Novel Award-Half Dead & Fully Broken, Rock Star Award, (BIC) Bum In Chair Award
  • 2011 – Best Young Adult Novel Award-That’s Me In The Corner
  • 2016 – Best Adult Novel Award-I Will Tell The Night
  • 2019 – Young Adult Runner Up Award-No Visible Damage
  • 2023 – Best Young Adult/Juvenile Novel Award-Tyler Freemont Writes A Play
  • 2024 – (BIC) Bum In Chair Award

I have found my way to write a novel. In one sitting. MY WAY. I adore the MUSKOKA NOVEL MARATHON. Not just because it’s a fundraiser for area literacy programs (they have raised over $213,000.00 for YMCA Simcoe/Muskoka literacy programs to date). And not just because of the great writer friends I’ve met at the event. And not just because of the amazing feats of the generous organizers and volunteers. All those things are pure magic. But I adore the marathon most for giving me MY WAY.

Author Selfie in the closet at the Muskoka Novel Marathon…

All this to introduce you to a yearly writing event that you probably know far too much about already if you’re a constant reader of my blog. I talk about it all the time. It’s been a life-changing whirlwind of a monolith in my life for almost 20 years. Of course I talk about it.

Today, I wanted to bring it to your attention because the registration period is NOW OPEN for this JULY’s event in Port Sydney, Ontario (just outside of Huntsville).

This year’s details:

Thursday July 10 – Sunday July 13, 2025

Port Sydney Community Hall, 607 Muskoka Road 10, Port Sydney, Ontario, Canada

CLICK HERE TO GO DIRECTLY TO THE REGISTRATION PAGE.

If you are having trouble registering, please send an email to: writerliaison@muskokanovelmarathon.com

A photo of my desk at the Muskoka Novel Marathon, where this novel from hell began its messy life.
T-shirts from various Muskoka Novel Marathon years…

If you’re a writer in Ontario (or anywhere else), you should seriously consider registering for this event and getting yourself up to PORT SYDNEY this July. It will change your life! If it’s too far or impractical for any reason…there’s also ONLINE registration.

In-Person Registration – $100.00 – Covers ALL MEALS and comes with an endless flow of COFFEE.

Online Registration – $25.00 – You will be Zoomed into the event.

Writers are encouraged to collect sponsorship money for the fundraising part of the event. There are prizes involved for fundraising as well.

Best Novel Award comes with the prize of a Muskoka Chair! And all novels submitted to the contest for judging at the end of the weekend get critique notes from the judges.

This is a yearly fundraising event. Check it out if you want to up your writing game. Just imagine being in a room with 39 other writers…and you’re all clacking away at your keyboards attempting to write an entire novel in one tiny 72hour period of bliss and chaos. You know you want to.

Don’t be nervous! The writers and the organizers welcome all with open arms. You’ll immediately become one of the MNM family. Put your fear aside and take the step!

CLICK HERE NOW!

2024 Muskoka Novel Marathon – Looking Back and Moving Forward…

A note of encouragement from fellow MNM writer, Jade…

Another novel writing marathon has come and gone. This marathon was extremely productive for me. I think I was just so thrilled to be back in person, that I kept my head down and my fingers on the keys and flew into creative action! This was the first IN-PERSON marathon since the dreaded lock-down of 2020.

The only time I ever really left the building was to go on the Creativity Walk on Saturday morning. Prior to the marathon’s beginning, however, I had staked out the closest pub/restaurant, as well as a general store down the road. There was also a beach across the road. SO MUCH to do that was NOT writing. And I scoped them all out before my arrival.

I did not do any of those things, with the exception of a quick visit to the beach with the Creativity Walk.

Creativity Walk participants with our usual iconic Strike A Pose moment…

During the last handful of in-person marathons, I probably would have dove into the things that distract from the writing. It was, after all, the reason I scoped out the area around the new venue. Things to do! But at the novel marathons, the thing to do is WRITE. Somewhere along the way, I might have begun to lose track of that notion. I was constantly distracted at the last few marathons. I’d walk downtown, go out to the pub night, go outside the venue with others and just shoot the breeze. There’s nothing wrong with that, but it doesn’t help one’s word count AT ALL.

Apparently you must actually sit with your laptop and hit the keys to grow your word count. Who knew?

This year, I guess I was on a mission. I can’t talk about my manuscript because it’s been submitted to the contest and reading judges may be lurking. (-; The manuscripts are subject to BLIND JUDGING for an unbiased review.

Anyway, I still socialized a lot. I wandered out onto the venue’s balcony to feel the sun on my skin. I did non-writing things. But I also surprised myself by how focused I was, how BUM IN CHAIR I managed to be at this marathon. I think we were all just so happy to be back in person. We wanted to take advantage of the luxury of merely WRITING for 72 straight hours. I hardly slept at all. Yes, I zoned in and out of consciousness while attempting to stay awake and keep typing…but I only went for a 1 1/2 hour sleep Friday mid-overnight and a 5 1/2 hour sleep Saturday mid-overnight. That leaves a lot of sleepless hours.

It’s always a huge personal moment for me when I get to pin my 100 PAGES ribbon on the Writers’ Wall of Fame. Such a thrill!

My final tally page count for this year’s marathon was 131! Word count was about 29,000 words, if I remember correctly. Have I written more than that at previous marathons? Absolutely! But it’s been a long time. The most I ever wrote at one marathon was somewhere between 50,000 and 60,000 words. This year didn’t come close…but it completely overshadowed any efforts I made during previous 4 years of online marathons, possibly even combined.

My prize for being in the Top 10 Fundraiser list! Gifts for the pups!

The marathon is, first and foremost, a fundraiser for the YMCA Simcoe/Muskoka literacy programs. We writers are always thrilled to contribute to such an important cause. This year we raised over $12,500.00! Thank you so much to my own personal supporters! Your donations mean the world to SO MANY PEOPLE! You’re changing lives!

The sponsors of the marathon went well beyond expectations! They donated fundraising prizes for the writers, food, money, etc, etc, etc. So generous! The photo above is my haul from the super generous people at PETSMART HUNTSVILLE. They really made this prize amazing. Our two pugs loved their windfall! There was also an army of tireless volunteers putting this event together and running it in real time…too many to mention here but all are amazing! This is truly an event that takes a village to pull off.

The view from our venue. I did not let it distract me…but I did take it in!

I’m busy continuing on with my story now! I have a nice start to this novel after my whirlwind of a weekend in Port Sydney! I can’t wait to go back up North for the Wrap Party in September!

Writing in the Sunshine!

Another year over! Thanks to all who made the 2024 MUSKOKA NOVEL MARATHON possible! You have restored my faith in my own creativity!