Megan Lea raising funds for Rochdale and District Mind with National Novel Writing Month

Local writer and blogger Megan Lea is taking part in National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) and has decided to use the opportunity to raise funds for Rochdale and District Mind.

NaNoWriMo is an annual event which challenges authors and aspiring writers to undertake the huge effort of writing 50,000 words throughout the whole of November. That is an average of 1,667 words per day, which can be immensely challenging for any writer.

Megan, from Littleborough, is using NaNoWriMo to undertake her first fiction novel project, which will focus on mental health. She founded her blog, The Manic Years, in September 2013, a personal account of the struggles faced when she was first diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder.

She said: “Eventually, readers started to open up and send in their own stories, which lead to other people’s accounts with a wider range of mental health issues being published on the blog. Since then, the site has gradually expanded – people have taken part in interviews for the blog and recently sent in their own poetry too.”

Speaking of her charity choice, Megan explained: “Rochdale Mind was the first service that helped me when I was 18 and struggling before diagnosis. The incredible volunteers deserve the support for the efforts they put in to keep people with mental health issues feel safe and on the road to recovery. They saved my life, and I would not be where I am today without them, so I am asking for some support for greater recognition from the community to see if I can get the fundraising amount higher.”

Megan has also contributed to articles for bigger mental health organisations such as The Mighty and Time to Change, and had her first print extract in James Withey’s The Recovery Letters.

To donate, visit:

https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/meganlea