For many people, fulfilling the dream of writing a novel comes down to finding the time. For some, the time is the month of November.

National Novel Writing Month is a national, creative challenge that encourages aspiring novelists to write at least 50,000 words of a fiction work in 30 days.

Portsmouth Public Library is participating for the first time this year by transforming the Hilton Garden Room into a Writer’s Café every Tuesday in November, and presenting author, teacher and book reviewer Hallie Ephron for inspiration during a Writer’s Block Party at the midway point on Tuesday, Nov. 15.

The Writer’s Café will be available for participants between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m. on the five Tuesdays in November, with library resources available and local businesses contributing food and drinks.

Writers can sign up anytime for the challenge at www.nanowrimo.org or in person on Tuesday, Nov. 1, between 6 and 8 p.m. at the Kick-Off Party in the Writer’s Cafe. There will be snacks by Flatbread Pizza, creative incentives and prizes donated by local businesses.

The library is participating as part of the “Come Write In” program of the national challenge. The whole event was launched in 1999 by a California non-profit, inspiring thousands of participants with e-mail pep talks, a supportive online community, and web-based writing tools at www.nanowrimo.org.

Yvette Couser, who lives in Lee and works at Merrimack Public Library, is one of the municipal liaisons organizing local writing events and get-togethers. She has been participating in the challenge since 2007, and last year, she met the goal of 50,000 words.

“When I finished, it was after 11 o’clock on Nov. 30 and I started crying,” Couser said. “It was a huge accomplishment for me. If I can do this, I can do anything.”

For her, the challenge is about getting back to the goals she had before married life. With an hour-long commute and four children, Couser had to write early in the morning before work or late in the evening. This year, she said, she’s taking a few days off.

“It’s a hard thing to do,” she said. “But it’s worth it.”

Before she got married, Couser was a playwright in New York City. “I thought that was going to be life,” she said.

She said having a family is rewarding, but time consuming. But, she added, she’s told her family she’s going to concentrate on writing for the month of November. Her advice is to let people know you won’t be able to spend as much time with them, and maybe make a bet with them that you’ll reach the goal.

“It’s a good event for people who have always wanted to try to write a novel, but let other things get in the way,” she said.

Couser is in the process of collecting appropriate publishers to submit her young adult novel to.

“I’ve committed myself to putting my work out there,” she said.

There are more than 2,000 people signed up in New Hampshire and seven libraries offering a place to write without the distractions of home. There are also coffee shops, book stores and colleges setting up spaces for writers.

“It’s a celebration of writing, the process of writing and also local writers,” said Heather Armitage, a librarian at Portsmouth Public Library, who has committed to the challenge for the first time.

The deadline helps people silence their inner critic and just write, she said. “Just do your best and keep moving forward.”

Armitage said she has a rough draft of a novel she has been working on for years, but she will work on a new story for the challenge since those are the rules.

“I have no idea, but I imagine it’s a huge undertaking,” she said.

Terri Bruce of Kensington is also trying Novel Writing Month for the first time, though it took nine years to write her first novel and two years for the second one.

But, since she already has a rough outline of a sequel to her second novel, she’s going to try writing it in just 30 days.

Armitage and Bruce—and anyone else concerned about the deadline—can get advice during Ephron’s talk on “How to Write Fast Without Losing Your Compass,” starting at 7 p.m. on Nov. 15.

Ephron’s most recent novel is the psychological suspense tale “Come and Find Me,” about a recluse who works and practically lives online but must brave the “real world” when her sister goes missing. Her previous novel, “Never Tell a Lie,” was nominated for numerous awards, has been translated into seven languages and also was made into a film for the Lifetime Movie Network.

Ephron is a writing teacher and award-winning book reviewer for The Boston Globe. She is the third of the four writing Ephron sisters, whose parents were screenwriters Henry and Phoebe Ephron.

The novel “Water for Elephants” by Sarah Gruen was written during the event in 2007 and has since been made into a film. A popular new novel, “Night Circus” by Erin Morgenstern, also was written during the event.