NOBLESVILLE — If you’ve dreamed about writing a book and never took the step to do so, Noblesville author Dan Logan said a workshop he’s sponsoring will give people the tools to get started.

“There seems to be a real thirst for information for the fundamentals of writing, editing and getting published,” said Logan, 68, Noblesville.

The leader of Noble Writers Group, he is co-sponsoring the first-time Writers’ Retreat Nov. 7 at The Lodge at Forest Park in Noblesville. Fellow Noblesville author Suzanne Bailer Smith, who leads Critique Group, a subgroup of Noble Writers, will co-sponsor the daylong event.

The workshop is limited to 40. Eight spaces are still available, Logan said today.

The retreat will begin with a writing contest. Participants will be given a topic and will have four hours to write a story. They can compose the story on their own laptops but the stories must be submitted in longhand.

Logan, a 1959 Carmel High School valedictorian, said the idea for the writing contest stemmed from his own book club’s monthly assignment to write on various topics. “It’s amazing the different perspectives people bring.”

The stories will judged onsite by guest authors: Susan Crandall, Noblesville, author “Seeing Red”; Cindy Rushton, owner of Mudsock Books in Fishers; and Kurt Meyer, Noblesville, author of “Stardust.”

Logan will lead workshops on getting published and fiction writing. He published his first book, “The First Migration,” a science fiction adventure, in 2005. He’s writing his second novel, “The Lost Portal,” about a quest for a lost time ship, set on a background of a national water shortage that leads to armed conflict. “It’s east vs. west,” he said of the book set in the southwest and to be published in early 2010.

Smith, who will lead an editing workshop, has published two books. The first is “Day Dreamer to Dream Catcher,” a biography about Joe Cooper, an adult student of Indy Reads, who turned his life around after learning to read. The book won Best Nontraditional Book of 2008 from the Indiana State Museum. Smith’s second book, published this year, “Laughter: A Woman’s Best Defense,” is a collection of humorous essays from her own life experiences.

The retreat is 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Advance registration is $45, $55 after Saturday. To register, call Logan at (317) 432-8223 or Smith at (317) 402-3590. Participants must be 18 or older.