NaNoWriMo

So, if the bike throws ya, get back on! (Yeah, I couldn't find a better photo.)

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Whoa. It's already December? Oh, that sneaky devil snuck up on me. Dear lord, I'm that much closer to being 29 and six months, that much closer to moving back to Miami, and about 25,000 words closer to having a novel completed.

You read that right. I'm writing a novel, and that, along with three other jobs, is why there was one, teeny, tiny "Let Me Be Frankie" post last month.

My fellow Wrimos and I took part in National Novel Writer's Month this past November. The goal was to write a novel of at least 50,000 words in one month, upload the thing on their Word Count Validator by midnight on the 30th, and then reap the praise, adulation and love of the masses. The little word count bar on a participant's NaNoWriMo page turned purple once the goal was reached, and a winner's certificate was involved.

I, er, didn't make the 50,000 word cut-off, while others posted 150,000 words on November 15th. Lousy cheaters!  Doesn't matter to me, people. The point to NaNoWriMo was to learn how to write without letting the inner critic-monster stop me (and you!) from writing. 

Honestly, I don't believe anyone can write a perfect, 50,000 + word novel in one month, despite Mr. King's best efforts. Every participant will now have to slog through editing the mess that they made on whatever medium they used to write; but HALLELUJAH, we have a mess to edit! 

Mine runs about 25,000 words. Without this little competition, it would have been a mere 2,000, and I would have been convinced that I'd done the most I could do.  I now know, with certainty, that I was full of it. Writing freely has gotten rid of the artificial constrictions I placed on myself to make it perfect the first time out. Most people cannot edit and write at the same time, nor should they. 

I'm not saying planning a story or outlining is unimportant. I think it's critical; you should know what your story is about, each scene should have a purpose, each character should exist to make the story work. But NaNoWriMo got me in the habit of writing every day, diligently, without the worry of turning out something perfect each time. It greased the wheels, and let some people be free enough to unleash their great ideas (stay tuned for my first kick ass novel!).  

Now to edit the damn thing! Hint for all you other Wrimos: go to the "Now What?" section, and commence the editing frenzy. Everyone else can participate in NaNoWriMo next year, as well as in Script Frenzy! 

Greater Cleveland Writer's Group | May

Working Steampunk laptop. Not exactly relevant, but awesome.
Via Geekologie.

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Twenty writers with all sorts of day jobs enjoyed the written word tonight on the top deck of the Keasarge, a converted steamship built in 1892.

Our little group talked of technique, character development, markets and other Very Important Things while floating next to a rusting, brown submarine. The Cleveland skyline was at our backs, and small jets and helicopters zoomed overhead every ten minutes or so. If you squinted really hard through the setting sun, the whole of it could have worked as the background for a Steampunk novel.

Happily for me, this was not like the college writers' groups I'd attended years ago. For one, there was enough wine to power a number of conversations that actually got somewhere (read: business deals). The group's organizer is a publisher who is working on projects with at least two of the writers.

Almost as important, some considerable writing talent was present in the guise of Ralph Lauren glasses and video producers, ghost writers and chefs of Irish cuisine, a programmer or two, a nurse, a weathered gardener, and a linguist. My favorite character of the bunch was the aspiring finance guru whose car had just broken down.

He read to us from a well-written, humorous first chapter about making a million bucks off a McDonald's salary with the right investment plan. The target audience is those people who are freshly out of jail with no higher prospect than working in a fast food chain.

I didn't want to play group gadfly on my first encounter, so I let someone else raise the obvious question- being, of course: "Ha-HA! Why aren't YOU a millionaire?!". I mean, it's the first thing anyone should ask, and a major flaw in his case for getting it published.

His response to that wasn't objectionably bad. He said it was a living, working plan, and he'd had some setbacks, which he'll also write about. This works because it's first going to be a class given in jails to get inmates thinking about jobs and saving or investing for their future. This author has experiences they can relate to, which is important for skeptical people.

It's not my mess, but I'm looking forward to his progress and to his writing style as he's quite entertaining.