National Novel Writing Month!
That magical month in which we try to distract our internal editor/critic long enough to spew 50,000 words of dubious quality into our word processor of choice, and then never showing those words to anyone ever. Well, that's how I understand it anyway. You might have different ideas. I've done this 4 times now, and failed miserably every time, but I love the idea of it so much I keep coming back, because this year will be different.
Someone posted this in the confessions thread and it blew my mind a little bit. I am going to read it every morning from now until November 30th, or until I see it when I close my eyes, whichever comes first.
Now, in the time honoured literary tradition known as "plagiarism", here are some resources to help plan for November, courtesy of one @Quoth over in The Writer's Block (which is a totally cool place filled with people who seem intimidatingly talented but are actually quite friendly)
So what's up, SE++? Who's doing this? Do you know what you're doing yet? Do you have any tricks for getting your own internal critic out of the way and just writing?
We've got 17 days until we need to shut up and write, for now let's chat.
That magical month in which we try to distract our internal editor/critic long enough to spew 50,000 words of dubious quality into our word processor of choice, and then never showing those words to anyone ever. Well, that's how I understand it anyway. You might have different ideas. I've done this 4 times now, and failed miserably every time, but I love the idea of it so much I keep coming back, because this year will be different.
Someone posted this in the confessions thread and it blew my mind a little bit. I am going to read it every morning from now until November 30th, or until I see it when I close my eyes, whichever comes first.
“What nobody tells people who are beginners - and I really wish someone had told this to me... is that all of us who do creative work, we get into it because we have good taste. But there is this gap. For the first couple years you make stuff, and it’s just not that good. It’s trying to be good, it has potential, but it’s not.
But your taste, the thing that got you into the game, is still killer. And your taste is why your work disappoints you. A lot of people never get past this phase. They quit. Most people I know who do interesting, creative work went through years of this. We know our work doesn’t have this special thing that we want it to have. We all go through this. And if you are just starting out or you are still in this phase, you gotta know it’s normal and the most important thing you can do is do a lot of work. Put yourself on a deadline so that every week you will finish one story.
It is only by going through a volume of work that you will close that gap, and your work will be as good as your ambitions. And I took longer to figure out how to do this than anyone I’ve ever met. It’s gonna take awhile. It’s normal to take awhile. You’ve just gotta fight your way through."
- Ira Glass
Now, in the time honoured literary tradition known as "plagiarism", here are some resources to help plan for November, courtesy of one @Quoth over in The Writer's Block (which is a totally cool place filled with people who seem intimidatingly talented but are actually quite friendly)
Quoth wrote:Links:
WdC prep: http://www.writing.com/main/view_item/item_id/1951946-October-Nano-Prep-2013-Calendar
NaNo Blog: http://blog.nanowrimo.org/
NaNo Forums: http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums
NaNo Forums - Writing 101: http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/writing-101
The Snowflake Method: http://www.advancedfictionwriting.com/art/snowflake.php
Worldbuilding Questions: http://www.sfwa.org/2009/08/fantasy-worldbuilding-questions/
The Art of Dramatic Writing - Premise: http://www.writerswrite.com/fiction/egri.htm
Jim Butcher - Story Skeletons: http://jimbutcher.livejournal.com/1308.html
Harlequin writing guidelines: http://www.harlequin.com/articlepage.html?articleId=538&chapter=0
The Lester Dent Pulp Paper Master Fiction Plot: http://www.paper-dragon.com/1939/dent.html
How to write a novel in three days: http://www.wetasphalt.com/content/how-write-book-three-days-lessons-michael-moorcock
Fun plot generator: http://fictiongen.inky.me/
Seven steps to the perfect story: http://www.the-cma.com/news/seven-steps-to-the-perfect-story
Stuff from Chuck Wendig's blog, which is generally not suitable for work due to saucy language:
http://terribleminds.com/ramble/2012/09/25/25-things-you-should-do-before-starting-your-next-novel/
http://terribleminds.com/ramble/2012/01/17/25-things-writers-should-start-doing/
http://terribleminds.com/ramble/2013/05/14/25-things-you-should-know-about-outlining/
http://terribleminds.com/ramble/2011/09/14/25-ways-to-plot-plan-and-prep-your-story/
http://terribleminds.com/ramble/2012/11/27/how-chuck-wendig-writes-a-novel/
So what's up, SE++? Who's doing this? Do you know what you're doing yet? Do you have any tricks for getting your own internal critic out of the way and just writing?
We've got 17 days until we need to shut up and write, for now let's chat.