Well, it's officially November 1st, and that means that, not only is it All Saint's Day, but, more importantly, it's officially the start of National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo). The goal of this maniacal silliness is to write a 50,000 word novel by midnight on November 30th. However, one guy is attempting to accomplish the feat by Day Two. Will he crash and burn? Will he make it, folks? Tune in tomorrow to find out just where Michael Kerr is, and what, if anything of his sanity remains intact.
Now, to me, 50,000 words in a month doesn't seem particularly daunting. Ages ago, I wrote a short story somewhat shy of 10,000 words in a day of fluffy, writing madness fueled by a smidgen of tasty, German Weiss beer and a fresh pack of smokes I'd picked up that morning for five Marks at the corner smoke-machine in the tiny Deutsche hamlet of Schonaich. The story was called "Pigeons," and I think it now sits unread somewhere in the bowels of the Forrest K. Polk Library on the campus of the University of Wisconsin -Oshkosh.
Anyway, if I wasn't already too preoccupied with already writing a novel, I'd take part in this little exercise. It seems like fun, and if any of you out there ARE tinkering with the notion of writing your own books, this may be just the thing to get the proverbial ball rolling. After all, from my bouncing around the collection of journals here on AOL, it's pretty clear that a great many of you SHOULD be writing.
It's only 50,000 words. That's not a lot. In fact, I was out on a date recently, and the talkative woman sitting across from me hit that mark somewhere between the time the appetizers were finished and the soup arrived. Unfortunately, unlike a novel, I couldn't dog-ear the conversation and toss it on the floor. But, that's a story for another day.
Aside from that, and speaking of books, AOL's own Blogger John Scalzi's latest is out. I've not read it yet, and when I tried to pick it up yesterday from the bookstore, the brain-shatteringly attractive clerk told me that it's due to arrive later that day. And, the good news for John is I wasn't the first person to ask about The Android's Dream. The bad news is that I have to once again subject myself to the attractive bookstore lady. Yes. It will be a struggle for me. Next time, I'm sure I'll pre-order from Amazon. I mean, this girl could tell me her favorite book was a coloring-book, and I'd easily buy fifty. I'm so weak...
Anyway, I hope your November is starting off all peachy and pleasant. If any of you do take part in the month-long novel-writing exercise, let me know how it goes.
-DP
Ahhh 50,000 words that's easy . . . give me a topic . . . I am sure I can ramble about it for 50,00 words by the end of the month.
ReplyDelete:-D
Take care,
Amanda :)
Okay, I've been procrastinating. 50,000 will put me over the hump and once I see the finish line I may actually break the tape. Of course, the blog will suffer.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, just out of curiosity, does anyone else walk around with a finished novel in their head for five to ten years, love writing it as they do it, but procrastinate because the process seems so slow? And, it's one thing to throw some words on a blog, it's another to assemble them living with the fear of the criticism of literary agents and audiences that one is certain contain people far more intelligent than oneself.....uh, hypothetically, I mean, I have a....friend who....whatever.
Catch my drift? How did you get the courage to unzip, show yours and wave it around?
Fred
http://journals.aol.com/ravenjuiced/those-eyes-that-the-cherubim-dre/
I am having a hard time getting past Fred's comment.. lol
ReplyDeleteI do remember using a typewriter like that Underwood. Exactly like that one. It belonged to my mom. OMG.. how times have changed. I feel so old.....<sigh>
Jackie
I think I'm guilty of the procrastination from Fred's comment - but I've got quite a few words and two other stories in the works - I'm not going to go for the 50 thou - but think I may be able to bang out enough Chick Lit Drivel to make it to, at least, 25, 000! I'm a glutton for punishment as College Finals loom near...
ReplyDeleteA cute bookstore girl??? Awwwww!
ReplyDeleteI"m glad it's novel writing month! Time for me to put pen to paper and let the world know about the lives of the secret underground society of Norwegian Ninjas and their tales of mystery and mayhem...
I'll alert Cute Bookstore girl so she can have it ready for you when its done.
Dan,
ReplyDeleteI am already writing my own too... very cool for John!
be well,
Dawn
20,000 and counting in the last two days. Remember that manic obsession that grips you when you first start one? I was stuck on page 303 for four years and I've got the crazy eye thing again. We do a lot of joking around here, but I sincerely want to thank you. I may not get published, but it won't be because the book was never finished. Thanks Dan. Hope yours is going well. See you in 3 weeks.
ReplyDeleteFred