NaNoWriMo sucks?

NaNoWriMo sucks?

First, I would like to say that I don't give a dime about "popular opinion". I just think you're making a henhouse out of a feather. The admonition to flame, because you are expressing an opinion you assume is "unpopular" is flaming in itself. Seems to me you wrote the darned thing just to poke people.

Might be that NaNoWriMo sucks. Nevertheless, it's better to waste 30 days of November by "playing" NaNoWriMo than use it to play some silly game at Facebook.

Why?

Because you will have written SOMETHING. Even if it's not the minimum of words needed for a novel, it's SOMETHING. YOU WILL HAVE WRITTEN SOMETHING.

Sounds silly? Not to me, besides, who cares? I don't mind if people think I'm silly, acting silly, sounding silly or looking silly. Most of the people who think things shouldn't be silly are boring and, frankly, stupid. I'd rather be silly than stupid.

Your favorite bloggers take a pause from writing blogs for 30 days? WTF? You shouldn't be expecting people write blogs just to entertain you. I read somewhere that the best way to writers to actually become published writers who actually write books is to not write blogs at all. Because, as you say, it is writing, and every word written on a blog is a word away from the book one is supposed to be writing... I really think you prefer them being away for only one month, in stead of being away for ever, and you got the chance to read them only when their book comes out :-D

"So why are bloggers shutting down one writing operation to open up another writing operation. Each about as useful as the other in terms of improving writing skills. I just don't get it."
Because NaNoWriMo isn't about improving writing skills. It takes just some fifteen minutes to write a blog entry, and you can write almost anything. It is quite acceptable to write a blog entry that is mostly links and a couple of words in between :-D Nevertheless, NaNoWriMo is about WRITING A NOVEL. A blog is not a novel. Sure, a draft isn't a novel either, but closer to a novel than a blog is. :-D

Of course, writing a novel is much more than writing the first draft, and NaNoWriMo recognizes this. There's something called NaNoFiMo and NaNoEdMo ;-)

"So, if a writer has to be encouraged to do the first step - The fun one - what are the chances they'll ever get around to the rest of the steps?"
Actually, bigger.
Firstly, you must have the first draft to be able to edit and rewrite, so that you can take the next step and start selling your work, so that you one day will experience the joy of seeing your name on the cover of a book.
Secondly, the first step is usually the most difficult one in any enterprise.
For example, I have a dog. I also have social anxiety, which means that I don't like going out and meeting people. I also don't like clothes, but I have to wear them when I'm out, so walking the dog starts with stopping what I am doing (usually writing), getting dressed, getting the dog "dressed" and then forcing myself out of my comfort zone to a place where I might meet other people. Walking the dog is actually quite enjoyable, and so is editing and rewriting...

"I suppose they would say that it encourages writers to write and finish their novels."
I wouldn't use the word "encourage". I would use the word "challenge".

"Anyone who needs an imaginary competition to start writing may want to consider another line of business"
Uh. A lot of things in this world are done simply because someone made a bet, because someone got challenged, because someone thought "I'm sure I would write a better book than this!". Some of the things created of spite, or some other such reason, are good, enjoyable, nice, fun, interesting... Just think about Frankenstein's Monster and "The Vampyre" that inspired "Dracula", both born from a such bet, dare or challenge one cold and rainy summer when a group of friends entertained themselves by telling horror stories...
NaNoWriMo is just a challenge like that.
Don't like Frankenstein and Dracula? A lot of people don't. So what? A lot of people do, and these have inspired a lot of other novels, movies and other creative projects.

There is 101 things in 1001 days, or "day zero project"
Perhaps this kind of challenges were fad in the early 00's. Perhaps we get more done by challenging ourselves and setting deadlines.

Might be that the "true" authors cannot not write. I cannot not write either. But I spread the writing in so many venues; blog entries, opinions in internet forums and newspapers, diary and journals, ezine articles, letters, whatnots... NaNoWriMo forces me to pull myself together, by giving me a frame, without which I would never finish such a big task as writing a novel. Might be that I never write anything anyone wants to read, or publish, but I want to write anyway, I want to write a novel.

Am I to be ashamed of this?
Am I not to write, because I probably won't ever win any literary prizes?
Am I not to write because I like the challenge called NaNoWriMo?
Am I not to write a novel, because I can't manage to write it,
being driven only by my need to write?

I'm sorry, but I refuse to be ashamed for being a spineless bum, for getting excited and inspired by challenges and I refuse to stop writing just because I don't fulfill your expectations. I refuse to "consider another line of business", and, frankly, I am hurt and offended by your attitude, which I think is extremely prejudiced, limited and intolerant.

Frankly, if your only REAL problem with NaNoWriMo is that it reduces your opportunities to entertain yourself by reading people's blogs, I think you should start doing something sensible with YOUR November. Instead of sour-puppying and attacking desk drawer authors, you should set yourself a reading goal for November. Make it a National Novel Reading Month, and try to read 10 prize winning novels.
(BTW, There is NaNoReaMo. It was created 2007, as a copy of an older version. It is August and the challenge is to read as many books as you can, and a book is defined as "any book at least 150 pages in length" - paperback, hardback, ebook, anything. (That's about 40.000 words ;-)) You might need to check things like that before you present your ideas as something new. :-D)

About the difficulty of writing NaNoWriMo: Don't. If it's too hard for you, don't write it. You don't need to.
But, if you want to, you can always write it with two fingers - then your left pinkie never needs to leave the shift button. But it still takes 17 steps. As does InNoWriMo... You still need to hold and let go of shift, you see... You can also just call it NaNo, like so many others. We all know what you mean ;-))
Also, you can put it in... what ever that's called. The possibility to have some words automatically written. Or put it in your memory and glue on place. You don't really need to write it even once. Just copy and glue.
1. mark
2. copy
3. ctrl+v

But to rename it INM just because the existing abbreviation is complicated, is also stupid. INM is already being used: Independent News & Media, Integration New Media, Instituto Nacional de Migración, Institut du Nouveau Monde, Instituto Nacional de la Meteorología, Iraqi National Movement, Institutul Naţional al Magistraturii, International Network Management... NaNoWriMo doesn't mean anything else. It is also funny because it's so quirky and complicated :-D I love the abbreviation, because it is impossible, complicated, funny and unique.
Besides, who the heck would pronounce INM "in me"? Why have "international" in at all? Why not just "Novel Month", NM, [en em]? (Which, btw, means "not much" in internet lingo ;-))

I enjoy "the intensity of trying to write a draft in a month" WITH A LOT OF OTHERS. Of course you could do that on your own, or among your writer friends, but the idea of "competing" with the whole world is nice. I suppose there is something in people that makes them want to come together to do things, like Earth Day, New Year's eve celebrations or bees. It's just more fun the more people there are doing the same thing.

Not all NaNoWriMo participants try to publish their novels.
Some publishers publish crap that has nothing to do with NaNoWriMo.
NaNoWriMo isn't responsible for the amount of crap being published in the world.

@wanderingwidget

"The fact that people who want to be writing as their full time job choose to lean upon NaNo in order to 'force' themselves to write is sad"
I disagree with you. I think it's great there is NaNo to lean upon, and what ever makes people to get their story on paper is great.

@Fluffy

"I can't say I would enjoy having people read something I threw together in that short time."

"Charles Dickens wrote his literary classic A Christmas Carol in just 2 weeks.
Samuel Johnson wrote Rasselas: Prince of Abyssinia in an amazing 4 days.
Barbara Cartland took only 5 days to write each of her books, resulting in an amazing 623 best-sellers during her lifetime. The hit self-help book Don't Sweat the Small Stuff is still selling in its millions - and was written by Dr Richard Carlson during a 12-hour transatlantic flight.
Even the world's best-selling novelist, Agatha Christie, claimed to have written all her manuscripts in under a month. In a BBC interview, she said: "I find no reason why one month isn't adequate time to write a book"."

It is not so that the more time you use to do something, the better the results. Sometimes one can create masterpieces in very short time, sometimes one destroys the work by editing it too far.

Anonymous said: "Wow, you like to complain."
DustinM said: "Thank you, Anonymous, for your input. First, let me just say that we here at Blogfiction.org appreciate all feedback. In your case, I can assure that your input will be given the exact amount of thought and attention it deserves."

That is, more than anyone else. :-D I have to say, that's the best comment of them all, this one included :-D Dustin sure likes to complain :-D

Character quirks

"Language is a virus" gives "recommended links" and one of them is "1001 character quirks" - and I am a bit... well... not offended, but irritated, perhaps. Of course everyone should be able to create ebooks and sell them and buy them, if they want, but... 1001 character quirks?
I mean, quirks are... like... me not eating onions, leeks, garlic or anything alike. Me being fascinated by swords. Me wanting to have my bedlinen neatly folded and esthetically beautiful. I suppose I could write 1001 character quirks right now, just thinking about me, my husband, my family and every other person I know well enough to know about their quirks.
Of course, the ebook is not only about quirks, it's more about how to flesh the characters, but... the name puts me off. I suppose it would be a good book, as I like what J.Timothy King has to say, but... uh. What ever.

Anyway, here's some free advice on creating and writing characters:

Holly Lisle: How to Create a Character
How to create a fictional character from scratch
How to create a character for creative writing
Character resources at Fiction Factor
Character creation at MenWithPens

Name that character by Anne Marble
tips for writers at BabyNames
Naming your character by Sharon Hunt
The Secret to Naming Characters by J.Timothy King
Fiction writing: naming your character

Using character sheets in fiction writing
Melanie L. Marten's character sheets for great fiction
"in depth" character sheet - several sheets and questionnaires combined
Creating a character sheet
Character Worksheet part I at Adventures at Children's Publishing, part II and part III

Jennifer Blanchard's Free character tools to help you create your NaNoWriMo Character and even more character tools

J.Timothy King: When to use character quirks
Absolutely lovely and adorable 1001 character quirks in designing a roleplay character at WOTC
Character quirks at NaNoWriMo
The Phobia List
50 character quirks :-)

Aunt Sarah's Handy-Dandy Plotting Recipe

I have found several references to this, but as no-one knows what's on the internet tomorrow, I will post it here:

How to Plot When You Can't
(c) 1997 Sarah Smith

Here's a very simple, mechanical way to develop a plot. You can do this with index cards, if you're not a computer type. If you have a computer, it's a little easier. We'll do it the handmade way here and the computer-literate can look at "Software Solutions." [I don't know if the software suggested still exists or works.]

Start with some book ideas and a stack of index cards. Write down whatever you've got. For example, my initial ideas for a book always include an ending, some neat scenes, and some characters with goals.

Write each on a separate card, one thing per card. For example, "Miriam wants lots of money."

Then go through the cards and think about what cards ought to exist because these cards exist. For example, suppose your climax is going to be "Miriam throws Henry down the well." This card implies that Miriam exists, Henry exists, Miriam has some reason to get rid of Henry (the money?), and there's a well.

Write these down too, each on a separate index card.

Now go through those cards and think about what cards ought to exist because they do.

Cards can be questions: "Why does Miriam want money?" Or admonitions: "Make this interesting, not obvious!" Or scene bits: "Miriam rubs thousand-dollar bills on her skin."

Eventually you have a big stack of cards in no particular order.

Sort through the cards. Decide whether they belong to the beginning of the book, the middle, or the end. Most background and scene-setting happens in the first half, often the first third, of a book, so the card "There's a well" probably belongs in the beginning. So does "Miriam exists." "Miriam throws Henry down the well" probably belongs toward the end.

Some cards don't belong anywhere. They're Leftovers.

Now you have four piles of cards: Beginning, Middle, End, and Leftovers. Put the Leftovers aside for now.

Start with the cards in the "Beginning" pile. Sort them so they begin to tell a story. What's missing? Add that, one item per card. Adding cards may suggest other cards. Add them too, putting them in whatever pile and sequence seem appropriate. You'll end up with some ideas for scenes; you can rubber-band or paper-clip those cards together. You'll probably have a lot of material that doesn't seem to fit anywhere yet, and a lot of questions.

When you think you know what the beginning is about, go through the "Middle" pile. What can you add to the Middle pile that follows on from cards in the Beginning? Add it, one item per card, wherever seems appropriate. What characters disappear from the Middle? Should they disappear from the Beginning pile as well, or will you need them in the End?

Don't discard any cards; put them in the Leftovers.

In the End pile, you'll find more stuff that should have been prepared for in the Beginning and Middle, so you'll have to add cards to the Beginning and Middle or take cards out from the End.

When you're done, go through the Leftovers. Is there anything that you really want in the story, or anything necessary that you've left out? Where could you put it?

Look at the scenes again. Do the scenes flow naturally from each other? What cards--especially clues--could be inserted into scenes toward the beginning of the book, so you can have them available to dig up later?

Keep doing this until the piles of cards begin to look like a natural-born story and most of the cards are clipped together into scenes.

Then put all the index cards into a little box and begin to write the story. When you get stuck, use the index cards to remind you what scene you're supposed to be writing and what it's supposed to do.

That's all, folks.

it's time...

How to survive NaNoWriMo

I know... I still haven't established a writing routine. I have been on it for four years now, and it's still not happening. I'm a... well... something.

Surviving NaNoWriMo

Do romance writers have a more active sex life? Romance readers do...

Survive NaNoWriMo and a Busy Life

Christmas? Oh... I had forgotten all about THAT.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

How to survive NaNoWriMo - by preparing for it before November ;-)

Preparing for NaNoWriMo 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 and 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11, 12, 13, 14, 15...

You get the idea. You may not write a word of the actual novel, but you may do everything else - like research, character development, collect writing prompts and inspiring images and other things to beat the Writer's Block, read, watch movies, follow the discussions in buses, read the newspapers, write the synopsis, sketch the storyline, plan the plot,

Try to remember three things.
1) you are writing 50.000 words - the first draft. It is very seldom the draft doesn't need editing. 99% of authors rewrite their draft, most of them do it several times. It is ok to write "I don't know what to write" 9000 times. Stupid, but ok :-D
2) your story doesn't need to be coherent, intelligible, the same it started as or anything. It just needs to be.
3) You can burn the thing in December if you absolutely hate it. The thing with NaNoWriMo is NOT to write a publishable, readable, enjoyable novel, but to write. Get used to the work needed for writing.

Also, you know the book you hate and think you would write better and wish you had written? That is a great idea for NaNoWriMo. Just write Twilight, Da Vinci Code or Outlander the way you wish it was written. :-)

Another interesting link
Short story writing
Some writing exercises

L.S.Russell's Novel in 100 days
Days 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13

What's in name by Celise Downs
Mindmapping by Judy Cullins
Procrastination by Suw Charman-Anderson
Creative Burnout by Scott Berkun
How to write a novel, collected information

Language is a virus - writing resources

Found a new blog...

The Girl and the Sun

Fascinating :-) Reminds me of Bluestocking Charm :-)

One of my all time favorite authors and screen writers is Nora Ephron. She is the mother of When Harry Met Sally, Sleepless in Seattle and You've Got Mail - nevertheless, she hasn't worked much this Millennium... she is seen as too old or something. I mean... when did the persona of the WRITER become more important than what she writes?

Now, I've been reading this Interestingness stuff... It makes me feel I have no chances what so ever to make it as a writer! The world is full of people who do it ALL so much better than I do, and I'm certain they are all so much better at it too. What do I have to compete with that? Nothing.

But the thing is that
a) I shouldn't be writing a best seller or a book that sells even worst. I should be writing a book that I am to write, because I need to write it.
b) I don't know what the audience wants. I should write a book I want to read, and then see if anyone else was interested.

How to develop your own interestingness

One thing is certain: choose interesting subjects :-D

I was reading Justine Musk's "why passion is sometimes overrated" and I found it very thought provoking and inspiring.
Frankly, I was just going through my 100 things in 1001 days list and noting everything I had not done :-D
I was also reading Barbara Sher's great book "I could do anything if I only knew what it was". I know. I want to be a writer.

It got me thinking. My inner critic is sabotaging all my efforts to write, because it never is "good enough". So I don't write.
But I was thinking "live an hour as if what you dream of was true". I would be writing. I would be writing a best seller.
Now, what is a best seller? Da Vinci Code. Outlander. Twilight. All best sellers. Crap, in my mind, but best sellers.
So - if I copied the text, I would be "writing a best seller"...
But I don't want to write crap. I should be copying good writers. You know, like the painters' apprentices in Renaissance time.
Remember, my goal - right now - is not to sell, be beloved author, get published or anything. It is to write. So, why not just drop one step of the process (sure, the creative, original one...) and start slow.

WRITE.

I can pick a book, any book, book I love, and start copying it. Of course it would be only a copy, but I would have done the work - put the words on paper...

Now, back to the blog entry. It's not very good, but inspiring, and therefore it's also good :-D

Passion is not only the strong sexual desire sort of passion. It is also "any powerful or compelling emotion or feeling" and "a strong or extravagant fondness, enthusiasm, or desire for anything"

Yes, passion is interesting but it becomes fascinating only when connected to skills. You get skills when you practice, and you practice only if you are interested about something, and you are usually interested in things you are good at... with other words; if you have talents and passion, you will get good at things and people find other people who are good at what they do interesting... :-D

P.S: I think I need to leave Twitter and Facebook :-D I'm never there anyway.

P.P.S. "I could have done it if I’d applied myself except I never applied myself. So by telling yourself you’re a loser, you can allow yourself to believe that you’re a genius of untapped potential."
Aah... :-)