National Novel Writing Month

[dannyhatch]

Who's doing it? I am! You should do it too! The beauty of it is that it's freedom to write absolute garbage all in the name of advancing your word count. It's all an exercise in the feeling of finishing a novel. (And then, I think, the next part is to go back and refine what you wrote into something readable.) Anyone else doing it this year?

NANOWRIMO

[Bucho]

Oh yeah, this is that thing you were talking about on your show with your pal Scott Sigler, right? He had good things to say about it if I remember rightly.

Good stuff Danny. And good luck.

[dannyhatch]

Originally Posted by Bucho

Oh yeah, this is that thing you were talking about on your show with your pal Scott Sigler, right? He had good things to say about it if I remember rightly.

Good stuff Danny. And good luck.

My pal Scott Sigler. Teehee. Thanks Bucho!

[Earl Dukes]

Hey, in part two of Transit, did your dad just call you "honey"? I'm not saying it's wrong; I'm just curious. It threw me off. So, how long did you originally intend this story to be? I dunno, but it seems like a big jump from what you've got going on to 50,000 words. Maybe not, though, cause I don't know how long you had planned to begin with. I haven't read past part three's intro, but it's great stuff so far.

So, I'm thinking of doing NANOWRIMO myself, though it's not so much for myself. I write a lot and love to write, but writing isn't my thing, if that makes sense. It's not what I do when there's nothing left in the tank. Whenever I'm in a funk, I beatbox and humm into a 4-track recorder or draw on big pieces of paper or dance. I'm thinking of nano because I have a friend who does consider herself a writer, but she's completely unmotivated to do anything great. I know a few other people, too, and it's like they don't believe in their abilities. Any time it gets real and I try to dig deep with them and share ideas and get expansive, they fall back into self-doubt and get defensive. So my motivation to participate in nano is to show them that if I can do it, me not being anywhere near their dedication to the craft of writing, then they can do it too. I figure if I can't talk them into being great, then I can try to show them how easy it is by my own example.

Right, so I can't find the F&Q as easily as I did when you mentioned it on your show, so maybe you can help me out. Are there people that do, like 50 short stories or that type of thing? I also saw on some forum somewhere that people break the mold and do poems or even comic books. Is that a somewhat normal occurrence, or should I err on the side of conformity? I figure if alternate formats are that important to me, then I should find a different month or just construct my own challenge. It's not that important to me, though. Just wondering if you know the deal. Aaand.. oh, fiction/nonfiction, is that a huge deal? I can't get a good feel from the website alone for how important it is to fit within the parameters, so I figure I oughtta consult somebody who's familiar.

[dannyhatch]

Originally Posted by Earl Dukes

Hey, in part two of Transit, did your dad just call you "honey"? I'm not saying it's wrong; I'm just curious. It threw me off.

Yes. I can see how that would seem strange, but that's his way of showing affection, I guess. I remember him saying it a lot when I was younger; I guess not so much now.

Originally Posted by Earl Dukes

So, how long did you originally intend this story to be? I dunno, but it seems like a big jump from what you've got going on to 50,000 words. Maybe not, though, cause I don't know how long you had planned to begin with. I haven't read past part three's intro, but it's great stuff so far.

I honestly don't know. I didn't have a set plan for it, and I just make my way as I go along. I probably wasn't planning on making it that long, but I'm not worried about being able to take it places. Also, thanks for your kind words.

Originally Posted by Earl Dukes

So, I'm thinking of doing NANOWRIMO myself, though it's not so much for myself. I write a lot and love to write, but writing isn't my thing, if that makes sense. It's not what I do when there's nothing left in the tank. Whenever I'm in a funk, I beatbox and humm into a 4-track recorder or draw on big pieces of paper or dance. I'm thinking of nano because I have a friend who does consider herself a writer, but she's completely unmotivated to do anything great. I know a few other people, too, and it's like they don't believe in their abilities. Any time it gets real and I try to dig deep with them and share ideas and get expansive, they fall back into self-doubt and get defensive. So my motivation to participate in nano is to show them that if I can do it, me not being anywhere near their dedication to the craft of writing, then they can do it too. I figure if I can't talk them into being great, then I can try to show them how easy it is by my own example.

DO IT!

Originally Posted by Earl Dukes

Right, so I can't find the F&Q as easily as I did when you mentioned it on your show, so maybe you can help me out. Are there people that do, like 50 short stories or that type of thing? I also saw on some forum somewhere that people break the mold and do poems or even comic books. Is that a somewhat normal occurrence, or should I err on the side of conformity? I figure if alternate formats are that important to me, then I should find a different month or just construct my own challenge. It's not that important to me, though. Just wondering if you know the deal. Aaand.. oh, fiction/nonfiction, is that a huge deal? I can't get a good feel from the website alone for how important it is to fit within the parameters, so I figure I oughtta consult somebody who's familiar.

I don't think there's a strict set of rules beyond not cheating the system and just writing one word 50,000 times to reach the goal. I think the consensus is that if you consider it a novel, then it's a novel. Do it! It will be fun!

[Earl Dukes]

How's it goin'? Your profile says like 16,000. Is that accurate? You gonna make it? I haven't read much more of Transit yet, but I will tomorrow. I'm a little over 25,000 as of an hour ago. I don't think I'll have a problem finishing, though. The bulk of that has been done in the last three days. The problem hasn't been figuring out what to write. Whenever I actually sit down and get to it, I can get a lot more done than I thought. What's giving me so much trouble is that the whole process has been so inspiring. I'm generating ideas, which leads to reading up on shit I need a better understanding of, which then leads to other books and movies, and then I get an idea for a painting and have to flesh that out. I'm reading so much more and generating so many ideas, which is kind of the point to me. I dunno, I'm in this spot where I wouldn't feel bad about not finishing, but I'm also pretty sure I can get well over 50. Whatever happens, this momentum seems very likely to carry into the next few months.

[dannyhatch]

Originally Posted by Earl Dukes

How's it goin'? Your profile says like 16,000. Is that accurate? You gonna make it? I haven't read much more of Transit yet, but I will tomorrow. I'm a little over 25,000 as of an hour ago. I don't think I'll have a problem finishing, though. The bulk of that has been done in the last three days. The problem hasn't been figuring out what to write. Whenever I actually sit down and get to it, I can get a lot more done than I thought. What's giving me so much trouble is that the whole process has been so inspiring. I'm generating ideas, which leads to reading up on shit I need a better understanding of, which then leads to other books and movies, and then I get an idea for a painting and have to flesh that out. I'm reading so much more and generating so many ideas, which is kind of the point to me. I dunno, I'm in this spot where I wouldn't feel bad about not finishing, but I'm also pretty sure I can get well over 50. Whatever happens, this momentum seems very likely to carry into the next few months.

I just hit 25,000 yesterday. I've been procrastinating. This week is gonna be hectic. We got this, though!