As if you didn't know I'd get here before long. I am a huge supporter of NaNoWriMo.
For those not in the know, NaNoWriMo is National Novel Writing Month. www.nanowrimo.org is a challenge to write a 50,000 word novel in 30 days - November to be exact.
I've actually heard a number of people rip it down saying it gives non-writers the belief that anyone can write a novel. I say, if you think you have it in you - GO FOR IT! Who says you need to try to get it published? Many people who participate in NaNo file away their accomplishment and never look at it again. But it gives them the courage to believe they can do anything!
NaNo is an intensive month of writing, but it's also an amazing learning experience. Those involved meet tons of people online, get into in depth discussions about some of the strangest things, usually gain a bit of weight, drink way too much coffee, meet other writers in their local area (sometimes in person), have a lot of fun and end up with at least a 50K word manuscript.
Do you win anything? No, except the knowledge that you can do such a crazy thing with thousands of other people all over the world. Well, that and a 50K+ word manuscript.
This will be my 5th NaNo and I'm extremely exited. I know it's only August, but I've already started mapping out my storyline for this November. Even though I'm tempted to start on it, I will follow the rules. I won't start until 12:01 on November 1st.
Personally I find I work better with a planned out story, but others fly by the seat of their pants. I've planned two years and winged it two years. The years I planned were much easier and I produced much better pieces of writing. Everybody is different and you need to do what works for you.
So, I'm going back to work on fleshing out my characters, create my interesting creatures and outline so I have every chapter planned and ready to go. When November hits I plan on not only writing 50K words, I plan on writing a complete first draft. No matter how many words it takes!
I hope to see you there!
Later days,
Ken
PS - Still trying to figure out links here. Any help would be appreciated!
Saturday, August 4, 2007
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Grammar...
I always feel that I'm struggling with my grammar, as well as my spelling. I know, for a fact, that my education has huge gaps in it, both from missing a lot of school due to illness and incompetent teachers. {I'm not cutting down all teachers or schools, just some that I've dealt with in my life.} I found my biggest missing chunks are in grammar, sentence structure {I never learned how to map a sentence and have no clue what modifiers, declarative clauses or determiners are!}, spelling and spelling rules, and history {world history, US history, any of it}. I have tried to supplement my education with my own research, but I learn better in a formal setting.
I was at {groan} Quizilla a few minutes ago - Let me explain before you think I'm a big-bar-hair idiot! Those horrible quizzes can be really great for getting to know your characters. They are great for filling out some of those little things about your characters that you don't even think about. {Also one of my favorite character questions for when I 'interview' my characters is - What's in your purse/pockets? I've learned great things about characters with that one.}
So, I was at Quiilla working on my un-formed FMC for my '07 NaNo-Novel and I came across a grammar quiz. Just on a whim I took it. I was impressed! It was harder than I expected and really made me think. I must admit I guessed on a few of them. I figured I'd done horribly as - as mentioned before - I have huge missing chunks in my education.
Well, surprise, surprise, surprise! I did well, very well. It named me a 'grammar god!' I almost fell over when I read that. I guess my grammar isn't as bad as I thought {even though I'm a known comma princess}. It's really help my ego and made me feel better about my writing over all. I know it was just a silly little quiz, but it showed me I know more than I thought I did.
No, I will not be posting all sorts of quiz results and crap here. This blog WILL all be about writing and {hopefully} getting published. I will be posting good writing links, ideas, books and other interesting tid-bits. While I did talk about quiz results here, I also told you a great way to work on character development. It's amazing how much quizzes can help you get to know your characters. I also posted this because it shocked the holy heck out of me!
Hope this was, at least a little bit, informative.
Later days,
Ken
I was at {groan} Quizilla a few minutes ago - Let me explain before you think I'm a big-bar-hair idiot! Those horrible quizzes can be really great for getting to know your characters. They are great for filling out some of those little things about your characters that you don't even think about. {Also one of my favorite character questions for when I 'interview' my characters is - What's in your purse/pockets? I've learned great things about characters with that one.}
So, I was at Quiilla working on my un-formed FMC for my '07 NaNo-Novel and I came across a grammar quiz. Just on a whim I took it. I was impressed! It was harder than I expected and really made me think. I must admit I guessed on a few of them. I figured I'd done horribly as - as mentioned before - I have huge missing chunks in my education.
Well, surprise, surprise, surprise! I did well, very well. It named me a 'grammar god!' I almost fell over when I read that. I guess my grammar isn't as bad as I thought {even though I'm a known comma princess}. It's really help my ego and made me feel better about my writing over all. I know it was just a silly little quiz, but it showed me I know more than I thought I did.
No, I will not be posting all sorts of quiz results and crap here. This blog WILL all be about writing and {hopefully} getting published. I will be posting good writing links, ideas, books and other interesting tid-bits. While I did talk about quiz results here, I also told you a great way to work on character development. It's amazing how much quizzes can help you get to know your characters. I also posted this because it shocked the holy heck out of me!
Hope this was, at least a little bit, informative.
Later days,
Ken
Friday, July 13, 2007
Great Critter Site!
I came across a critique site that is absolutely wonderful. I didn't think I'd ever find such a place.
On most crit sites you submit your short story or chapter as a thread in a forum and then everyone argues about it and rips it apart. I've honestly never found much constructive criticism through that type of critique, personally. It usually turns into more of a bashing session. There are a few sites that try to keep the bashing to a minimum, but they're very cliquish. Notice I'm not naming any names, just telling you what I've experienced.
Well, Critique Circle is quite different and I'm extremely impressed. When you join you get three credits. With those three you can submit a piece of writing to join the queue the following Wednesday. Or, you can crit other people's writing and collect more credits. The more credits you earn the more writing you can post each week for crit. I have found most of the writing on the site very professional and the critiques very helpful. I'll admit to getting a few "I liked it" & "I hated it" but most were in depth and productive. They have a variety of templates for those who need help and 'Newbie Helpers' for those new to the site.
The forums are full of nice people who have been very helpful. The debates are cordial while straight forward. Another site (which I like and will bring up at a later date) has quite harsh people who can't seem to debate without flinging names and insults, Critique Circle has none of that. I've met a lot of great people who are driven to better their writing and helping others. I'm not saying the site is all sweetness and light, but it doesn't make me feel at all bad for what I write - either in the forums or the chapters I've submitted.
The site can either be free or a paid site. I have only used the free options, but look forward to having the cash to be able to utilize all if the site. I don't feel like I'm missing anything by not paying, but would like to see what the paid version provides.
So, if this type of thing interests you crazy writers out there who have not found a crit site that fits you just right, come check out the critters at Critique Circle. http://www.critiquecircle.com
Later days,
Ken
PS - If anyone can explain to me how to make that into an actual link, please help! The button at the top that's supposed to turn it into a link doesn't seem to work, grrr.
On most crit sites you submit your short story or chapter as a thread in a forum and then everyone argues about it and rips it apart. I've honestly never found much constructive criticism through that type of critique, personally. It usually turns into more of a bashing session. There are a few sites that try to keep the bashing to a minimum, but they're very cliquish. Notice I'm not naming any names, just telling you what I've experienced.
Well, Critique Circle is quite different and I'm extremely impressed. When you join you get three credits. With those three you can submit a piece of writing to join the queue the following Wednesday. Or, you can crit other people's writing and collect more credits. The more credits you earn the more writing you can post each week for crit. I have found most of the writing on the site very professional and the critiques very helpful. I'll admit to getting a few "I liked it" & "I hated it" but most were in depth and productive. They have a variety of templates for those who need help and 'Newbie Helpers' for those new to the site.
The forums are full of nice people who have been very helpful. The debates are cordial while straight forward. Another site (which I like and will bring up at a later date) has quite harsh people who can't seem to debate without flinging names and insults, Critique Circle has none of that. I've met a lot of great people who are driven to better their writing and helping others. I'm not saying the site is all sweetness and light, but it doesn't make me feel at all bad for what I write - either in the forums or the chapters I've submitted.
The site can either be free or a paid site. I have only used the free options, but look forward to having the cash to be able to utilize all if the site. I don't feel like I'm missing anything by not paying, but would like to see what the paid version provides.
So, if this type of thing interests you crazy writers out there who have not found a crit site that fits you just right, come check out the critters at Critique Circle. http://www.critiquecircle.com
Later days,
Ken
PS - If anyone can explain to me how to make that into an actual link, please help! The button at the top that's supposed to turn it into a link doesn't seem to work, grrr.
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