by ZombieSkittles on October 31, 2011
I hereby pledge my intent to write a 50,000-word novel in one month’s time. By invoking an absurd, month-long deadline on such an enormous undertaking, I understand that notions of “craft”, “brilliance”, and “competency” are to be chucked right out the window, where they will remain, ignored, until they are retrieved for the editing process. I understand that I am a talented person, capable of heroic acts of creativity, and I will give myself enough time over the course of the next month to allow my innate gifts to come to the surface, unmolested by self-doubt, self-criticism, and other acts of self-bullying.
During the month ahead, I realize I will produce clunky dialogue, clichéd characters, and deeply flawed plots. I agree that all of these things will be left in my rough draft, to be corrected and or excised at a later point. I understand my right to withhold my manuscript from all readers until I deem it completed. I also acknowledge my right as an author to substantially inflate both the quality of the rough draft and the rigors of the writing process should such inflation prove useful in garnering me respect and attention, or freedom from participation in onerous household chores.
I acknowledge that the month-long, 50,000-word deadline I set for myself is absolute and unchangeable, and that any failure to meet the deadline, or any effort on my part to move the dealdline once the adventure has begun, will invite well-deserved mockery from friends and family. I also acknowledge that, upon successful completion of the stated noveling objective, I am entitled to a period of gleeful celebration and revelry, the duration and intensity of which may preclude me from participating fully in workplace activities for days, if not weeks, afterward.
-James
This is an excerpt from No Plot? No Problem!
and a sort of joke “contract” for NaNoWriMo. I felt like posting it on here and “signing” it to kick off the novel-writing month that begins in five minutes.
by ZombieSkittles on October 31, 2011
Whelp, in just over six hours this year’s NaNoWriMo begins for me. This marks my fourth year attempting it, and the third year going into it with no semblance of a plan. I have no plot, characters, or even vague ideas. I’m going with hovering my hands over the keyboard and seeing what comes out of it. Will it be good? Probably not. Will it make sense? I sincerely doubt it. Will it be fun? Well shit I hope so.
I bought the official NaNoWriMo handbook on Kindle, No Plot? No Problem! to see if it has any handy tips or good motivational tools. Surprisingly it’s actually interesting to read, and is getting me pumped for the event.
I’m debating whether or not to bother making personal log videos or not. They were really only for me to talk about my progress out loud but I didn’t really make good use of that. We’ll see.
Wish me luck. Also, add me as a writing buddy if you’re participating too.
by ZombieSkittles on October 28, 2011
by ZombieSkittles on May 14, 2011
There are many books I have read over the years, but none have stayed with me more than The Chocolate War, a book written by Robert Cormier in the Seventies.
The book was a rather fantastical one for a school kid like I was; a school in which there was a secret society of students who essentially dictated how the students acted.
In amongst this, a new student is thrown who seeks to go against the grain, refusing to sell chocolates for the school, much to the headmaster and “The Vigils” (As the “secret society” is called) annoyance. They do everything they can to make him look like a bad guy and push him to bend to their will, from prank calls to enlisting the help of a bully to fight the rebel, named Jerry.
It all goes overboard from there, and I would explain how, but I don’t want to spoil the book in case you want to read it.
It was so well written and appealing I think I have read it at least a dozen times. In fact, my personal copy is on the verge of falling apart from being handled too much. The issues it faced, with everything from bullying to sexual issues, strike a chord with me, and the fictional themes surrounding The Vigils were intriguing to the point of getting me hooked.
One other tiny thing that made the book all the more intriguing for me when I first read it was that the setting was one Trinity High School. My instant reaction was “Oh my fucking god, I live near a school called Trinity!”. For quite a while, even though I knew the idea of the secret society was entirely fictional, that maybe the school in the book was based on the one I lived near. I soon learned that the school itself was also entirely made up, and that there are many schools that go by that name, but the idea contributed to the magic of the book.
In the end, The Chocolate War is and may forever be my favourite book. If you’ve never read it, you really should give it a look! It’s less than 300 pages, and it’ll keep you riveted. In fact, I’m probably going to start reading it again tomorrow.
by ZombieSkittles on October 4, 2009
It’s almost that time of year again.
For those that don’t know, NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month. From November 1st to the 30th, the objective is to write a whole 50,000 word novel. No editting or anything like that, just writing.
Why? To get creative juices flowing. And I know a few people who have been planning and writing novels for years, and being a complete asshole I feel the need to belittle their work by doing this.
Last year I attempted it for the first time with a zombie story (of course). I’d worked it out that I’d need to clear roughly 1700 words a day to reach the deadline for the month, and a little extra. I was way ahead by the end of the second week when disaster happened. Scene: I’m at my laptop, fresh cup of coffee next to it, and finishing a DVD. When it finishes I decide to grab another to use as background noise while I type away. My bed is parallel to my desk, and my DVDs on the other side, so I lay across it to reach them. After a couple moments deliberation I settled on a movie, and flipped onto my back. That’s when I heard the ominous shut down noise of the computer and leapt up. The entire cup of coffee had fallen and poured over the laptop, killing it. No more novel, no more work, and a lot of coffee everywhere. It was a terrifying day for me.
After a few days mourning, I sat on a rusty old desktop from probably five years ago, and tried to start another novel. In the few days I had left before the end of NaNoWriMo, I managed to write 11,000 words of utter nothingness. Of course, that novel never got finished. All that’s left of it is the blurb, which I posted to DeviantArt in case anyone ever wants to see it.
This year I plan to actually finish the 50,000 words, and maybe even finish the novel itself. To be able to say I wrote a whole novel is nothing short of fantastic in my mind. As a plus, some years the organizers have a prize for winners. Last year every winner got a single copy of their novel published for personal ownership. Even without the prize though, it’s a fun even to participate in, provided you have the time.
If you’re doing NaNoWriMo as well, add me as a Writing Buddy or something, because I’m awesome.
