October News and Announcements
October is my favorite month! My spirits lift each year when October rolls around. There’s something magical about the golden and rusty hues and the steely gray tint in the skies. Plus, I just love all the witches, werewolves, and vampires that are running around!
Ancient lore says that October is when the veil between worlds is at its thinnest (that’s why on Halloween, ghouls can slip through the veil), and October definitely has that supernatural vibe.
There’s also something inherently creative about October. Maybe it goes back to this being the time of year when, as a kid, you were getting your bearings with the school year. Or maybe it’s because of harvest season (do we harvest our own creativity?). In any case, I feel extra creative (and productive) this time of year, and that’s always a good thing.
Write a Novel Next Month!
Next month is the annual writing event known as National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo). Have you ever wanted to write a novel? Have you ever started a novel but never got around to finishing it? When I signed up for NaNoWriMo last year, I had already tried to write about five or ten novels. But each time, another (seemingly better) idea distracted me. So I was caught in a vicious cycle of starting all these novels but never seeing them through to completion.
NaNoWriMo changed all that for me, and I bet it could do the same for you. The challenge is to write a 50,000-word novel over the course of November. If you win and cross the 50,000-word finish line, then you’ve just completed your novel! As a past participant and winner, I can tell you that it’s hard, but it’s not that hard. In fact, squeezing a novel into 30 days is a pretty good way to pump out a first draft.
Sadly, it looks like I won’t be able to participate this year because of other commitments. Plus, I still haven’t polished last year’s novel. However, I want to encourage all of you would-be novelists to give it a shot, and I’m hoping to join in the fun again next year. To learn more, visit the NaNoWriMo website. I’ll be posting a lengthier article later this month with more details about the event.
This Month at Writing Forward
In honor of NaNoWriMo, I have a special book review planned for this month — Chris Baty is the founder of NaNoWriMo and his book No Plot? No Problem!
Also this month, more writing tips and techniques for better writing, an article on fiction writing, and another installment in the Shakespeare series. Oh, and by request, some fresh creative writing prompts. Look for those in about a week.
It’s going to be a great writing month. Before we know it, the year will be over. What will you have accomplished with your writing? Are you already setting goals for next year? I know I am! One of those is to simply keep on writing. I hope you’ll do the same.
NaNoWriMo sounds fun! I think it would be fun to try, though unlike you, I’ve never thought about writing a novel. I might participate if I have time (though it looks like I’ll be buried in work since I am quite behind schedule at the moment). The biggest challenge would probably be the length since everything I’ve written so far is short.
The word count works out to about 1666 words per day for 30 days. I found that I could crank out that many words in about 60 to 90 minutes (but I’m a really fast typist). It’s absolutely doable, especially if you double up on weekends to get ahead (or catch up). Let me know if you decide to take part Kelvin, so I can root for you.
Did NaNoWriMo last year and LOVED it. I still want to do it this year, but I’m a little nervous about it since I now have two blogs to keep up with too. We’ll see!!
I think last year, when I did NaNoWriMo, I posted an announcement on my blogs and slowed down the postings for the duration of November. That also helped me be accountable. I did not want to have to come back to my blog at the end of November without having crossed that finish line. Amazing what public perception can motivate you to do
Only works for people who have shame though.
I guess I have it! LOL
I love fall. You will be missed at NaNo this year. In 2007, the year I finished 50K, I found it worked best for me to plan 25 days at 2000 words and that gave me weekends and Thanksgiving to make up time if I needed to.
I still might do NaNoWriMo… it looks unlikely but I do have a novel idea that I’d like to pursue. I like your strategy by the way!
Hi Melissa – Now I’m spooked out thinking about all the ghosts and ghoulies creeping through that thin veil into my house.
I really admire folk who do NaNo. But I can’t see me getting to do it this year – I start studying on a business diploma this month and it’s going to take up a whole bunch of time.
Aw, don’t get spooked! I tried to do NaNoWriMo in 2007, but I’d just started blogging and freelancing and simply didn’t have time. I committed to 2008 before NaNo 2007 was even over. That’s a year of planning! Life is just too busy…
I just clicked over to the Nanowrimo site to sign up and it was down for maintenance. I hope it’s not a sign. I’ll try again tomorrow. I like October too, but December is my favorite month.
The site is live now! Woo hoo!
The last week of September every year the site closes down and all the old forums are archived to make room for all the new stuff. The first week of November the site will be very slow and occasionally crash because traffic runs high at first.
I vaguely remember that from last year. Thanks for the tip, Deb!
I signed up this year. I’ve known about it for about 8 years and honestly it freaks me out. I unearthed and repolished (somewhat) my ancient fiction kit – the extent of my knowledge on the subject, and opted for my only (rather naive) story idea.
http://www.2-0.biz/FK/FictionKit.pdf
I’m posting comments here and there hoping I have enough shame for the accountability to work. We’ll see how that theory works.
Something tells me I’ll be smoking again soon. Wait I posted on quitting smoking. Oh no.
Also when I signed up I saw that Naperville regularly challenges France (that’s where I’m from). WOW. Of the hundreds of thousands of places, Naperville. I lived there when I was a kid. Maybe it’s a sign
I too was freaked out last year when I did NaNoWriMo, but as long as you have the commitment, you’ll be fine. I think what helped me immensely is that I went in with my main characters already worked out in my head. I also knew what their biggest challenges were. So, all I had to do was start writing and see how they interacted with each other and with the obstacles they faced. I think it’s as easy or as difficult as you make it in your own mind. Relax, enjoy, and stick it out. Oh, and stay away from smoking!