You have my sympathies.
Most nerve-wracking thing I've ever tried as a writer.
Good luck, though.
Showing posts with label 3 Day Novel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 3 Day Novel. Show all posts
Saturday, September 1, 2018
Wednesday, June 27, 2018
National Writing Day Is a Thing Now?
Oh, okay, it seems to be something out of the UK:
Bloody Brits, thinking a novel can be written in a day. I've tried, it's not feasible even with a 3-Day Novel contest, best you can do is like 13000 words and that's barely a novella, how can I write a novel in a day when I've got to go to work at the library within the hour and this blog writing is cutting into that novel-writing time, you fiends no wonder you're falling apart to Brexit and...
Oh, it doesn't apply to Americans?! THANK YOU GEORGE WASHINGTON! (runs away)
...anyway I've got plans for Camp NaNo this July... so I'll be busy then.
National Writing Day is an annual celebration of writing designed to inspire people across the UK to get writing. Our message is simple: everyone has a story to tell and sharing it can be a source of pleasure and power.
On 27th June 2018, we will aim to inspire creative writing on a grand scale—young people are more inclined to write creatively if they see adults around them doing so and writing can benefit people of all ages. We welcome participation from any individual or group, regardless of age, gender, and cultural or economic backgrounds. Our aim is to promote all forms of writing and encourage communities to join in via a programme of public, educational and online activities.
National Writing Day is coordinated by First Story, a national literacy charity dedicated to changing lives through writing, and delivered in partnership with over thirty-five national literacy partners. It is made possible with support from Arts Council England and Old Possums Practical Trust.
Bloody Brits, thinking a novel can be written in a day. I've tried, it's not feasible even with a 3-Day Novel contest, best you can do is like 13000 words and that's barely a novella, how can I write a novel in a day when I've got to go to work at the library within the hour and this blog writing is cutting into that novel-writing time, you fiends no wonder you're falling apart to Brexit and...
Oh, it doesn't apply to Americans?! THANK YOU GEORGE WASHINGTON! (runs away)
...anyway I've got plans for Camp NaNo this July... so I'll be busy then.
Saturday, September 3, 2016
Things About Writing on Labor Day Weekend
I've tried before to do a lot of writing on these long three-day weekends. It's time away from work. Living alone, I don't have many distractions in the house aside from my kittehs clawing at the furniture. There were a few years I even tried that 3-Day Novel contest of Anvil Press set for this weekend (never worked out, GODS that's an insane contest).
Still, this is a good time to get at least a handful of short stories started (or even finished).
Except for one thing.
It's a long weekend.
And I have a La-Z-Boy recliner.
Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...
Still, this is a good time to get at least a handful of short stories started (or even finished).
Except for one thing.
It's a long weekend.
And I have a La-Z-Boy recliner.
Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...
Saturday, September 5, 2015
Labor Day Weekend 2015 Accountability
(cross-posted with my political blog)
Did I spell accountability correctly...? I never do...
Anyway, this weekend I'm gonna use the Three-Day-Novel time period (I did not apply for it, 'cause I need to save up the $50 fee for Star Wars toys!) to pound out a trashy urban fantasy novel.
It should be easy. Like so:
1) Urban setting AKA The City: New York City by default. Nearly EVERY city in a U.S. fantasy story is based on New York City. Los Angeles only if sunlight, surf, or film-making is part of the narrative. San Francisco if you want quirky hippie Wiccans. Washington DC if you want everything blown up to serve your political ideology. If you use Atlanta or St. Louis or Houston or Tampa, what is your problem? And the capitol of the state of Montana does not count as an urban setting, sorry residents of the state of Montana...
2) Protagonist(s): Sexy vampire. There's ALWAYS a sexy vampire. His/her morality will be just off by enough to make him/her excitingly dangerous, yet human enough to enjoy having great sex with.
3) Narrator: A third-person or first-person tale-teller who gets wrapped up in the crazy event who stands in as the Everyman naive newcomer to the Masquerade (aka the Magic World hidden from the Mundane World). Kinky make-out session with the Sexy Vampire is mandatory: it all depends on if you open with it or draw the story out for UST fuel to the end of the novel.
4) Sword: There should at least be one sword, so it can be wielded by the Sexy Vampire for the book cover.
5) Monsters: Dumb ones. Easy to kill, and inhuman to allow for a massacre of them without any moral quandaries. Mooks with swords instead of plasma rifles.
6) Quirky Secondary Characters: they're not as sexy as the vampire but by their wacky habits allows the writer to diversify and show off character-building skills, and these characters can appeal to the readers and turn into spin-off lead figures for later works.
7) MacGuffin: A reason or object the sexy vampire is set against a particular villain. It needs to be satisfyingly unique to stand out as a doom-worthy artifact or deadly secret that could end the sexy vampire's lifestyle/friendship with his/her equals.
8) Potential victims: the innocent crowds of people in a packed city who ARE NOT AWARE OF THE MASQUERADE and thus need protecting "from themselves!" This includes the local law enforcement, who would usually have the manpower and firepower to handle most situations in the first place if properly informed.
9) Dead Friend Walking: an ally of the Sexy Vampire or narrator who's a firm friend indeed, and is thus doomed to die in order to make the conflict "personal" and to highlight just how serious the crisis is.
10) A Betrayer: Sometimes it's the Dead Friend Walking who either willingly or by magic force turns against the Sexy Vampire/Narrator. If it's a complete stranger, it has to be someone directly tied to the MacGuffin to make it meaningful.
11) A Fancy Nightclub That's Way Too Exotic With The Interior Design: Think how Hollywood movies spend a sh-tload of money on cool-looking sets, creating a night club full of lights, chrome handlebars, plush leather sofas, stocked bars, mirrors everywhere (even for vampires - they can use the mirrors to spot Normals), incredibly cute Normals dancing the night away, and a spot where Sexy Vampire and Narrator can make out in public and still not get caught doing it.
12) Overpowered Villain With One Obvious Weakness: His (sometimes Her) Pride. And that the Artifact-As-MacGuffin can be turned into a stabby weapon shoved into his head for maximum gory deathiness.
13) A Catch Phrase: "Bite me" is too obvious, but what the hell.
I plan on having 18,000 words done by Monday. :)
Update Monday: I got about 7000 words. I bit off more than I could chew thinking I could get 18,000 words done. :/ On the other hand, I'm going through a solid revision of the last project "Body Armor Blues" and am lining up a cover artist to self-publish by the end of the month...
Did I spell accountability correctly...? I never do...
Anyway, this weekend I'm gonna use the Three-Day-Novel time period (I did not apply for it, 'cause I need to save up the $50 fee for Star Wars toys!) to pound out a trashy urban fantasy novel.
It should be easy. Like so:
1) Urban setting AKA The City: New York City by default. Nearly EVERY city in a U.S. fantasy story is based on New York City. Los Angeles only if sunlight, surf, or film-making is part of the narrative. San Francisco if you want quirky hippie Wiccans. Washington DC if you want everything blown up to serve your political ideology. If you use Atlanta or St. Louis or Houston or Tampa, what is your problem? And the capitol of the state of Montana does not count as an urban setting, sorry residents of the state of Montana...
2) Protagonist(s): Sexy vampire. There's ALWAYS a sexy vampire. His/her morality will be just off by enough to make him/her excitingly dangerous, yet human enough to enjoy having great sex with.
3) Narrator: A third-person or first-person tale-teller who gets wrapped up in the crazy event who stands in as the Everyman naive newcomer to the Masquerade (aka the Magic World hidden from the Mundane World). Kinky make-out session with the Sexy Vampire is mandatory: it all depends on if you open with it or draw the story out for UST fuel to the end of the novel.
4) Sword: There should at least be one sword, so it can be wielded by the Sexy Vampire for the book cover.
5) Monsters: Dumb ones. Easy to kill, and inhuman to allow for a massacre of them without any moral quandaries. Mooks with swords instead of plasma rifles.
6) Quirky Secondary Characters: they're not as sexy as the vampire but by their wacky habits allows the writer to diversify and show off character-building skills, and these characters can appeal to the readers and turn into spin-off lead figures for later works.
7) MacGuffin: A reason or object the sexy vampire is set against a particular villain. It needs to be satisfyingly unique to stand out as a doom-worthy artifact or deadly secret that could end the sexy vampire's lifestyle/friendship with his/her equals.
8) Potential victims: the innocent crowds of people in a packed city who ARE NOT AWARE OF THE MASQUERADE and thus need protecting "from themselves!" This includes the local law enforcement, who would usually have the manpower and firepower to handle most situations in the first place if properly informed.
9) Dead Friend Walking: an ally of the Sexy Vampire or narrator who's a firm friend indeed, and is thus doomed to die in order to make the conflict "personal" and to highlight just how serious the crisis is.
10) A Betrayer: Sometimes it's the Dead Friend Walking who either willingly or by magic force turns against the Sexy Vampire/Narrator. If it's a complete stranger, it has to be someone directly tied to the MacGuffin to make it meaningful.
11) A Fancy Nightclub That's Way Too Exotic With The Interior Design: Think how Hollywood movies spend a sh-tload of money on cool-looking sets, creating a night club full of lights, chrome handlebars, plush leather sofas, stocked bars, mirrors everywhere (even for vampires - they can use the mirrors to spot Normals), incredibly cute Normals dancing the night away, and a spot where Sexy Vampire and Narrator can make out in public and still not get caught doing it.
12) Overpowered Villain With One Obvious Weakness: His (sometimes Her) Pride. And that the Artifact-As-MacGuffin can be turned into a stabby weapon shoved into his head for maximum gory deathiness.
13) A Catch Phrase: "Bite me" is too obvious, but what the hell.
I plan on having 18,000 words done by Monday. :)
Update Monday: I got about 7000 words. I bit off more than I could chew thinking I could get 18,000 words done. :/ On the other hand, I'm going through a solid revision of the last project "Body Armor Blues" and am lining up a cover artist to self-publish by the end of the month...
Saturday, August 31, 2013
Into The Blue Again
Title of my Labor Day weekend writing start-up. It's NOT a 3 Day Novel Project - somehow, putting in for it seems more stressful that if I hadn't - but the good news is I'm writing something.
Here's the start:
"That's never a good sign."
"What is? You talking to yourself?"
...It'll get more interesting by Chapter Three, I promise.
GET TO WORK!
Here's the start:
"That's never a good sign."
"What is? You talking to yourself?"
...It'll get more interesting by Chapter Three, I promise.
GET TO WORK!
Monday, August 29, 2011
In Lieu of the 3-Day Novel
Normally, this is the week I'd get ready for the 3-Day Novel Contest.
But not this year.
For one thing, you have to pay for it. Ouch.
Second, I've found that having it Labor Day weekend makes some sort of sense... except that it's usually the same weekend as the start of college football. And my devotions to USF, UF (and my family's devotions to the same as well as Mom's War Eagle roots) seem to take a full day out of my attempts to write. This year, for example, I may have to babysit my nephews while my twin brother and his wife head up to Gainesville for the UF home opener, and while Mom & Dad are off at Selmon's for the Auburn watch party.
Third, that despite all my efforts and planning and outlining... well, what I come up with tends not to be well-written, well-organized... and nearly everything I've pounded out basically are works I've never re-visited.
So this year, I'm swearing off the 3-Day.
Instead, I'm doing the 4-Day Whatever-The-Hell-I-Write Self-Imposition.
The plan is to write something on each day of the weekend - Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday - that do not necessarily have to be novels. I do, after all, have an interest in writing short stories, and I think my short story efforts can be done within a day.
Given the epublishing limits or lack thereof - that I can basically write a short story however long I want, well into novella size if need be - I could well get at least ONE thing done over this weekend that's publish-worthy.
Some of the ideas up for work are a story idea I've had for awhile about a wacky road trip to Vegas (the trickiest part is writing the whole thing in present tense, which is harder than you think); a humor story about teens planning a Skip Day; another story in my superhero 'verse; an unemployed insomniac getting wrapped up in an unusual criminal conspiracy; and perhaps revisiting an old story in my files that needs a rewrite.
So there goes, here goes, it will go, it may have went. Shush, I'm working on tenses...
But not this year.
For one thing, you have to pay for it. Ouch.
Second, I've found that having it Labor Day weekend makes some sort of sense... except that it's usually the same weekend as the start of college football. And my devotions to USF, UF (and my family's devotions to the same as well as Mom's War Eagle roots) seem to take a full day out of my attempts to write. This year, for example, I may have to babysit my nephews while my twin brother and his wife head up to Gainesville for the UF home opener, and while Mom & Dad are off at Selmon's for the Auburn watch party.
Third, that despite all my efforts and planning and outlining... well, what I come up with tends not to be well-written, well-organized... and nearly everything I've pounded out basically are works I've never re-visited.
So this year, I'm swearing off the 3-Day.
Instead, I'm doing the 4-Day Whatever-The-Hell-I-Write Self-Imposition.
The plan is to write something on each day of the weekend - Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday - that do not necessarily have to be novels. I do, after all, have an interest in writing short stories, and I think my short story efforts can be done within a day.
Given the epublishing limits or lack thereof - that I can basically write a short story however long I want, well into novella size if need be - I could well get at least ONE thing done over this weekend that's publish-worthy.
Some of the ideas up for work are a story idea I've had for awhile about a wacky road trip to Vegas (the trickiest part is writing the whole thing in present tense, which is harder than you think); a humor story about teens planning a Skip Day; another story in my superhero 'verse; an unemployed insomniac getting wrapped up in an unusual criminal conspiracy; and perhaps revisiting an old story in my files that needs a rewrite.
So there goes, here goes, it will go, it may have went. Shush, I'm working on tenses...
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Aftermath of the 3 Day Novel 2010
...my God, what have I done...?
95 pages worth.
30,000 plus words.
And it's relatively coherent compared to the earlier attempts I've made.
Dear God. This just might work...
95 pages worth.
30,000 plus words.
And it's relatively coherent compared to the earlier attempts I've made.
Dear God. This just might work...
Saturday, September 4, 2010
Three-Day Novel: 2010 Attempt
It's 8:04 am. I am at the Panera Bread on the corner of Little Rd. and State Rd. 54. I am beginning the 3-Day Novel contest... NOW!
"It was in the spring of my youth that my father sat down and told me about this dream he had of turning into a giant insect." What, it's been done...?
"It was in the spring of my youth that my father sat down and told me about this dream he had of turning into a giant insect." What, it's been done...?
Friday, July 30, 2010
At the end of July 2010
Just checking in:
1) After the 17th time someone critiquing my resume complained about it, I'm dropping my wittylibrarian email and switching to a more professional-looking email account with Gmail. No, I won't post it here for all those damn Chinese spammers to snatch up. Nyah.
2) I know, I KNOW I keep screaming I won't do it again, but the deadline for the 3-Day Novel contest is back and I'm sorely tempted to try yet again. Maybe if I did it as a serialized work, each chapter akin to a short story, if I think of it in short story terms and all...
3) Job hunting. Still sucks. Libraries are getting cut. My old branch - Centennial Park - is under threat of closing by Pasco Libraries. :( Am sending angry letters to commissioners as I type this.
1) After the 17th time someone critiquing my resume complained about it, I'm dropping my wittylibrarian email and switching to a more professional-looking email account with Gmail. No, I won't post it here for all those damn Chinese spammers to snatch up. Nyah.
2) I know, I KNOW I keep screaming I won't do it again, but the deadline for the 3-Day Novel contest is back and I'm sorely tempted to try yet again. Maybe if I did it as a serialized work, each chapter akin to a short story, if I think of it in short story terms and all...
3) Job hunting. Still sucks. Libraries are getting cut. My old branch - Centennial Park - is under threat of closing by Pasco Libraries. :( Am sending angry letters to commissioners as I type this.
Monday, July 26, 2010
Shall I dare do another 3 Day Novel contest?
I keep swearing off that thing, but then August rolls around and I get tempted with an idea for a novel to write and then... ggaaaaaahh. The one thing truly stopping me at this moment? I seriously don't have the $50 needed to register.
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