NaNo Prep

Ah, Fall that wonderful time of year when thoughts turn to warm fires, soups, changing of the leaves and cooler temperatures (here in Southern California cooler means 70˚ or below). However, there is another thing I look forward to - writing 50,000 words in 30 days. Yep, it is that wonderful time of year again when people all around the world plant their butts at their desks (kitchen tables or even the local coffee shop) and pound out a novel.

Thanks to Chris Baty, the founder of National Novel Writing Month (aka nanowrimo or just nano for short), for giving millions of people the deadline and the drive to undertake this auspicious event every year. This is my fifth year (the last three years I have crossed the finish line). You can join up for free at www.nanowrimo.org and join the rest of the crazy wonderful writers and make new friends along the way.

So how do I prepare for this marathon? I start “training” early in the year when an idea pops up and takes the muse (or monkey) by storm - this year it started with a name and last year’s writing playground - and only small tidbits are written down while I continue forward working on non-fiction stuff (which is another great play to mine for ideas). This will continue until October comes around. Then I will give myself two weekends to shape all my notes into a semi-cohesive mess that only I can understand. The work is very rough and wide open to play in, but at least it gets me going in the right direction.

Now that all the pre-work is done, I start collecting and gathering everything else that I will (or think I will) need. These include, but are subject to change based on whims:

1. Making sure that my desktop computer passes a system check;

2. Making sure my Neo (by Alphasmart) batteries are full. This little device is great for writing away from computer (This was my “me” prize when I validated my 2008 word count and saw winner [still trying to figure out this year’s prize]);

3. Pens. Lots of pens. Sometimes just changing to a different pen sparks something new;

4. One special notebook for organization or at least keeping my notes in one specific location;

5. Copious amounts (as Mr. Baty states) of munchies and drinks in all forms from the Snacker’s Food Groups - salty, beefy, sugary and liquids;

6. A writing totem (something to help me keep focused) which is a fedora hat (yes, I wear it when I am writing and get stuck) and a pair of gold plushie dragons that are twins.

I think that is everything, so now I just have to wait until 12:01 a.m. on November 1st to start my caffeinated ride. I better stock up on naps now. If you are interested in trying your hand at writing a novel in 30 days, I suggest you visit the National Novel Writing Month website (www.nanowrimo.org) and pick up a copy of “No Plot, No Problem” by Chris Baty and then you too can check off “write a novel” of your life’s “to do” list or like most of us - anxiously await next year to do it all over again while revising your new novel during the year.

See ya at the 50,000 word finish line.

Jack of All Trades

As I sit staring at the hundreds of non-fiction articles that I have written while I ponder my next day’s article, I came to a realization. I am a “jack of all trades, yet master of none”. From making your own soy milk to cleaning concrete – it appears that I know just about everything. Alas, I wish that was true, but no – I am good a research and can put my research into a simple, easy to understand article. I love research. Be the research from a book, the internet or just talking to someone – there is always something to learn.

A funny thing happens when one researches (and not I am not talking about losing brain cells) – call it your muse or a tiny little demon that lives in the back of your mind or whatever – you can get some good ideas for fiction. Think of soy milk not really made out of soy beans (think of the movie Soylent Green) or a character had made a new dog treat that the dogs just love, but it is turning the dogs against their owners because they now want the fresh version of the treat (their owners) – okay, my mind is a little perverted and warped, but you get the idea – everything is fiction fodder.

Writing non-fiction and instructional articles offers the fiction writer a wealth of ideas. I am off to go learn something new. Who knows, the next non-fiction article that I write will be the next short story coming soon to a magazine or anthology near you.

When Ideas Attack

UGH! Well that got your attention now didn’t it? The ideas are attacking.

Most writers’ say ideas are all around us, which I will admit is true. Newspapers, magazines, TV and even snippets of other writer’s work will invoke something deep inside. But for me not so much – my ideas attack from different sources and they are the internet and junk mail.

The internet has so much information that to take it all in could make one’s head explode, but you google a word or phrase that interests you and you are sure to come up with thousands of sites that are sure to spark the makings of an idea. Writing generators are also a big help. My two favorite are Seven Sanctum (www.seventhsanctum.com) and Chaotic Shiny (www.chaoticshiny.com). Even though Chaotic Shiny is geared towards gaming, it is a massively fun play toy for writers. On both you can choose how many random bits of information to review at one time and they offer up the little things that may get over looked like books and what taverns are serving. They never fail to spark something. Even Seventh Sanctum’s links help inspire plot twists that you may have never thought of. Check out the Nine.Frenchboys link which will take you to the Serendipity site and there you have many more options and goodies to choose from. Generators such as these have never failed to spark something in me when I feel that the idea tank is running low.

Now on to junk mail. I am not talking about credit card offers (they always seem to find their way to the shredder before I get a chance to open them), bills (I just cringe as they laugh) or even your local store ads (Hey, 2 for 1 on dog biscuits – have to keep that), I am talking about catalogs and advertisements from places such as Danbury Mint and The Hamilton Collection (you buy one dragon [okay several] and you are forever on their mailing list). Shiny pictures on everything from jewelry to statues draw my attention and those who hold it longer than a passing glance get cut and added to my “special book” (My “special book” where all of the wonderful pictures from weapons to statues and furniture reside is nothing more than a large perfect bound sketchbook that sits close to my desk) where they wait until the time is right. You can now get catalogs on just about everything from the mystical to the mundane and a good place to start is www.catalogs.com where you can order different catalogs and have those all shipped directly to you. Just remember, that after you have harvested the catalog for its vital pictures – make sure you recycle so the catalog can find new life as a new object.

So do not limit yourself to the ordinary, look towards your mail – you may never know what waits within that next flyer or catalog.