We have a winner! And facts about high-speed novel writing are reaffirmed

We have a winner of the “No Plot? No Problem!” novel-writing kit: Scott Cowley Scott says he is working on his first NaNoWriMo novel, and we can hope this kit will help him in his high-speed creation of novelistic wonder. How is my own NaNo novel coming? Here’s what I’ve learned in the past week: …

Here comes a big, fun, scary New Year

As 2007 washes away and 2008 comes rolling toward us, we have the opportunity to choose what to do with this brand new year. What will we accomplish? How will we make the most of all these days? Chris Baty, founder of National Novel Writing Month, invites everyone to the Big, Fun, Scary Adventure Challenge: …

The day after: thoughts on my Month Impossible

NY – Long Island: Belmont Park – Finish Line Originally uploaded by wallyg Today, I did not have to write a massive number of words for a crappy first draft of a novel. I didn’t have to draw anything. I planned to write a blog post, but I was not required to do so. I’ve …

Month Impossible: Day Thirty, This is the end

Cold War Clock Originally uploaded by ckaiserca Ten in the morning, November 30. Fourteen hours to go, fifteen thousand words to go. I am cutting it really, really close.       UPDATE: 12:15pm: Now at 37,011 words, plus one more drawing completed. Time for lunch. Lunchtime entertainment: the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion. UPDATE: 3:24pm: …

Month Impossible: Day Twenty-Nine, Tick-tick-tick

clock Originally uploaded by Poagao It’s a quarter after nine pm, the second to last night of November. Here’s what I need to finish before midnight tomorrow night: 1. Write 19,692 words and have them verified by the NaNoWriMo word count tool (allow time for the crush of others also trying to verify at the …

Month Impossible: Day Twenty-seven, Murderers, animated treadmills, and yet more writing

I’ve mentioned before that "Murderers," currently playing at City Theatre on Pittsburgh’s South Side, is a terrific play and well worth your time and money, yes? The play is three monologues, each by a different actor, each beginning with the sentence, "I am a murderer." The play is by Jeffrey Hatcher, a playwright with a …

Month Impossible: Day Twenty-six, Let’s get it on

Steelers win. Worst ever Monday Night Football game, and possibly worst ever NFL game. But we won, and it counts. Starting my NaNoWriMo writing for the day … now. Yeah, it sucks. Even my mom thinks I’m not going to meet the 50K goal. But she’s kind of a pessimist. Will be drawing during breaks …

Month Impossible: Day Twenty-five, Quakers, Presbyterians, and pirates

Some thoughts at random: I read the headline “Quakes kill at least three on Indonesian island” too quickly, and I thought, “But the Quakers have always been a nonviolent people.” And what are Quakers doing in Indonesia anyway? Repeal Day, the anniversary of the repeal of Prohibition in the U.S., is coming on December 5, …

Month Impossible: Day Twenty-Three, Count it out

I’ve reached the happy word count of 12,345 words in my NaNoWrimo novel draft, which seems an opportune time to stop and post a short blog entry. It is still not at all certain I’ll reach the 50k mark by the end of the month, due to what I’m gradually coming to recognize as a …

Month Impossible: Day Twenty-One, Pie Preparation

I’m on dessert duty for my family’s Thanksgiving meal tomorrow. I rarely get dessert duty — Mom usually makes most of the dishes and brushes aside my offers to make pie, leaving me to bring a vegetable or other side dish instead. But she had knee surgery recently and is healing only slowly, so she …