The common problem for the majority of NaNoers is what to do in the off season. Now, if you're not doing second and third drafts of your book, this can be a pretty boring time for you. You spent all of last November locked in a room and chained to your computer or notebook, using all of your spare time to pump out that 50k. What now? It's been almost four months and you haven't figured out what to do.
It's April now, so why not give Screnzy a whirl? Ever tried writing a script? Want to learn how? The best way to learn is by doing! During Screnzy (Script Frenzy), participants are challenged to write a 100 page script during the month of April, 30 days.
Don't like writing Scripts? Don't want to write another novel or work on your NaNo Novel? Try writing prompts. It's great practice and fun too. Try RGallagher's Writing Prompts here on Blogger, he has quite a collection available!
If you liked your NaNo Novel, you may want to consider doing a new draft. We all know from experience that first drafts are never ever good material. Read over your book and take notes on the problem areas and then hunker down to rewrite. Don't worry though, at least you don't have a time limit this time.
Wishing that it was already NaNoWriMo 09? Well, the year isn't as long as you think. Have you started preparing your plot for this upcoming year? If you didn't win NaNo 08 and you didn't have a plot outline to work from then, you may want to try a new tactic this year. You will be surprised at how much a good solid outline will help out get that 50,000 before the time is up.
Want to try something a little different? I found this group game called "Society for the Exploration of Mysteries," or something along those lines. It's essentially an adlib storytelling table-top game. One of those things you find when you have friends that are table-top game fanatics. It's a great way to get your creative juices flowing and it really puts your storytelling skills to the test!
Still not enough suggestions? Join a role-playing site or start up a text based RPG with your friends online to help you develop your 'on the fly' writing skills and character development. Instant Message RPs are also great for developing dialogue skills if that is your weak area.
Until next time!
~NyanNyan
Saturday, April 4, 2009
Friday, April 3, 2009
A Little About NyanNyan
Well, before we get too far into all of the technical stuff behind writing a novel, I'll have to introduce myself a little further than I did in my previous entry. I just got so excited talking about NaNoWriMo that I didn't find the time to get back into my introduction.
Growing up in Ottawa Canada, I had the privilege of living in a boring government based city where everyone is more focused on Earthly things like money, education, and what your neighbours think of your backyard. This kind of environment has one of two effects on children; they either grow up to be stiff, inflexible people who never deviate from the norms or totally reclusive, but otherwise creative and fairly adventurous people. Obviously, I think norms suck. I hate being restricted and tied to one dream that's set out for me based upon the grades I received in high school and that really expensive piece of paper from university that tells the world I know how to conform, write tests, reports, share with the other children during group work. Bleh. :V
I wake up in the morning and the first thing I think about is writing. Oddly enough, until Grade 12 I had always hated writing; I hated school in general, but English class was agonising for me. Why? Because it was never good enough. Nothing is ever good enough for an English teacher, and more so if it's creative and deviates from their views in any fashion. Can you tell I hated English class?
Surprisingly enough, it was the last English teacher I had in high school who made me love to write. I had never had more encouraging words from someone as I did from this man; Mr. McDonald, who looked like the Colonel from KFC.
Grade 12, 2003: Final English assignement: write two pages, double spaced about any subject you want. Remember what I said about stiffs? You wouldn't believe how many students kept asking what they had to write about, how long it had to be, what font, format, size. I thought my creativity was dropping just from breathing the same air as these people. It's sad when you realise that the rest of your peers have no concept of a dream.
Anyways, back to the story. A couple of weeks later, I received my sixteen page story back from the teacher with a 100% grade. I was ecstatic. What happened later solidified my new love of creative writing. My teacher pulled me aside at the end of class, the last class of the year, and told me to keep writing. He loved my story so much that he was confident that I could become as popular as Rowling one day. I have never been happier in my entire life than I was in that moment. As such, it is my life long goal to share my dreams and that one indescribable feeling with the rest of the world by sharing my stories and art.
This particular story that I wrote for this assignment was something I had started back at the end of Grade 8. It vanished into the back of my mind as I tried to conform to the rest of society and not think differently than other people; I'm different enough as it is. The story resurfaced once in Grade 10 and faded once again as it was rejected by another English teacher.
Ten years after starting that one story, I finally joined NaNoWriMo; ironically for it's tenth anniversary. Now I have a full, new, novel already starting draft three with draft two being a grand total of a 137,890 words. I'm even planning my NaNo2009 Novel already.
So now that we have the story, lets get on with the stuff you really came here for; the NaNo planning, surviving, and goal achieving!
Growing up in Ottawa Canada, I had the privilege of living in a boring government based city where everyone is more focused on Earthly things like money, education, and what your neighbours think of your backyard. This kind of environment has one of two effects on children; they either grow up to be stiff, inflexible people who never deviate from the norms or totally reclusive, but otherwise creative and fairly adventurous people. Obviously, I think norms suck. I hate being restricted and tied to one dream that's set out for me based upon the grades I received in high school and that really expensive piece of paper from university that tells the world I know how to conform, write tests, reports, share with the other children during group work. Bleh. :V
I wake up in the morning and the first thing I think about is writing. Oddly enough, until Grade 12 I had always hated writing; I hated school in general, but English class was agonising for me. Why? Because it was never good enough. Nothing is ever good enough for an English teacher, and more so if it's creative and deviates from their views in any fashion. Can you tell I hated English class?
Surprisingly enough, it was the last English teacher I had in high school who made me love to write. I had never had more encouraging words from someone as I did from this man; Mr. McDonald, who looked like the Colonel from KFC.
Grade 12, 2003: Final English assignement: write two pages, double spaced about any subject you want. Remember what I said about stiffs? You wouldn't believe how many students kept asking what they had to write about, how long it had to be, what font, format, size. I thought my creativity was dropping just from breathing the same air as these people. It's sad when you realise that the rest of your peers have no concept of a dream.
Anyways, back to the story. A couple of weeks later, I received my sixteen page story back from the teacher with a 100% grade. I was ecstatic. What happened later solidified my new love of creative writing. My teacher pulled me aside at the end of class, the last class of the year, and told me to keep writing. He loved my story so much that he was confident that I could become as popular as Rowling one day. I have never been happier in my entire life than I was in that moment. As such, it is my life long goal to share my dreams and that one indescribable feeling with the rest of the world by sharing my stories and art.
This particular story that I wrote for this assignment was something I had started back at the end of Grade 8. It vanished into the back of my mind as I tried to conform to the rest of society and not think differently than other people; I'm different enough as it is. The story resurfaced once in Grade 10 and faded once again as it was rejected by another English teacher.
Ten years after starting that one story, I finally joined NaNoWriMo; ironically for it's tenth anniversary. Now I have a full, new, novel already starting draft three with draft two being a grand total of a 137,890 words. I'm even planning my NaNo2009 Novel already.
So now that we have the story, lets get on with the stuff you really came here for; the NaNo planning, surviving, and goal achieving!
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Introduction of a NaNo Addict
Hello, hello my fellow net dwellers,
Let me introduce myself. The name's NyanNyan; at least on NaNoWriMo it is. What is NaNoWriMo you ask? Why, it's a literary event called "National Novel Writing Month" and it is hosted by The Office of Letters and Light (OLL).
NaNoWriMo is a fun event that encourages literacy and creativity by challenging participants of all ages worldwide to write a small novel of fifty thousand (50,000) words in thirty (30) days! Now, this doesn't happen every month as there is a lot involved in runnning an international event of this scale; so the OLL has decided to choose November for NaNoWriMo every year.
Now, about this blog. You're probably wondering what I'm going to be using it for, right? Well, as the description outlines, I'll be giving advice on generally surviving NaNoWriMo each year. My goal is to help participants make it to that 50k mark. Now, it's not just going to be during the NaNo event, but rather building up in the coming months with plot outlines, prompts, character developemnt, etc. I'll even be sure to give those pesky procrastinators some pointers.
Let me introduce myself. The name's NyanNyan; at least on NaNoWriMo it is. What is NaNoWriMo you ask? Why, it's a literary event called "National Novel Writing Month" and it is hosted by The Office of Letters and Light (OLL).
NaNoWriMo is a fun event that encourages literacy and creativity by challenging participants of all ages worldwide to write a small novel of fifty thousand (50,000) words in thirty (30) days! Now, this doesn't happen every month as there is a lot involved in runnning an international event of this scale; so the OLL has decided to choose November for NaNoWriMo every year.
Now, about this blog. You're probably wondering what I'm going to be using it for, right? Well, as the description outlines, I'll be giving advice on generally surviving NaNoWriMo each year. My goal is to help participants make it to that 50k mark. Now, it's not just going to be during the NaNo event, but rather building up in the coming months with plot outlines, prompts, character developemnt, etc. I'll even be sure to give those pesky procrastinators some pointers.
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