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Grist for the Muse #26 -- November 2005
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mich-@flashwriting.com
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Oct 31, 2005 17:30 PST
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Grist for the Muse #26 - November 2005
The monthly creative writing resource that gets you writing and keeps you
writing.
"The beautiful part of writing is that you don't have to get it right the
first time, unlike, say, a brain surgeon."
~ Robert Cromier
Sorry about the delay in delivery for this month's issue. Some insidious
spyware has infiltrated and sabotaged my laptop with the main Grist for the
Muse distribution list. It is being taken care of, and if you do not have
anti-spyware on your computer these days, get it on there. It is essential
protection in the online world, and can damage or disable your files. So
please excuse the delay and the formatting snafus caused by the necessary
reinstallations of applications, re-formatting of existing templates, etc.
Musings
I have a problem with deadlines. I always have. Procrastination is in my
blood. I have always crammed the night before tests in the hope of getting
a passing grade. My papers in college were always those fueled by mega-doses
of caffeine and terror about a failing grade. I always do the assigned
reading the weekend before the book is discussed or tested on. This
tendency survived my student years and now manifests itself in more subtle
ways, like waiting until I am about a thousand miles beyond the number
recommended on that sticker for the next oil change to schedule my next one.
Or sending out birthday and holiday cards on time (if I send them out at
all).
In my writing life, this becomes a matter of making bold public statements
to whoever will listen that I am undertaking this particular project and it
will be completed in time to be sold at the "Fancy Pants Writers'
Conference," or published in the April issue of Doohickey International
Magazine. And many times even when there is a deadline in place, it might
go screaming by especially if it is one of the artificial ones that I
establish for myself each month. My internal dialog consists of a lot of
"Next week I'll spend 30 minutes a day on this project until I have finished
it. or next month I'll draft that article that I wanted to be completed last
summer. or I promise to spend more time devoted writing query letters or
finishing up that book proposal. next week. next month. next year. you get
the idea.
Chris Baty, the founder of National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo for
short) says to write a novel you don't need inspiration, cool characters, or
an interesting plot. You need a deadline. A serious, accountable,
honest-to-goodness deadline. You are "given deadlines so freely at work
(where we want them the least) and are in such short supply in our
extracurricular activities where we need them the most."
Life is always going to be messy and get in the way of pursuing your writing
dreams. There is never going to be a good time to write that novel. There
always will be the excuses to put it off for a while longer. Even when you
set aside some time specifically for writing, you will nibble away at it by
painting that closet that hasn't been painted since you moved into the
house, shopping for a new vacuum cleaner online, or reorganizing your sock
drawer. Silly errands and menial tasks will suddenly take on great
importance and you will get sucked into them, promising yourself that you'll
be at your desk and writing at 7am; 10am, after lunch; at 3pm, after dinner,
before bed, tomorrow, after the weekend. etc. It never ends, because living
doesn't have a deadline other than the guilt and disappointment that we feel
for ourselves when we let another year go by and the novel we always dreamed
of writing lives on in our head with no printed words to show for it.
The spirit of NaNoWriMo is all about impossible deadlines, focusing on
output and not quality. It is about getting something done so you can get
that "someday" monkey off of your back. It is about having a manuscript in
your desk drawer that you can even take out and show to everyone and say,
"Look what I did. I wrote a novel." NaNoWriMo is about proving to yourself
that your dream can be achieved, even within the confines of your crazy
schedule, and building about that confidence to take future steps along your
writing path.
I am signing up for this year's contest. I have a class to teach, a website
to launch, marketing and business plans to draft, get feedback on and
execute. I want to get these done but they have been languishing for months
now. So what's another month, huh? I expect a lot out of myself this
November. Can I do this? I am not sure. So I am going to try it anyway.
If you even feel remotely interested in giving it a try, sign up at
www.nanowrimo.org <http://www.nanowrimo.org/> and go for it. Come online
and say hi to me at www.nanowrimo.org <http://www.nanowrimo.org/> (I named
myself "Flash_Writer") and make that imaginary novel a reality.
--Michael
Local Writer Gets Published
Bret Pransky, is a local writer who is featured in a book of short stories
published by the UK group <http://www.legendpress.co.uk/> Legend Press, The
Remarkable Everyday. Check out the details on Amazon:
<http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/tg/stores/detail/-/books/0955103207/rev
iews/026-7859983-1075654>
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/tg/stores/detail/-/books/0955103207/revi
ews/026-7859983-1075654
According to Pransky, "The Remarkable Everyday is a collection of shorts
about the great many stories going on around us each day that we might
overlook. Each story takes place in a single day of a character's life, and
as such, each is named after a day of the week. My story is called "Friday"
in keeping with this theme."
"My protagonist is a college professor who is going through a mid-life
crisis. In his attempt to regain lost youth and reinvent himself, he does a
number of things, but the focus is on an affair he is having and his intent
to leave his wife for another woman. However, a number of events occur to
make this quite a bit more original than it looks at first glance."
To use the words of short story critic Nena Skrbic:
"Immersed in questions about the nature of human longing and escapism and
drawing on the instabilities of 'unfulfilled desire and undesired guilt',
'Friday' probes the undersurface of common everyday experiences. Pransky
does present his protagonist in a sensitive and honest way, however, and
part of the issue for the reader is that they can't help feeling guilty that
they empathize with him. The end of the tale - though hopeful - gives a
realistic sense of moral discomfort."
So go out to Amazon and support a fellow local writer. Pick up a copy
today!
JumpStart Jars Update
The Basic Brainstorming and Brainstorming Boost #1 have been released and
are now available for sale!
The Fabulous Fiction jar has been a bit more problematic. (HEY! You try
making up 2,100 unique fictional elements. characters, situations,
complications, etc. It would take YOU a while to do this too. Hopefully by
the end of this month, I'll have wrapped up work on this and release it as
well.
Sign up for the Write(Now) Newsletter
Nita Sweeney's wonderful monthly newsletter lists events of interest to
writers in the Central Ohio area, including book signings, writing classes,
writer's groups, writer's conferences, poetry readings, and more. To
subscribe click on this link: http://www.nitasweeney.com/id4.html
Writing Exercises - Courtesy of JumpStart Jar
1. Since the theme of the month seems to be deadlines. write about
them? What is your attitude toward them? What are some of the deadlines
you had to meet? Did you meet them? What is your approach to tackling a
deadline?
Quick Topics
. Oxymoron
. Elusive
. Free to go
. Lifestyle change
. Odor
. Fussy
. Prohibited
. Stuffing
. Iron-fisted law enforcement
. Cayman Islands
. Shirt-and-tie
. Diva
Story Starters
. Hold it until we get home.
. If it was free.
. I was upset at first.
. You are here.
. Back to the big house.
. I'm out on the town.
Shameless Self Promotion
Barnes & Noble at Easton Town Center- Fiction Writer's Group
November 10, 2005 - 7:00 p.m. To 8:00 p.m. - Mezzanine: Fiction Writers
Group: Basics of Critiquing
We will be critiquing an attendee's story during tonight's session! Learn
the basic do's and don'ts of critiquing, and get a feel for what agents and
editors (as well as readers) are looking for in your fiction. A copy of the
book How to Write and Sell Your First Novel by Oscar Collier will be given
away to one lucky attendee.
The Fiction Writers Group is a facilitated writing group that meets at
Barnes & Noble at Easton Town Center on the SECOND Thursday of each month at
7:00pm and is hosted by writer and teacher Michael Wilson. A copy of the
book How to Write and Sell Your First Novel by Oscar Collier will be given
away to one lucky attendee. This event is free of charge!
MUSE REVIEWS
No Plot? No Problem! A Low-Stress, High-Velocity Guide to Writing a Novel in
30 Days by Chris Baty; Chronicle Books, 176 pages. Paperback; 2004; ISBN:
0811845052
For what this book is for, it does an excellent job, but it has a very
narrow focus and has limited value because of that focus. No Plot is a book
strictly devoted to the concept of writing a 50,000 word novel in 30 days.
It is packed with the kind of advice that helps you achieve that goal and
does so with a touch of humor. This book covers subjects such as padding
your word count, getting support from other writers as well as your family
and friends, and charging through the blahs and hopelessness that inevitably
results sometime during week two when you are at the height of self doubt.
The whole book is centered around the process of setting a deadline, finding
the time to work toward that deadline, and holding you accountable to that
deadline. Baty has some wonderful (if not devious) methods of making sure
that you finish the month meeting your goal. He suggests writing a large
check to a non-profit group whose values you particularly despise, such as
the NRA or a contribution for a political candidate you particularly loathe,
and hand it to a close friend who will agree to drop the check in the mail
on the 30th day if you fail to complete 50,000 words by midnight on November
30th. This friend will do this no matter what excuses that you give him or
how much you beg him not to. That is serious motivation.
This book is not about how to write a great novel, this is a book about
writing a novel FAST. Nothing more, nothing less. Baty suggests that you
start a novel from scratch with little preparation before the month begins,
relying on your "Magna Cartas," lists of things (subjects, writing styles,
etc.) that you enjoy in a novel, and a second list of the things that you
despise in a novel, to use as a frame of reference as you roll through the
month. This book does have nuggets of interest to those who are not
participating in NaNoWriMo, such as the benefits of writing fast, finding
inspiration, quick and dirty story research, and revising and
re-constructing your plot from a very rough draft. So if you are thinking
about participating in NaNoWriMo, this book is a must, if not, skip it.
Rating: *** (Buy Used)
About Ratings: ***** -- Well Worth it at Full Retail Price; **** - Buy on
Sale/Discounted; *** - Buy Used; ** - Borrow It from the Library; * -
Waste of a Good Tree
NEXT MONTH:
The Grist is all about crashing back to earth after NaNoWriMo. So don't
expect an edition of Grist on time next month. expect it the first Wednesday
in December, and the best you are going to get is some bare bones
information and a blog of my daily word count and thoughts and feelings
during each day of writing.
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the right to revise submissions.
ABOUT THE EDITOR: Michael Wilson has been teaching creative writing classes
and facilitating writer's groups for almost a decade and was an
award-winning Contributing Editor for The Writer's Block at Suite101.com. He
has a BA (with Honors) in English from Ohio University, and has been a
featured guest speaker at the Thurber House, the Maumee Valley Writer's
Conference and the Columbus Writer's Conference. He is also the publisher
and editor of Grist for the Muse a free monthly creative writing
e-newsletter. His first book: Flash Writing: How to Write, Revise and
Publish Stories Less Than 1000 Words Long, was published in October 2004.
You can get additional information about him at www.flashwriting.com
<http://www.flashwriting.com/> .
Copyright 2005 Michael L. Wilson. All rights reserved.
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