Ever wanted to write a novel, but were afraid? Didn't know where to start? Or what to write about?
Fear not!
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| Some of my favourite novels! |
National Novel Writing Month (
NaNoWriMo 2013) is coming up this November! What is National Novel Writing Month?. Well, it's a place where you can participate in the novel writing contest. It's free, although they gladly accept donation to help there website and other program to keep running.
It's easy, just go to NaNoWriMo's website. There you can sign up and create a profile. When November 1st rolls around you start writing. You clock your number of words you write each day, the goal is to reach 50,000 words by November 30th, but not limited by only 50,000 words. The breakdown by day is about 1300 (to 1400) words per day, roughly). it can be about anything, any genre, any topic. It's a great adventure in writing with literary zealotry! I pushed myself, even when I wasn't sure I would make 50,000 words. I had support from fellow NaNo writers: Vickie, Becky, and Allison. It an amazing feeling to write and write and after a month see a complete novel. i still have my first one. I have plan to try to revise it and maybe self-publish it and see if people are interested in it.
I am not one to always have an idea to write about, but if I am in need of writing prompts to help boost the creative juices, I go to
Toasted Cheese Literary Journal. Often I just write without purpose, with a reckless abandon, and that has worked to my benefit; but I have also wrote and not gotten anywhere. That's okay too! Sometimes a false start is just a slight sidetrack to the real story.
I did not get to NaNo last year due to directing and stuffs, but the plans are in the works to do it this year. I am excited. So very excited!! Been stockpiling little ideas, places, names for inclusion in this years novel. Might try a light science fiction novel this year. I have hang ups about writing Sci-fi/Fantasy, I start out great, but then get too caught up in the details and forget that I have a plot to focus on. What NaNoWriMo did for me, I can barely put into words. It goes something like this. When you do NaNo you end up putting your fears and doubts aside to the benefit of the story being told, your character will come to life and start tell you their story.
So, we shall see! Hope to see you there!! My name on NaNo is draconicwitch, look me up. I also tweet about my writing, so check out my twitter
draconicwitch. Check out my writing page on Facebook at
Here, There be a Writer.
here's a little from today's writing exercise:
"Drop what you’re doing and write for 15 minutes!
Go!"
She was sitting in the living room bay window. The sky, she
noticed, was a pale grey, nit quite a slate, but not white either and there
seems to be very little breeze. She sighed a deep sigh. Here sketch book was
next to her, but the ambition seemed to have disappeared. There didn’t seemed
to be a thing moving outside, not a bird, nor breeze.
“Nothing seems to be alive out there,” she mumbled to
herself, as she scanned the landscape, nary a bush or tree moved. It felt like
there was an oncoming storm, but the air smell of freshly cut lawn and of corn
from the fields across the road. “Today would be better if I cared,” she said
to the old grey Persian that was also sitting on the window seat. She turned
her head out to the outside again, “there’s Uncle Oedipus. He must have
finished the mowing.” She paused, the ennui seemed to over take her, turning to
the cat, “really Misty, I guess there is nothing to do but sit here and stare
out the window.” Misty, the Persian glanced at the girl and let out a wide yawn
and blinked, “yeah, I feel the same way,” as she also yawned. “I probably
should go help uncle Oedipus with the yard work, but really…” she leaned back
against the window, “I just don’t care…’ turning back out to the yard.
Oedipus was hauling out a large basket with a great deal of
effort. He was struggling to free it from the shed. There seemed to be a
fishing pole caught on the lip of the basket that was also dragging a garden
hose with it. The girl watched as Oedipus struggled, she seems bored. When
sudden Oedipus dropped the basket and tried to walk away, but only ended up
tripping, with the girl watching the tangled interplay. “Looks like he’s gonna
fall…”
“You might want to go help me,” a voice said in her ear. She
turned abruptly to Misty, who just blinked and turned her head to look out the
window.
“Who said that?” The girl whipped around; there was no one
else in the living room. She turned back to the window just in time to see
Oedipus stumble and start to fall. “Uncle Oedipus!” she called, arms reaching
out, and she saw Oedipus freeze in position, in mid fall. “Crap!” she muttered,
and then stopped to see that Oedipus was frozen in mid tumble. “Wait! What the
hell?” Blinking back her vision she saw that indeed her uncle was frozen in mid
fall. “Misty? She asked, “How did I do that?” she said looking at the cat who
seemed clearly intent on a fly buzzing around her head. “Wait! How is it that I’m
moving and the fly is moving, but not Uncle Oedipus?”
“Are you gonna stand there all day, Young Lady?” the voice
returned.
“Uncle Oedipus?” The girl stood looking out the window at
her uncle, who was not moving, but she clearly heard him say…
“Child, I appreciated that to stopped my fall, but I cannot
hold this position much longer.”
“Uncle Oedipus, is that you?” The girl placed a hand on the
window pane, as she stared at her uncle.
“Who else would it be, Walela? Now kindly let me go, so I
can fall and get it over with.”
“But Uncle, if I do, you will fall…”
“Not now, Walela, as soon as you let me go, I can tuck into
a roll and avoid an injury.”
“But, Uncle how am I to let you go…” Walela said, “And how
am I am talking to you?” turning away from the window to star at the Persian,
who was now dozing in the pale sun light.
“Walela, you are the one that stopped me; you have to be the
one to release me.”
Still stunned by this recent event, Walela, turned to the
window and stared at her uncle, confused, she was at a loss for what to do. She
pointed her finger at her uncle and said, “Let him go,” and waved her finger.
Nothing happened.
“Walela, what are you doing? This is not your Harry Potter
mumbo jumbo! Release me, this instance! My calf muscles are tensing up,” chided
Oedipus.
“Okay, Uncle.” Walela was confused and began freak out. She turned
back to her uncle and whispered “move.” Oedipus became mobile and she watched as
he tucked into a ball and rolled out of the way of the tangle of basket,
fishing pole, and hose. She turns and runs toward the door trying to thinking
clearly about what just happened.
“Thank you Walela,” said Oedipus.
Have you written a novel before? Have you wanted to? What would you write about? Drop me a comment below:
Speaking of traveling players, The Night Circus is a literary joy to read and even more fun to imagine. A circus of dreams that is only open from sunset to sunrise, only to disappear one place, and then appear in another, it sounds like a dream, right? To some it is, but to others it is a nightmare. Frightening concept, right? Or exciting?
A beautifully, fantastical story, The Night Circus written by Erin Morgenstern is a book to be experienced. It feel very much like a Twilight Zone episode and a Neil Gaiman story all rolled into one. Fun fact, it was a NaNoWriMo novel-National Novel Writing Month-before it was a novel, which is really exciting for any writing participant and/or aspiring writer.
