November 1st – let the noveling begin! Every year I look forward to National Novel Writing Month with such eagerness. The fairytales and characters that climb around inside my head throughout the whole year are appreciated, even encouraged, during November when I, along with thousands of other writers across the globe, type ’til my fingers bleed with the intention of writing 50,000 words in just 30 days. A novel in a month. It is quite the undertaking, but with the assistance of coffee, a comfy chair, and a little inspiration, it’s entirely possible. 2012 will be my fifth year participating and hopefully my fourth year of reaching that lofty goal. Keep up with my progress, or add me as a writing buddy here.
Won’t you join me in this crazy affair?
xx.
P.s.Here and here you can find out a little about the novel I wrote last year!
On November 1st, I undertook the challenge of writing a 50,000 word novel in just 30 days. The point of the exercise is to promote the skills of writing and imagination, and to help writers get past their “block” to form the skeleton of something that could be very good if it is then given more detailed attention.
There is a lot to do from here. I did the research, and I wrote the story, now I need to go back and fix it all up. When the goal is just to get out those 50,000 words, and to have the story in front of you, there are sometimes other things that are sacrificed leaving behind continuity errors, improper grammar, lack of detail or explanation, lack of character development, and the occasional spelling mistake. If I decide to finish up this novel and share it with others, then I still have many months of work ahead of me.
However, I’m incredibly proud of the feat that I have accomplished, and for the first time, I think my novel could actually turn into something worth reading (I’ve finished NaNoWriMo twice before, but wouldn’t pick up those stories again). I set this year’s story in 1966 – 1968 in a tiny New Hampshire town. A Tale For Autumn started out as a snapshot of life in rural New England, but ended up being a statement about the passing of time, the significance of place, and appreciating simplicity in life.
I put together a pinboard on Pinterest and a playlist on GrooveShark to inspire me when I didn’t feel like writing but really needed to. Check these out if you’re wondering what my story looks and feels like.
As for the story itself, I’ll let you know if it’s ever ready to share. For now the closest thing to reading it is the song below. Ryan wrote it and it feels perfect for my novel. Along with the other songs on the playlist and the images in the pinboard, you should be able to get a pretty good feel for the story.
Considering I had all of these costume elements in my closet already, I had little work to do to pull it all together. And, I’m happy to say, I was delighted by the authenticity of it {if I do say so myself}. Sadly, I was an Olive Oyl without a Popeye, but maybe next year I can convince Ryan to be that burly spinach-loving sailor man!
To celebrate this most spooky of occasions, we joined our friends on the hill for a campfire and ghost stories! I think Ryan has become the official story teller of Fort Sheridan {our friends’ house}, so he wowed the crowd with an eerie story that was told to us straight from the lady who experienced it. I know it sent chills down my spine, and I’ve heard it more than once before!
Today I’m trying to get my bum in gear for NaNoWriMo. It has officially begun, and I can start typing away any minute now. Several of my friends are already pages deep into their novels, and I’m feeling a bit behind. But, I’ll get started shortly {once this coffee kicks in} and be on my way towards 50,000 words!
It stands for National Novel Writing Month, + this will be {my 4th year} participating! Essentially, the task at hand is to write a 50,000 word novel in 30 days. Sounds tricky, right? It’s actually a lot of fun.
The first year I participated, I didn’t finish. I don’t even think I came close! I let my word count get away from me, + had to wait an entire year to start again. But, last year + the year before I crawled across the finish line. Now, for some reason I’m really excited to do it again. In fact, I may or may not be pretending that I’m writing my new novel right now…
But, the point of all of this is that I’d like to invite you to join me. It really isn’t hard! There are no guidelines, no editing — no one else even has to read your story! It’s a personal thing. It’s about setting goals + proving to yourself that you can attain them. Spelling doesn’t count, grammar doesn’t count, just strive for that perfect Kerouac-esque flow + reach those 50,000 words. In December, you can go back + fix stuff if you really want to.
So, start brainstorming! It’s not too late to think up a couple of characters, a setting, + a vague plot, then let your imagination loose! We set sail for adventure on Tuesday!
I have a fall playlist that I’ve been curating for years.
It changes a little from year to year, but a lot of the songs, because of the warm or spooky feelings they offer, remain the same. When it comes to this time of the year, I find that I really just love to hear lots of pretty acoustic guitars and warm voices. I always love to share this mix so others can enjoy it, too. So here you go!
| My mix is perfect for |
- Carving pumpkins.
- Driving to an apple orchard to do some picking.
- Putting on a tape and listening to in your walkman while you kick around the leaves outside.
- Baking pies.
- Hosting Thanksgiving (or a Harvestfest!)
- Working on your NaNoWriMo story.
- Knitting yourself a new scarf.
- Writing a letter to a good friend who lives far away.
- Any other autumn activity you regularly enjoy.
Please share this with anyone you think will appreciate these tunes!
