Writer's Corner: NaNoWriMo
Today is Indie author day 2016, and in honor of this day I would like to talk about an event that launched several best selling authors. Erin Morgenstern launched her writing career with The Night Circus thanks to this event.
Before you know it it will be November and time for National Novel Writing Month. This is something I look forward to every year, and most especially this year, because, fingers crossed I am hoping I can finish a novel this year.
Now for those of you that don't know what NaNoWriMo is all about here is a brief summary taken straight from the always helpful Wikipedia..lol.
NaNoWriMo is an annual, Internet-based creative writing project that takes place during the month of November. NaNoWriMo challenges participants to write 50,000 words (the minimum number of words for a novel) from November 1 until the deadline at 11:59PM on November 30. The goal of NaNoWriMo is to get people writing and keep them motivated throughout the process. The website provides participants with tips for writer's block, local places writers participating in NaNoWriMo are meeting, and an online community of support. The idea is to focus on completion instead of perfection. NaNoWriMo focuses on the length of a work rather than the quality, encouraging writers to finish their first draft so that it can later be edited at the author's discretion. NaNoWriMo's main goal is to encourage creativity
worldwide.
So in honor of the upcoming writing holiday, let's get warmed up for the upcoming event. Just like Lorelai Gilmore warming up for the knit-a-thon, we need to get our creative juices flowing. One of the best exercises for writing I have found is writing prompts.
A writing prompt is simply a topic around which you start jotting down ideas. The prompt could be a single word, a short phrase, a complete paragraph or even a picture, with the idea being to give you something to focus upon as you write.
Being October lets start with this Halloween prompt.
-- You and two of your friends are working at a Halloween haunted house. You each get into costume, representing scary creatures. On the first night, hundreds come through the house. You scare them over and over again. As you jump out to scare one of the people, you hear her scream and then feel...
-- Write a story about three people who are on a road trip together, only to stop off at a gas station and pick up a fourth person whom they don't know. Why did they pick this person up? Where are they taking him/her? What happens?
-- The Vessel: Write about a ship or other vehicle that can take you somewhere different from where you are now
-- Your wealthy Aunt Edna has died and left you all of her money. At first you're excited, as you've been living paycheck-to-paycheck your whole life, and this newfound money offers you endless possibilities. But, in her will, Aunt Edna left one big catch—and, if you don't do it, all of the money is to...
-- Greeting: Write a story or poem that starts with the word “hello”
-- Smoke, Fog, and Haze: Write about not being able to see ahead of you
----------------------------------------------------------------------
So what are you waiting for, use those prompts and get to warming up for November and the challenge.
Write on...
Today is Indie author day 2016, and in honor of this day I would like to talk about an event that launched several best selling authors. Erin Morgenstern launched her writing career with The Night Circus thanks to this event.
Before you know it it will be November and time for National Novel Writing Month. This is something I look forward to every year, and most especially this year, because, fingers crossed I am hoping I can finish a novel this year.
Now for those of you that don't know what NaNoWriMo is all about here is a brief summary taken straight from the always helpful Wikipedia..lol.
NaNoWriMo is an annual, Internet-based creative writing project that takes place during the month of November. NaNoWriMo challenges participants to write 50,000 words (the minimum number of words for a novel) from November 1 until the deadline at 11:59PM on November 30. The goal of NaNoWriMo is to get people writing and keep them motivated throughout the process. The website provides participants with tips for writer's block, local places writers participating in NaNoWriMo are meeting, and an online community of support. The idea is to focus on completion instead of perfection. NaNoWriMo focuses on the length of a work rather than the quality, encouraging writers to finish their first draft so that it can later be edited at the author's discretion. NaNoWriMo's main goal is to encourage creativity
worldwide.
So in honor of the upcoming writing holiday, let's get warmed up for the upcoming event. Just like Lorelai Gilmore warming up for the knit-a-thon, we need to get our creative juices flowing. One of the best exercises for writing I have found is writing prompts.
A writing prompt is simply a topic around which you start jotting down ideas. The prompt could be a single word, a short phrase, a complete paragraph or even a picture, with the idea being to give you something to focus upon as you write.
Being October lets start with this Halloween prompt.
-- You and two of your friends are working at a Halloween haunted house. You each get into costume, representing scary creatures. On the first night, hundreds come through the house. You scare them over and over again. As you jump out to scare one of the people, you hear her scream and then feel...
-- Write a story about three people who are on a road trip together, only to stop off at a gas station and pick up a fourth person whom they don't know. Why did they pick this person up? Where are they taking him/her? What happens?
-- The Vessel: Write about a ship or other vehicle that can take you somewhere different from where you are now
-- Your wealthy Aunt Edna has died and left you all of her money. At first you're excited, as you've been living paycheck-to-paycheck your whole life, and this newfound money offers you endless possibilities. But, in her will, Aunt Edna left one big catch—and, if you don't do it, all of the money is to...
-- Greeting: Write a story or poem that starts with the word “hello”
-- Smoke, Fog, and Haze: Write about not being able to see ahead of you
----------------------------------------------------------------------
So what are you waiting for, use those prompts and get to warming up for November and the challenge.
Write on...
