November = dual challenge month
This month, I am competing in two distinctly contradictory writing challenges. One is a short screenplay. The other is a long novel.
MoviePoet.com = this month's challenge is to tell a complete story (with a beginning, middle, and end) in one page. The focus is on economy of words, transferring images in a few words, terse dialogue. Let the reader/viewer use their imagination to fill in the details.
NaNoWriMo.org = write a 50,000-word novel in 30 days. The focus is on writing extra words. Use unnecessary words such as "that," "there", "then." Capture every detail; describe it in as many words as possible. Write passive sentences; "is" and "are" should be used often. It's not about quality; it's about quantity.
Switching gears hasn't been as difficult as I thought it would be. It has been fun experiencing the dilemma.
Posted by: nbarring on Sunday, November 09 at 6:57 PM | Comments (0) | Permalink
NaNoWriMo '08 - the first 10,000
Well, I didn't live up to the goal to write 10,000 words in the first weekend. Instead, I relied on spare time during the weeknights to reach the first milestone. I checked last year's stats and see I am only one day off - finished 11,000 words in the first six days last year.
I felt like the window to the story opened on the third day. So, I have been consistently writing 1,100 words each day. Combine those with the 4,000 words over the weekend; that's how I reached 10,000.
Now, we have another weekend. And, a snowy one at that. Putting down 10,000 words shouldn't be a problem since there's lots of spare time and a wide-open story to put on paper.
Posted by: nbarring on Friday, November 07 at 10:31 PM | Comments (1) | Permalink
NaNoWriMo '08 begins Nov.1
Two hours (in Central time zone, anyway) until the start of National Novel Writing Month '08, an international challenge to write a 50,000-word novel in the month of November. I was opting-out on participating this year, but an email from Chris Baty, founder of the event, changed my mind.
Writing a 50,000-word novel in 30 days takes a tremendous time commitment. One reason people decline to accept the challenge is a lack of time. Seriously, writing 1,667 words each day can take 1-1/2 to 2 hours of dedicated time. This year, I feel like I suffer from a lack of time due to work commitments, holidays, and other interests. An evaluation of spare time found 4-6 hours available on Saturdays and Sundays.
To tackle and complete this year's challenge, I must commit to write three times the typical pace, 5,000 words, each and every day of the weekend. Luckily, the month has 5 weekends, which works well for the grand total word count of 50,000. I hope I can do it.
What changed my mind to attempt my most aggressive writing challenge to-date? A free copy of a completed manuscript. Just last week, Chris Baty finalized a deal with CreateSpace to print one free copy for all NaNo winners. And, CreateSpace has the power to make every novel available on Amazon.com.
Being a NaNoWriMo '07 winner, I already have one qualifying novel. If I finish this year's challenge, I'll put out the next book in the series.
I'll keep you posted...
Posted by: nbarring on Friday, October 31 at 10:00 PM | Comments (1) | Permalink
Debt Free in Three
Managing debt (especially, strategies to eliminate debt) is a hot topic of mine. Any information that helps a person stop living from pay check to paycheck I always pass along. Reprinted with permission, an article by Clint Holland addresses one of my three main objectives for financial health.
-- Will You Lose Your Marriage Because of Debt? -- Here's a scary statistic: Over 70% of marriages that end in divorce are due to "financial difficulties." In most cases, that means DEBT. If your marriage is suffering because of a high debt load, you need to do something about it NOW. Not tomorrow. Not next week. If you wait any longer, you may be bankrupt, divorced or both. Here's what this is all about: Now, anyone can use this method to pay off all their debt, including the mortgage, in just 3-5 years -- without bankruptcy, debt consolidation, or any unethical tactics. Can your marriage afford not to learn the method? Clint Holland |
Posted by: nbarring on Monday, July 14 at 6:45 AM | Comments (0) | Permalink
Six-Word Short Story results are in
The Lake Agassiz Arts Council and Lake Region Arts Council challenged talented area writers to try their hand at writing a short story in six words.
The 2nd Annual LRAC and LAAC 6 Word Short Story Contest was an amazing experience.
At first, I didn't think it could be done. After I read the entries from the first contest, I soon saw the pictures that a few choice words can create. A picture is worth a thousand words, but I didn't realize six single words could generate a 1,000-word picture.
I set out to find my six words that flowed a complete story, with a beginning, a middle, and an end. I wrote some possibilities and sent them for the usual round of peer reviews. I needed to see which (if any) transferred a story to the reader's mind. I was amazed with the results.
Not only did the six-word short stories entertain the reviewers, some even transferred the exact images I had intended. Of course, most of the stories fell flat. They didn't transfer images, were too abstract, or just plain boring.
The reviewers picked a clear stand-out. It was submitted. And, it won an Honorable Mention. Thank you, reviewers.
Posted by: nbarring on Friday, May 30 at 6:40 PM | Comments (2) | Permalink