the nanowrimo kick-off party
The "author event" last night at Powell's definitely got everyone's creative juices flowing, and it was standing-room only. Chris Baty and Lani Diane Rich were on hand to encourage any and all to dive head-first into the NaNoWriMo experience.
Chris is the founder of National Novel Writing Month (begun in 1999) and the author of No Plot? No Problem!, a guide to getting through the insanity of writing a novel in a month. He is easily as entertaining in person as in his writing. Lani, author of Time Off for Good Behavior, is a NaNoWriMo success story, having not only completed the task of crafting 50,000 words in 30 days, but also having gotten her work into print.
After a quick round of Q&A, the two authors opened up the floor to past NaNoWriMo participants to offer their tips and tricks as we gear up for November 1st, literally just around the corner now. There were some very helpful hints:
Get the editor and judge out of your head: send them out for a smoke and don't let them back in the house until December 1st.
Footnotes can be included in your total word count.
Tell everyone you know that you are participating; greater expectations from others = more pressure to get it done.
Keep a deck of Tarot cards on your desk; when you get stuck, pull out a card and introduce that character or scene into your story.
Find the best writing pace for you: if sitting still to knock out 2000 words at once is your speed, do that; if you write 500 words and then need a break before coming back to write 500 more, that works, too.
Don't spend quite so much time browsing the NaNoWriMo forums.
Begin each day's work by reviewing what you wrote the day before. Add material to yesterday's work -- thus increasing your total word count -- as a means to get back into the rhythm of your story.
Make bets or initiate mini-competitions with other writers during the month -- e.g., whoever gets to 7,000 words last has to run naked up the street.
Afterwards, most of us -- a large group by any standard -- headed across the street to McMenamin's Baghdad pub for the kick-off party. It was great to meet and talk with other Portland participants, many of whom are completely new to writing. Niki, our Municipal Liaison (ML), arrived with goodies for everyone -- including character development worksheets and packets of ramen noodles -- as well as cake and balloons.
If you can get to a kick-off party in your area, do it! I'm looking forward to the November meet-ups and write-ins, to stay connected with my fellow writers and to kick each other's butts into gear.
Chris is the founder of National Novel Writing Month (begun in 1999) and the author of No Plot? No Problem!, a guide to getting through the insanity of writing a novel in a month. He is easily as entertaining in person as in his writing. Lani, author of Time Off for Good Behavior, is a NaNoWriMo success story, having not only completed the task of crafting 50,000 words in 30 days, but also having gotten her work into print.
After a quick round of Q&A, the two authors opened up the floor to past NaNoWriMo participants to offer their tips and tricks as we gear up for November 1st, literally just around the corner now. There were some very helpful hints:
Afterwards, most of us -- a large group by any standard -- headed across the street to McMenamin's Baghdad pub for the kick-off party. It was great to meet and talk with other Portland participants, many of whom are completely new to writing. Niki, our Municipal Liaison (ML), arrived with goodies for everyone -- including character development worksheets and packets of ramen noodles -- as well as cake and balloons.
If you can get to a kick-off party in your area, do it! I'm looking forward to the November meet-ups and write-ins, to stay connected with my fellow writers and to kick each other's butts into gear.
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