Ganymeder

Ramblings and Musings and Nanowrimo 2010 Prep

Yesterday on Twitter, some fellow writers and I discussed (read: PANICKED) how Nanowrimo was only (just over) two months away, how excited we were, and what prep work (if any) we planned to do. This naturally got me musing about all I’ve gleaned from my three previous years and possibly sharing some of this experience to help other Nanowrimos (or is it just Wrimos? I can never figure that one out).

It’s true that I’m no Shakespeare, though I do happen to think that I’m not bad. If you want to see bad, just read my very first Nanowrimo! It’s okay, since everyone’s first attempt sucks. That’s the beauty of November. You give yourself permission to write utter crap. And something beautiful is born from it like a Phoenix from the ashes – even if it’s only a deeper appreciation of books and the fact that they’re a hell of a lot of work! Fun and rewarding work maybe, but still work.

So I’m going to share some techniques I’ve used in the past. They might not work for you, after all everyone’s different, but I’m putting it out there in case it helps. I’m also thinking of blogging about Nanowrimo, both before and after, on Audioboo. It seems like a simpler way to get the point across without so much typing! I can just post the highlights of the Boo on my blog with the audio embedded on the page.

I have all sorts of lovely strategies to get myself to meet my daily word goals, but before the actual month begins I have a short to-do list too. Number one might not seem to tie in, but in my mind it does. I give myself a deadline to finish any other writing projects that I’ve stalled on over the course of the year. Right now I have a couple short stories that I haven’t finished, some flash to edit, and I want to write at least eight extra flash (4 #Fridayflash, 4 52/250 stories) so I can keep posting for those commitments during November. Last year I took the month off from flash which I really regretted. If I have the stories prewritten, I don’t need to break my stride by switching from one story to another.

There’s also some books I’d like to read first. They’re by no means a requirement, but at least I’d like to finish the books I’m already on. I know it’s months ahead, but as November approaches I switch to reading books I’ve already read many times so I can stop without feeling bad about it. Miscellaneous things come up too, so I keep a notebook handy to remind myself to include them.

Right now though, for anyone who wants to do some easy preparation for National Novel Writing Month, I suggest you listen to some podcasts in your car or while doing something else. I found some from last year on Audioboo that I downloaded. I’m already getting excited!

For anyone who is interested, I can be found at both the Nanowrimo site and Audioboo as ganymeder.

Have a great day!

a small orb

-of captured moonshine,

-of Diana’s loveliness caught within crystal waters

-or

filled with a wisp of cloud

whose delicate lining fell to earth,

its flakes gathered and carefully stored beneath

the smooth unbroken surface

like a dream

or

thoughts of love

*

a vial

of polished simplicity

containing shining chaos

*

my thumb traces

its black capped tip

i feel

its coolness in my palm

i hear

the lovely chime of silver upon glass

as my ring

-            skates

across its surface

- A kind gesture made solid

and held within

-          my ink stained fingers.

*I wrote this last week during the Writers’ Workshop and drew upon lessons from my poetry class. This was my first attempt at using enjambment to create tension. Unfortunately, WordPress didn’t like it, so I was forced to put dashes into the poem when I wanted to leave spaces at the beginning of a line (except for the 1st 2 lines which was intentional).

I don’t usually use a lot of similes in my poems, but these phrases kept echoing in my head so I went ahead and put them in. It’s a little more flowery than I usually write, but I like it.

My husband and son went to gem mining while I was in class, and they brought back a little bottle of silver flakes for me.  I used this ‘Abiding Image’ as the inspiration for my poem. Feedback is encouraged and welcome. Thank you for your time!

FLASH!

Today begins week #2 of the 52|250 challenge! Authors take the challenge to write a flash fiction story of less than 250 words to be submitted by Sunday night every week for a year. I started this as an exercise in meeting deadlines, in addition to #fridayflash and other stories and projects I’m working on. I like the idea. If anyone follows me, I’ll link to the site on Mondays, as the new stories are posted, as well as put some short comments about the stories in my blog. If you enjoy the stories (or not) please leave a comment letting me know. I really appreciate feedback as I try to improve in the craft.
This week’s theme is… drumroll please…. Fancy Me. My story, Fancy, is published on the site under the name Catherine Russell. Enjoy!

When I read this week’s theme, I have to admit that I immediately flashed on the scene that I wrote. I was afraid that because it came so quickly to me, that it might be a common idea that’s been overdone. But after waiting several days, I wrote it anyway. Since nothing else came to mind that stuck with me quite as much, I just went with it and submitted the story. I happen to like it, but I appreciate constructive criticism. Please let me know what you think.

If anyone else is interested in participating, all the information can be found on the 52/250 site. Last week’s issue of not being able to leave comments has been resolved. Now each author’s story appears under their name, so you can click on that author and leave comments on individual stories. The website administrators basically redid the site in order to make it more accessible. Never let it be said that comments go unnoticed. Now, go read some flash!

*lightning photo courtesy of bigfoto.com

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