Four days!
I’m excited. Nano is four days away and I have a bunch if things to do. Are y’all ready?
Wait, There Was a Real Sherlock Holmes?
To get you ultra-ready and inspired for NaNoWriMo, literary expert Celia Blue Johnson—author of the new book Dancing with Mrs. Dalloway: Stories of Inspiration Behind Great Works of Literature—has a few behind-the-scenes anecdotes to share about those classic novels we know and love. What tale will you someday tell about the origin of your bestseller?
We’ve all experienced that moment of waiting for our minds to take a creative leap. With National Novel Writing Month upon us, many of you are probably spending more time in front of your computer screens, searching for an idea that will carry you from page one all the way to the end. Our heroes weren’t all that different from us. They fretted. They went blank. They crumpled page after page of failed ideas. If you’re stumped, I propose walking away from your computer. Most literary legends found inspiration far from their desks.
Sherlock snippets
Countdown time
Yep and it single digit days coming on in for the nano deal. I had fun today getting things together for the regional kick off woohoo!!
How to Make Your Characters Talk
Definitely worth reading, folks! 9 days to Nanowrimo 2011~!
Why do I Write?
Sparked by the mention from the folks at NaNoWriMo, here’s my answer!
Why do I write?
Simple. Because I want to.
And that’s all there is to it.
If you want the more in-depth answer, then consider this. I only had to write one thing to realize that I really loved writing. One thing. But in writing that one thing, I learned that I couldn’t stop there—ever. Writing is not my whole life—believe me, there are a million other things I do and certainly things that I am required to tend to, but in between of all of it, I write. I do it because I want to, because I love to and probably because it’s downright fun. (and there, I used ‘because’ three times in one sentence. Whew!) My writing is far from coherent and perfect, but I like to think it is somewhere in between and that I am working towards that coherency and perfection. So, tell me. Why do you write?
Fun quote
Thought it was worth sharing, kinda makes you think, eh?
And verily, a woman need know but one man well, in order to understand all men; whereas a man may know all women and understand not one of them.
Helen Rowland
J.R.R. Tolkien
You are a very quiet and reserved individual, preferring to live out of the lime-light and in the quiet of the countryside. You are intensely spiritual and creative, but are quite humble when discussing your talents. You definitely prefer the simpler things in life: your family, a few close friends, a modestly-sized home, and a good pipe of tobacco.
Mid week
Seriously, what are folks supposed to call midterms anyway? I kid you not, it feels like a good day to do nothing and yet I have more things to do than ever. To every midterm student out there, best of luck!
Five Launch Lessons
Over the years, I’ve learned to enjoy NaNoWriMo site relaunches the way a winemaker might savor a fine vintage. It’s such a heady mix of flavors! There’s the bouquet of excitement, a slight grace note of terror, all undercut with a peppery finish of ripening HTML code.
This is the second year I’ve had the pleasure of watching relaunch from a distance, as the great NaNoWriMo Program Director Lindsey Grant worked with fearless tech lead Dan Duvall to oversee everything. Not being as directly involved in the process has given me a chance to reflect on all the lessons I’ve learned from site relaunches of years past. I would like to share some of those lessons with you now.
And yet another awesome post from the folks at OLL.
The Shipper Gentlemen (NaNo)
We sell a lot of merchandise. T-shirts, messenger bags, mugs, stickers, hoodies, journals—and, of course, all the goodies for our kind and generous donors. And it all comes from one place: our warehouse, here in the East Bay.
The Office of Letters and Light warehouse is, well, a warehouse. It has shelves, dusty windows, a concrete floor. It certainly breaks no stereotypes. And yet, it is a strangely magical place, thanks to our Shipper Gentlemen, Ian and Frankie.
