NaNoWriMo

I have spent far too much time staring ponderously at a blank screen or page with hands poised to write, but nothing has ever come from it. Story ideas float around and weave themselves into a mess of ideas and I've never taken the time, or made it past that first hesitation, to write it all out. This year will be different.

National Novel Writing Month, commonly called NaNoWriMo, is every November and anyone who has ever felt like I have should join. The goal is to get as much written down during the month of November; quantity, not quality.

The difficult thing is to get writing and keep writing. I've known many people who have started books and have never been able to finish them (myself, my sister, a handful of my friends, myself, and myself). The idea is, if we can get the basic story written, no matter how bad it is, we have something to work with, edit, revise, etc. So, go write 50,000 words in a month...

I know 50,000 words in a month demands a lot of time, but NaNoers from every year claim it's possible and they offer tricks of the trade to make it happen including forums, write-athons, prizes, parties, etc. Some even published their books and while I can't find an official list of published Wrimos, I found names for several published participants: Stacy Ratner, executive director of Open Books; Sara Gruen, author of Water for Elephants; and Chris Baty, founder of Nanowrimo and author of No Plot, No Problem, just to name three.

If novels aren't your forte, you could look at Script Frenzy. Their goal is a 100 page screenplay or script within the month of April. For educators, you can host a Young Writers program to encourage your class to write, too.

From the creator Chris Baty: "By forcing yourself to write so intensely, you are giving yourself permission to make mistakes. To forgo the endless tweaking and editing and just create."

The Pre-Professional Conference

Last Thursday the school hosted a conference to address different areas in the English department. As a "professional writing emphasis", I went to Tom Johnson's presentation on technical writing. Tom Johnson, technical writer for the LDS church and author of the idratherbewriting.com, came to destroy the myths on technical writing.

Boredom Myths of Technical Writing
It stifles creativity
Writers feel like they've "sold out"
They do a lot of writing
They're second class members of IT departments
They have to know a lot of different computer programs
You have to have a job in communication to get a job in communication

So, they've not sold out because the job is only 9-5, it allows plenty of time to do other things, they use photos and videos as well as writing, and he was able to jump from teaching and copy editing to technical writing, but I'm still not convinced on all of these.

Well, at the end he gave us a list of computer programs to know (Ich! Computers and I do not get along well.) which verified rather than dismissed the computer myth and, while I may no longer consider technical writing as the end of the world, I still will plow straight ahead to editing novels (because I probably would feel like I've sold out).

Book Worm

During the summer I spent a lot of time reading while my foot healed after I broke it. Out of all the books, about 30 of them, two YA novels stood out.


Princess Ben by Catherine Gilbert Murdock

Ben (short for Benevolence) finds herself heir-apparent to the throne when her parents and the king were killed by unknown assassins. The queen, who never had a child, begins immediately teaching her the skills needed. But Ben doesn't want to be taught. She digs her heels in and fights tooth and nail to keep her happy freedoms...and fails miserably.

Half starved, imprisoned in a lonely and very cold tower room, separated from all her friends, Ben rebels. She finds magically hidden passages through the entire castle. And she finds the top of the witch tower. Murdock through hints of traditional fairy tales (Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, Jack and the Beanstalk, and Snow White) turn this into the hilarious story of a reluctant princess.


Dragon's Keep by Janet Lee Carey

Rosalind has always been raised with two truths: she is the queen Merlin prophesied would end a great war, and she has always been cursed. Since the day she was born, Rosalind has always worn golden gloves to hide the hideous curse, a single dragon's claw rather than a finger. Afraid of being charged as a witch, her mother has guarded her even to death.

But things do not work out the way anyone foresaw. Rosalind was snatched from her own shores by a great dragon and carried off to be the nursemaid for four motherless dragon pups. She swears to remain on the dragon island and to remain silent to all humans in order to save the lives of all her people, it seems Rosalind is trapped on the island forever. But fate will take a twist and Merlin's prophecy fulfilled in unusual ways.


I highly recommend these novels. If they could take my mind off a broken foot, I'm sure they will entertain you.

Poetry

These poems lack what I'll gain eventually in experience, but I thought you might like to read some of them.

Breaking Mornings
(Inspiration: waking up for classes after late night study sessions! ICH!)

The head of the morning breaks past the cracks in the blinds
And the fist of the hour grabs tightly hold of my mind
Cruelly holding it captive by his ruthless shards of light.

Jealous darkness calls me back to all-enveloping dreams
To be held limp in sleep's sweet embrace
Deeply enfolded in the deepening hum of slumber

But the stony pillars of reality drown my carefree dreams
And the prick of ticking logic carefully convinces my mind
To drag my leaden limbs, rip off the covers,
and get out of bed.


The Golden Moment
(A personal favorite. There are beautiful sunsets up here in dusty Idaho.)

A golden globe teeters on the brink
And floods the world with light
Shedding gilded veils to caress the earth
And lures her silence towards night.

It is then the door to wishes appears,
And those who spread their wings
To follow the splendid molten path
Woven of birdsong and dreams

Fly to find their fairy-worlds.
Drawn still by glorious light,
Seeking a spell of silent strength
And to gaze with new-found sight.

Robed in golden light and starry crown,
Lead by silver threads, but blocked
From divine silken-rainbow skies by
Somber guardians of purple rock.

Fallen to the earth, the Midas touch gone,
All gold passes into blue shadows long.
Worn Apollo flashes frayed white flags,
Is swallowed, stills, and dies.


Stars
(I wrote this one in about 1 hour, by candle light, curled up in a ridiculous manner between a dresser and a bookshelf under the window where I could see the stars above.)

The stars send forth their diamond gleam
Upon a world so perfectly still,
Care washed clean in silver light.

The smile of the moon hangs crooked,
Framed in the window of darkened room,
Hope floating on a faultless horizon.

I gaze patiently into the jeweled sky,
The starry gaze boldly mirrored below
By citylight on sunken valley floor.

One by one, those lights are overcome
‘till all that remains are perfect stillness,
The diamond eyes, and mine.