reading hacks

NaNoWriMo tomorrow

jonathan — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 09:42:25 +0000

Tomorrow is November 1st. The day I begin following through on my somewhat rash decision to sign up for NaNoWriMo this year. 1667 words. That what I need to produce tomorrow.

I am looking forward to it. I am also somewhat scared about the prospect. Gizo and Librarian Idol have also signed up for NaNo and made this public on ReadingHacks, so pop by and wish them luck too.

So those of you who love to read, this month remember those of us having a shot at seeing what it’s like on the other side of the printed page.

Wish us luck.

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A day in the life of Maureen Johnson

jonathan — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 22:46:06 +0000

We’ve all read writers’ descriptions of their typical day. Things like “I always write 1000 words per day”, or, “I start at 6 am and am done by 12″, but I’ve always wondered how honest they are.

At last, Maureen Johnson has told it like it really is and described a no-holds barred detailed account of a typical day in the life of a young adult author. I have no reason to doubt its honesty.

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More NaNoWriMo - get on board!

jonathan — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 00:58:53 +0000

My encouragement yesterday has led to Andrew of Librarian Idol signing up for NaNoWriMo.

I’m now working on getting Gizo fired up too.

Everyone else - come on, get on board. And if you won’t listen to me, maybe you’ll listen to Shirley…

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NaNoWriMo

jonathan — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 01:49:22 +0000

Do you think you have a novel inside you, and are looking for a way to remove it without surgery?

Is your career as a best-selling author in need of a kick start?

Can you write 1667 words on November 1st?

Can you write another 1667 words on November 2nd?

Can you write yet another 1667 words on November 3rd?

Can you keep doing this for 30 days?

Do you have nothing better to do in November?

Perhaps you should consider signing up for the National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo).

The basic idea with NaNoWriMo is that you sign up and try to write a 50,000 word novel in the month of November. This basically means churning out 50,000 words without worrying too much about editing and proof reading. It’s more of a way to get you moving and producing something. Of course you could just do this by yourself in any 30 day period, but there’s something about knowing that thousands of other people are in the same boat. It also means you can effectively “out” yourself and let people know what you are doing so there is the fear of shame and failure if you fall behind. Also the opportunity for encouragement, of course.

If you’re interested, pop over to NaNoWriMo.org, have a look around, and maybe even sign up.

I tried last year and only managed a few thousand words, giving up by about November 10th. Barring a last minute change of heart, I’m all set to have another go this year. You can follow my progress under the user name gonty. I might even add a little widget to the sidebar here that gives my wordcount.

If you feel like joining me, go on and sign up and let me know in the comments below.

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Writers tell their success stories

jonathan — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 00:00:02 +0000

Crime Fiction Dossier has stories from a long list of writers about how they came to be published.

I haven’t read them all yet, but most appear to support the argument that writers don’t become successful overnight.

Except for Lawrence Block. He is first on the list, and this is his story:

“My first novel was written in two or three weeks and sold to the first publisher who saw it.”

[via Sydney Writers' Centre blog]

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Fiction rule of thumb

jonathan — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 22:57:13 +0000

xkcd via gizo>

Jay Walker’s library

jonathan — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 22:13:18 +0000

I know this has been all over the blogosphere lately, but in case you missed it, go take a look at Jay Walker’s personal library.

Words fail me.

Children’s literature muffin tin meals

jonathan — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 03:47:46 +0000

Over at Sycamore Stirrings, readers have submitted pictures of meals they have made that are presented in muffin tins and are inspired by children’s books.

As the parent of a toddler who loves books, but often seems to dislike mealtime, this seems like a great idea.

Sorted books

jonathan — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 11:21:23 +0000

Vetti sent me a link to Nina Katchadourian’s sorted books work. They are essentially piles or clusters of books arranged so the titles can be read to make a story, poem, or perhaps satirical comment on the nature and meaning of life. Very clever.

It made me want to grab some books and try my hand at creating something. Most of my books are still in boxes after our termite-induced furniture shuffle, but among the library books on my shelf now are “The game”, “The indigo girls”, “Skin”, “Juicy writing”, “Baby love”, “Bog child”, and “Hazel’s phantasmagoria”. I feel like there’s something there, but I’m not sure if I want to find it.

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WEbook collaborative publishing

jonathan — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 09:47:03 +0000

A couple of weeks ago I wrote about Authonomy, a sort of social writing and publishing site. WEbook is a similar enterprise although at first glance, there are at least two key differences.

WEbook has a strong emphasis on collaborative writing, rather than just individual writers submitting works to be voted up or down (as with Authonomy), although you can choose to write solo.

It is also a publishing company. While Authonomy is run by HarperCollins, they do not necessarily publish any of the works submitted, and there is nothing to stop the works being submitted to another publisher. WEbook will actually publish the “best books” and “you and your collaborators share in royalties on book sales”. Any work submitted however, does remain yours and you are free to decline a publishing offer if your story wins the vote.

I’d be interested to see how the collaborative side of things works out and good on them for trying it, but I really don’t know if I can be bothered reading their first published collaborative work, Pandora.

If nothing else, I’m slightly put off by a company that markets itself as “a revolutionary online book publishing company, which does for the industry what American Idol did for music”. Maybe that inspires some people. But sorry, it doesn’t do much for me.

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