Nano not.
So yeah, I knew it was going to be hard to get anything done, but not as hard as it was. I only got about 3k words written... I'm not posting them right now, just because I feel like that would make it that much more of a failure. I did write one of my English papers using NaNoWriMo as the inspiration. I figured I'd share that. :)
So the assignment was this: Pick one of five categories (Cause and Effect, Comparison and Contrast, Classifying and Dividing, Process Writing, and Defining) and write a 5-6 page research paper. There was a lot more to it, but I'm not gonna add it all on here. I will say that we were supposed to have at least 4 sources, and that we were required to do some research into the topic.
I of course had no clue how to start, and I really didn't want to pick a really hard topic. I pretty much knew that I wanted to do either Compare and Contrast, or Process writing. I thought about Comparing and Contrasting milk allergies to lactose intolerance but it didn't seem very interesting, and one of the things he said was he didn't want the paper to sound like a page from an encyclopedia. So I was leaning more toward the Process writing, and thinking about how to grow a bonsai tree. I was actually doing research on that when an acquaintance (who happens to be an English tutor, I don't work with him, just thought I'd mention it) was talking about someone's blog. They wrote something for school about what they were writing about for school. I thought it might be a fun play on words, so I decided to change subjects, and use the process of creative writing for the topic. (Was that too much history on it?)
Anyway, here it is: (Another requirement was that it be written using MLA style, and I've just copy and pasted the entire thing.)
Challenge Accepted: Jumpstarting the Process of Creative Writing
“NaNoWriMo.” Flashed across my screen.
“Nanowrimo?” I typed the response.
“You should look it up, it’s quite a challenge.” She signed off.
Who can resist a good challenge? So, since I was already sitting at my computer, I quickly opened my browser and typed the strange new word. I had my answer. NaNoWriMo is an abbreviation of the words “National Novel Writing Month.” The month of November has become the timeline for writing a novel. Aspiring and professional writers are challenged to write 50,000 words in just thirty days. I looked at my calendar. November 3. At 1,667 words a day, I was already behind by over three thousand words, and that didn’t include the rest of that afternoon. A challenge indeed.
Creative writing can be very rewarding, even if it’s a bit daunting to start with. So many questions rise: Why write it? Where should you start? What kind of story is it? How long will it take you to write? How accurate do you have to be? Who will read it? Only you can give the answers to the questions, but looking at what writers say may aid you in the process.
“As a writer, I am the master of my domain. I’m the boss; the most magical genie; the lord and ruler of every character, creature, and event in the world of my creation. It’s a pretty awesome feeling, having all that power (par. 3).” Lindsey Grant, the program director for NaNoWriMo, offers one of the reasons that she writes. “The possibilities are limitless, and I find that to be tremendously satisfying. At last, my say-so is the only one that matters! (par. 4).”
Where should you start? The first step of actually writing a novel is somewhat debatable between writers. In interviews, Rosamund Lupton states “I actually plot obsessively before I start writing the novel, so all twists and turns are mapped out (qtd. in Fitzgerald, 76),” while Terry McMillan claims “Oh no, I don't outline it. I find that very boring. I don't know how people outline novels, except maybe those espionage things (qtd. in Packard, par. 27).” There is no formula for formulating the draft; it is your choice to decide what works best for you. However you plan on writing it, you are still going to need a subject.
Characters are key players in every story, and developing them is a major process. Now you can start showing that creative side. They can start simple and develop them as the story progresses, or they can be completely finished, and the story is just an event in their life. You may already have a plot in mind and just need to develop a character that fits the situation. In an author profile, Stephenie Meyer is said to have started writing, for the first time, after dreaming one of the pivotal scenes of Twilight (Kirschling, 74). Louisa May Alcott’s biggest success, Little Women, uses her own childhood to develop the characters in the story (Matteson, 11). As you plan, remember that you are still going to be developing it as you write, expect it to change.
Every tale takes place somewhere, and the setting alone can tell its own tale. Charles Dickens is well aware of this, and makes full use of his vast vocabulary to conjure images in the mind of the reader. “There was a steaming mist in all the hollows, and it roamed in its forlornness up the hill, like an evil spirit, seeking rest and finding none (8; ch. 12).” If this is not enough to produce a shiver, he continues “A clammy and intensely cold mist, it made its slow way through the air in ripples that visibly followed and overspread one another, as the wave of an unwholesome sea might do (8; ch. 12).” In two sentences Dickens generates a perfectly visual setting. A setting can be anywhere or any time, and even if it’s completely fictional there are ways to bring it to life. A science fiction novel might use the sound of a tractor trailer to give the reader something familiar to compare a spaceship’s engine to. A clap, followed by the sound of a metal trashcan rolling down a hill, and then fading like the sound of someone running up two flights of stairs, could all be used to describe thunder. Comparing things is a great way to involve the reader, especially if it’s something they are acquainted with. This is another great chance to be creative. Use a little bit of caution though; it’s possible to over explain something. Touch on it just enough to catch attention, but move on with the story.
With the characters and setting decided upon, it is time to begin. Keep in mind as you are writing that you may have to do a bit of research. A boy in a carpenters shop would know the difference between an awl and a chisel, while you could have no idea what either is. Try and use words associated with the action. A sword fight could be a lot of swinging and jabbing with a couple of blocks, or it could be a lunge, followed by a parry, and finally a thrust. Keeping a dictionary nearby, as well as a thesaurus, can also help.
So now you are writing, and the first few chapters come easily. Spending a few days, or a few weeks, to develop a character and setting, begin the flow of creative thought. You have become familiar with the initial presentation of your story. Whether you used an outline, or just started out writing, something always changes. Again, try and expect it to happen. That man, sitting at the bar with his third drink in hand, suddenly decides to engage the lead character. He was just a part of the setting, and now he’s part of the story. Here is where you first start to realize that you are going to get stuck. He was just sitting there, but now they talked until the man meeting your lead showed up for the meeting. Is he going to stay in the story? Will he always be at the bar? Now you aren’t thinking about the way the story was supposed to go, but if it was actually supposed to go that way at all.
Gail Carson Levine, author of Ella Enchanted, offers a few ideas about how to get un-stuck. Firstly, she tells you that it might be necessary to abandon your idea, and continue down a new path (17). A detailed plot may help to prevent that from happening, but as you write more, you will come to see that characters change as they move through the narrative. No matter what you decide to do with the original idea, you are still going to need a way to keep the story moving. Levine has quite a few tricks up her sleeve, and now tells you to make a list of twelve options for how to continue (17). Another trick is to just write random stuff, suggesting that the action of writing alone can pull you out of that point (17). A very simple thing to try is just stepping away. Don’t try to think about the story, you’ve been doing it far too much recently anyway. Go for a drive or clean some dishes. Pick up the clothes scattered all around the room because you just dropped them where they were, so you could go write. Meet a friend for lunch. Whatever it is, take a notepad, because suddenly you will know exactly what is going to happen, and you aren’t going to be able to add it right then. One of the most encouraging things Levine says is “There is no such thing as a perfect book or a perfect story (17).”
Holly Black, writer of The Spiderwick Chronicles, echoes the encouragement. “There aren’t good books and bad books. There are finished books and books that still need more work (par. 4).” She also has an excellent piece of advice. “Write for your reader self, not your writer self (par. 6).” She goes on to explain that the things you like about the books you read are the things that you need to remember and write in your own book (par. 6). If you need an example look at Meyer, she was simply recording a dream. When asked if she had thought that Twilight could become such a sensation she replied “If I'd had any idea that anyone would see what I was doing, I'd have stopped immediately. I'd never have been able to finish it... I'm a reader, and to me authors are magical creatures (Vilkomerson, 37).”
November 30 hit with me trailing in excess of eight thousand words. I started days late, never having written before, with barely even a character idea. After work, I sat at my computer staring at the number, jumping from the corner of the screen, noting my failure. Creative writing truly is a challenge. That’s when it hit me. I started days late, never having written before, with barely even a character idea, yet I had turned out over 41,000 words. I looked at the clock. Seven hours to midnight.
It is more than possible to start writing with no clue what to do, or how it should be done. Here you have the basics for beginning creative writing. If you have ever thought about trying it, you now have a way to start. There are tips, and tricks from people who started out simple, and now have books riding the bestseller lists. More than half of them now have movies based on their works. Even if no one but you ever reads it, you can still feel accomplished in the fact that you wrote it.
At 11:51pm on November 30, I posted 50,012 words and joined the official winners circle for NaNoWriMo. Among the ranks are writers like, Lemony Snicket, Sue Grafton, Mercedes Lackey, Meg Cabot, and many, many more. Common people, trying out writing for the very first time, join authors in accepting the challenge.
Works Cited
Grant, Lindsey. “Lindsey Grant’s 2010 Pep Talks: You Rule!” nanowrimo.org Nov. 2010. Web. 10 Nov. 2012.
Fitzgerald, Marianne. "Q&A Rosamund Lupton." Library Journal 137.6 (2012): 76. Academic Search Complete. Web. 10 Nov. 2012.
Packard, Gabriel. "WRITING Like No One's Looking." Writer 125.2 (2012): 24-27. Academic Search Complete. Web. 10 Nov. 2012.
Kirschling, Gregory. "Stephenie Meyer." Entertainment Weekly 947 (2007): 74. MasterFILE Premier. Web. 13 Nov. 2012.
Matteson, John. "Little Woman." Humanities 30.6 (2009): 10-53. Academic Search Complete. Web. 13 Nov. 2012.
Dickens, Charles. “A Tale of Two Cities.” 1859. Franklin: Dalmatian Press, 2005. Print.
Levine, Gail Carson. "Stuck." Writing 29.2 (2006): 17. Academic Search Complete. Web. 11 Nov. 2012.
Black, Holly. “Holly Black’s Pep Talk.” nanowrimo.org Nov. 2010. Web. 11 Nov. 2012.
VILKOMERSON, SARA. "Q + A Stephenie Meyer." Entertainment Weekly 1220/1221 (2012): 37. MasterFILE Premier. Web. 13 Nov. 2012.
And now back to my other research paper...
So the assignment was this: Pick one of five categories (Cause and Effect, Comparison and Contrast, Classifying and Dividing, Process Writing, and Defining) and write a 5-6 page research paper. There was a lot more to it, but I'm not gonna add it all on here. I will say that we were supposed to have at least 4 sources, and that we were required to do some research into the topic.
I of course had no clue how to start, and I really didn't want to pick a really hard topic. I pretty much knew that I wanted to do either Compare and Contrast, or Process writing. I thought about Comparing and Contrasting milk allergies to lactose intolerance but it didn't seem very interesting, and one of the things he said was he didn't want the paper to sound like a page from an encyclopedia. So I was leaning more toward the Process writing, and thinking about how to grow a bonsai tree. I was actually doing research on that when an acquaintance (who happens to be an English tutor, I don't work with him, just thought I'd mention it) was talking about someone's blog. They wrote something for school about what they were writing about for school. I thought it might be a fun play on words, so I decided to change subjects, and use the process of creative writing for the topic. (Was that too much history on it?)
Anyway, here it is: (Another requirement was that it be written using MLA style, and I've just copy and pasted the entire thing.)
Challenge Accepted: Jumpstarting the Process of Creative Writing
“NaNoWriMo.” Flashed across my screen.
“Nanowrimo?” I typed the response.
“You should look it up, it’s quite a challenge.” She signed off.
Who can resist a good challenge? So, since I was already sitting at my computer, I quickly opened my browser and typed the strange new word. I had my answer. NaNoWriMo is an abbreviation of the words “National Novel Writing Month.” The month of November has become the timeline for writing a novel. Aspiring and professional writers are challenged to write 50,000 words in just thirty days. I looked at my calendar. November 3. At 1,667 words a day, I was already behind by over three thousand words, and that didn’t include the rest of that afternoon. A challenge indeed.
Creative writing can be very rewarding, even if it’s a bit daunting to start with. So many questions rise: Why write it? Where should you start? What kind of story is it? How long will it take you to write? How accurate do you have to be? Who will read it? Only you can give the answers to the questions, but looking at what writers say may aid you in the process.
“As a writer, I am the master of my domain. I’m the boss; the most magical genie; the lord and ruler of every character, creature, and event in the world of my creation. It’s a pretty awesome feeling, having all that power (par. 3).” Lindsey Grant, the program director for NaNoWriMo, offers one of the reasons that she writes. “The possibilities are limitless, and I find that to be tremendously satisfying. At last, my say-so is the only one that matters! (par. 4).”
Where should you start? The first step of actually writing a novel is somewhat debatable between writers. In interviews, Rosamund Lupton states “I actually plot obsessively before I start writing the novel, so all twists and turns are mapped out (qtd. in Fitzgerald, 76),” while Terry McMillan claims “Oh no, I don't outline it. I find that very boring. I don't know how people outline novels, except maybe those espionage things (qtd. in Packard, par. 27).” There is no formula for formulating the draft; it is your choice to decide what works best for you. However you plan on writing it, you are still going to need a subject.
Characters are key players in every story, and developing them is a major process. Now you can start showing that creative side. They can start simple and develop them as the story progresses, or they can be completely finished, and the story is just an event in their life. You may already have a plot in mind and just need to develop a character that fits the situation. In an author profile, Stephenie Meyer is said to have started writing, for the first time, after dreaming one of the pivotal scenes of Twilight (Kirschling, 74). Louisa May Alcott’s biggest success, Little Women, uses her own childhood to develop the characters in the story (Matteson, 11). As you plan, remember that you are still going to be developing it as you write, expect it to change.
Every tale takes place somewhere, and the setting alone can tell its own tale. Charles Dickens is well aware of this, and makes full use of his vast vocabulary to conjure images in the mind of the reader. “There was a steaming mist in all the hollows, and it roamed in its forlornness up the hill, like an evil spirit, seeking rest and finding none (8; ch. 12).” If this is not enough to produce a shiver, he continues “A clammy and intensely cold mist, it made its slow way through the air in ripples that visibly followed and overspread one another, as the wave of an unwholesome sea might do (8; ch. 12).” In two sentences Dickens generates a perfectly visual setting. A setting can be anywhere or any time, and even if it’s completely fictional there are ways to bring it to life. A science fiction novel might use the sound of a tractor trailer to give the reader something familiar to compare a spaceship’s engine to. A clap, followed by the sound of a metal trashcan rolling down a hill, and then fading like the sound of someone running up two flights of stairs, could all be used to describe thunder. Comparing things is a great way to involve the reader, especially if it’s something they are acquainted with. This is another great chance to be creative. Use a little bit of caution though; it’s possible to over explain something. Touch on it just enough to catch attention, but move on with the story.
With the characters and setting decided upon, it is time to begin. Keep in mind as you are writing that you may have to do a bit of research. A boy in a carpenters shop would know the difference between an awl and a chisel, while you could have no idea what either is. Try and use words associated with the action. A sword fight could be a lot of swinging and jabbing with a couple of blocks, or it could be a lunge, followed by a parry, and finally a thrust. Keeping a dictionary nearby, as well as a thesaurus, can also help.
So now you are writing, and the first few chapters come easily. Spending a few days, or a few weeks, to develop a character and setting, begin the flow of creative thought. You have become familiar with the initial presentation of your story. Whether you used an outline, or just started out writing, something always changes. Again, try and expect it to happen. That man, sitting at the bar with his third drink in hand, suddenly decides to engage the lead character. He was just a part of the setting, and now he’s part of the story. Here is where you first start to realize that you are going to get stuck. He was just sitting there, but now they talked until the man meeting your lead showed up for the meeting. Is he going to stay in the story? Will he always be at the bar? Now you aren’t thinking about the way the story was supposed to go, but if it was actually supposed to go that way at all.
Gail Carson Levine, author of Ella Enchanted, offers a few ideas about how to get un-stuck. Firstly, she tells you that it might be necessary to abandon your idea, and continue down a new path (17). A detailed plot may help to prevent that from happening, but as you write more, you will come to see that characters change as they move through the narrative. No matter what you decide to do with the original idea, you are still going to need a way to keep the story moving. Levine has quite a few tricks up her sleeve, and now tells you to make a list of twelve options for how to continue (17). Another trick is to just write random stuff, suggesting that the action of writing alone can pull you out of that point (17). A very simple thing to try is just stepping away. Don’t try to think about the story, you’ve been doing it far too much recently anyway. Go for a drive or clean some dishes. Pick up the clothes scattered all around the room because you just dropped them where they were, so you could go write. Meet a friend for lunch. Whatever it is, take a notepad, because suddenly you will know exactly what is going to happen, and you aren’t going to be able to add it right then. One of the most encouraging things Levine says is “There is no such thing as a perfect book or a perfect story (17).”
Holly Black, writer of The Spiderwick Chronicles, echoes the encouragement. “There aren’t good books and bad books. There are finished books and books that still need more work (par. 4).” She also has an excellent piece of advice. “Write for your reader self, not your writer self (par. 6).” She goes on to explain that the things you like about the books you read are the things that you need to remember and write in your own book (par. 6). If you need an example look at Meyer, she was simply recording a dream. When asked if she had thought that Twilight could become such a sensation she replied “If I'd had any idea that anyone would see what I was doing, I'd have stopped immediately. I'd never have been able to finish it... I'm a reader, and to me authors are magical creatures (Vilkomerson, 37).”
November 30 hit with me trailing in excess of eight thousand words. I started days late, never having written before, with barely even a character idea. After work, I sat at my computer staring at the number, jumping from the corner of the screen, noting my failure. Creative writing truly is a challenge. That’s when it hit me. I started days late, never having written before, with barely even a character idea, yet I had turned out over 41,000 words. I looked at the clock. Seven hours to midnight.
It is more than possible to start writing with no clue what to do, or how it should be done. Here you have the basics for beginning creative writing. If you have ever thought about trying it, you now have a way to start. There are tips, and tricks from people who started out simple, and now have books riding the bestseller lists. More than half of them now have movies based on their works. Even if no one but you ever reads it, you can still feel accomplished in the fact that you wrote it.
At 11:51pm on November 30, I posted 50,012 words and joined the official winners circle for NaNoWriMo. Among the ranks are writers like, Lemony Snicket, Sue Grafton, Mercedes Lackey, Meg Cabot, and many, many more. Common people, trying out writing for the very first time, join authors in accepting the challenge.
Works Cited
Grant, Lindsey. “Lindsey Grant’s 2010 Pep Talks: You Rule!” nanowrimo.org Nov. 2010. Web. 10 Nov. 2012.
Fitzgerald, Marianne. "Q&A Rosamund Lupton." Library Journal 137.6 (2012): 76. Academic Search Complete. Web. 10 Nov. 2012.
Packard, Gabriel. "WRITING Like No One's Looking." Writer 125.2 (2012): 24-27. Academic Search Complete. Web. 10 Nov. 2012.
Kirschling, Gregory. "Stephenie Meyer." Entertainment Weekly 947 (2007): 74. MasterFILE Premier. Web. 13 Nov. 2012.
Matteson, John. "Little Woman." Humanities 30.6 (2009): 10-53. Academic Search Complete. Web. 13 Nov. 2012.
Dickens, Charles. “A Tale of Two Cities.” 1859. Franklin: Dalmatian Press, 2005. Print.
Levine, Gail Carson. "Stuck." Writing 29.2 (2006): 17. Academic Search Complete. Web. 11 Nov. 2012.
Black, Holly. “Holly Black’s Pep Talk.” nanowrimo.org Nov. 2010. Web. 11 Nov. 2012.
VILKOMERSON, SARA. "Q + A Stephenie Meyer." Entertainment Weekly 1220/1221 (2012): 37. MasterFILE Premier. Web. 13 Nov. 2012.
And now back to my other research paper...