Pamela McDowell's Blog - Posts Tagged "writing"
November is almost here!
November is National Novel Writing Month. The challenge: to write 50,000 words in one month. It’s grueling and exhilarating at the same time. I “won” NaNoWriMo back in 2009, which means I was successful in squeezing out the 50,000-word minimum. And, oh, was it painful at times!
I learned a lot about writing. I learned that the middle really is messy. I learned that an outline can only get you so far. I chased rabbit trails on a regular basis, and, most importantly, I learned to never, ever delete scenes. After repeated fisticuffs with my internal editor, I learned how to get in “the zone” and let the words flow. I learned not to keep my pinkie finger on the shift key while paused deep in thought – and I learned how to unlock my keyboard when that happened. More than once.
Of course, you don't have to write a novel, even though it's called National Novel Writing Month. The challenge is to write 50,000 words in any genre. You could write a screenplay, several short stories or essays, even a collection of poetry, though that would be an especially difficult challenge, I think.
And if you are a youth, check it out! You can tailor the challenge to your own goals. A twelve year old might set a goal of 20,000 words while a six year old hopes to write 1,000. There isn't really a prize, but the feeling of accomplishment is enormous.
Give it a try and let me know how you do!
I learned a lot about writing. I learned that the middle really is messy. I learned that an outline can only get you so far. I chased rabbit trails on a regular basis, and, most importantly, I learned to never, ever delete scenes. After repeated fisticuffs with my internal editor, I learned how to get in “the zone” and let the words flow. I learned not to keep my pinkie finger on the shift key while paused deep in thought – and I learned how to unlock my keyboard when that happened. More than once.
Of course, you don't have to write a novel, even though it's called National Novel Writing Month. The challenge is to write 50,000 words in any genre. You could write a screenplay, several short stories or essays, even a collection of poetry, though that would be an especially difficult challenge, I think.
And if you are a youth, check it out! You can tailor the challenge to your own goals. A twelve year old might set a goal of 20,000 words while a six year old hopes to write 1,000. There isn't really a prize, but the feeling of accomplishment is enormous.
Give it a try and let me know how you do!
From call to launch: Two years, three months and 17 days
My telephone - my rather retro home landline - has a strange feature: it announces the caller. I found that annoying right from the start because it garbled simple words. I mean, really, how difficult is “Grandma B”? But one day, just over two years ago, I kissed that phone. On January 23, 2012, I was stepping out of the shower when the phone rang. “Forget it. I’m dripping wet,” I thought. “It’s probably someone who wants money/clothing/blood donation. Later.” After the second ring, the phone announced, “Call from Orca Books.” Clear as day, no swallowed vowels, and strangely no exclamation point. I’m pretty sure I scared the dog as I flew across the room and I’m pretty sure I dropped the towel, but I got there before the fourth ring. “Hello?” My voice was hopeful, but not trembling. I had received a rejection delivered via the telephone just a few months earlier, so I knew not to pop open the champagne just because a publisher phoned. But this was the real deal. Orca Books wanted Ospreys in Danger!
