October Creative Projects

[J Arcane]

I've started my script. The film club tonight was just a stock speech about the Hero's Journey, so I spent the time writing the opening scenes for my new script.

[Zero]

Originally Posted by Crittias

Getting ready for NaNoWriMo 2012.

I won't be participating since writing a novel doesn't pique my interest, but, if my wife finds the time, I will take her work and adapt it into a screenplay. Sucking the soul out of a creative work for a paycheck has always intrigued me.

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[Joshkdmw]

NanoWriMo occupies a peculiar part of my headspace.

Myself, I don't like working with such rigid scheduling and deadlines. But it gets people writing. But the writing is often terrible stream-of-consciousness stuff, with little merit past entertainment.

So I'm conflicted. If a person's really having trouble writing on a regular basis, they're probably not a professional. In which case, forcing yourself to write a novel in a month seems like a goal of dubious reward. If you are a professional, then there's nothing special about a magical month - a writer writes, in any season on any day.

So it confuses me. I guess it's fun? Is it a fun thing for people?

[MagGnome]

No, everyone hates it, and that's why it's such a big success year after year.

[Crittias]

Originally Posted by Joshkdmw

NanoWriMo occupies a peculiar part of my headspace.

Myself, I don't like working with such rigid scheduling and deadlines. But it gets people writing. But the writing is often terrible stream-of-consciousness stuff, with little merit past entertainment.

So I'm conflicted. If a person's really having trouble writing on a regular basis, they're probably not a professional. In which case, forcing yourself to write a novel in a month seems like a goal of dubious reward. If you are a professional, then there's nothing special about a magical month - a writer writes, in any season on any day.

So it confuses me. I guess it's fun? Is it a fun thing for people?

Most writers are not commercially successful. Whether they write all the time or just one month a year, most writers never get published, or if they do, don't see huge sales numbers. That's the way it is, just like with any creative discipline.

That said, there are exceptions to every rule. I've been chatting with a fellow NaNoer that just signed a lucrative four-book deal. ALL of her rough drafts have been written during NaNo, and then edited afterwards. It can work for people, just like any other method you can think of.

Does it encourage absolute dreck? Absolutely? But like many excellent authors will say, you have to get the dreck written and out of the way before you can start writing the good stuff. Maybe you never get past the dreck, or maybe you do, but in either case, NaNo can serve as a fun way to tip your toe into the long-form writing world.

[shunoshi]

Originally Posted by Zero

I won't be participating since writing a novel doesn't pique my interest, but, if my wife finds the time, I will take her work and adapt it into a screenplay. Sucking the soul out of a creative work for a paycheck has always intrigued me.

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There's always Script Frenzy as well.

Originally Posted by Joshkdmw

NanoWriMo occupies a peculiar part of my headspace.

Myself, I don't like working with such rigid scheduling and deadlines. But it gets people writing. But the writing is often terrible stream-of-consciousness stuff, with little merit past entertainment.

So I'm conflicted. If a person's really having trouble writing on a regular basis, they're probably not a professional. In which case, forcing yourself to write a novel in a month seems like a goal of dubious reward. If you are a professional, then there's nothing special about a magical month - a writer writes, in any season on any day.

So it confuses me. I guess it's fun? Is it a fun thing for people?

It's an extra form of discipline, similar to going to school. There's plenty of info on the internet available to teach yourself a myriad of different skills, but having to show up to a class and complete assignments with deadlines tends to instill a sense responsibility that might not normally be there.

Not saying NaNo works for everyone, but I think anyone who's interested in novel writing should give it a shot at least once. Yes, what you produce is likely garbage, as Crittias said, but most first drafts are trash regardless of how quickly they were produced. The important thing is getting it on paper and NaNo does it in the fastest time possible. And on the positive side, even if you don't succeed, you'll often times learn something about yourself and the way you approach writing.

[Reverant]

I agree. I'm a fairly undisciplined person (good job, Marine Corps), so structures like NaNoWriMo are great for me. I haven't don it yet and be doing it this year since I just can't gin up time as a married student, but I look forward to it next year.

[J Arcane]

Just finished the first scene and opening montage for my script.

Woo! Productivity is so much easier when there's coffee, somewhere to write away from home, and a slow internet day.

[Joshkdmw]

You all make valid points about nano, I suppose. Nothing harder to endure than a good example.

[Superman's Dead]

I'm putting on a concert.

Got a friend to design my promotion logo. Created a Facebook event. Now it's getting the word out and making sure I'll meet the tech specs

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[Crittias]

Originally Posted by Joshkdmw

You all make valid points about nano, I suppose. Nothing harder to endure than a good example.

Keep in mind: you are also absolutely right. It's not the right solution for everyone, and it is RARELY a good means to becoming a respected, published author. It encourages some terrible, TERRIBLE writing, which then floods into agents and publishers, much to their dismay.

As an ML for NaNo, I try to inject some perspective into my fellow WriMos. Just because you wrote 50,000 words doesn't mean you've written anything even CLOSE to a publishable (or even readable) novel.

[Joshkdmw]

What's an ML?

[shunoshi]

Originally Posted by Joshkdmw

What's an ML?

Municipal Liason. They usually handle community NaNo-related gatherings and whatnot.

[Joshkdmw]

Originally Posted by shunoshi

Municipal Liason. They usually handle community NaNo-related gatherings and whatnot.

Huh! Well, good on you for helping others. I avoid helping other writers because God damn it, I don't need more competition.

[Reverant]

Personally, I never thought that anything I produced out of NaNoWriMo would be coherent. More like a huge block of wood I could pare down into something recognizable. I also thought that was the point- not to produce a work of art, but to be an excuse for amateurs and hobbyists to produce period.

I'd like to do it, but it strikes now me that such a mentality is antithetical to how I write. I tend to write and revise at the same time. It's slow going.

[Crittias]

Originally Posted by Reverant

I'd like to do it, but it strikes now me that such a mentality is antithetical to how I write. I tend to write and revise at the same time. It's slow going.

I write and revise at the same time as well. But NaNo forces me to accelerate that process a bit, which prevents me from getting bogged down in editing and get the story onto the page.

If you've never done it, and you like writing, it's definitely worth a shot, even if you try it and decide you don't like it.

[Ink Asylum]

Originally Posted by Crittias

It encourages some terrible, TERRIBLE writing, which then floods into agents and publishers, much to their dismay.

That's an amusing thought. I'd love to hear about agents and publishers as they prepare for the upcoming torrent of poorly written and unedited manuscripts.

[Reverant]

Has anyone ever gotten a real, published book out of nanowrimo?

[Crittias]

Originally Posted by Reverant

Has anyone ever gotten a real, published book out of nanowrimo?

http://nanowrimo.org/en/publishedwrimos. Some of those are small-press outfits, but some are big publishing houses.

[Reverant]

That's quite a list! Food for thought.

Edit: I threw a story I wrote a couple months ago up on FP today. It's not spooky. Well, I guess it could be. It might freak you out if you ask if that actually happens and I just stare at you without saying anything.