How the NaNoWriMo Fever Can Help You Write Your Thesis

*Cross posted from my academic wordpress blog.*

It's now officially November, and the blogosphere is buzzing with the optimism of the first few days of National Novel Writing Month, better known as NaNoWriMo.

Quick Post: Word Verification

Just a flying visit to point out the campaign to remove  word verification software from blog comments.

Go here to read Misha Gericke's blog post. I removed my word verification about a month after starting the blog when I read a post giving advice on getting more readers. I agree that it goes against the spirit of blogging, and I groan any time that I come across it. If you do too, go sign Misha's petition and spread the word.



New, full length, original blog post coming later this week.

Procrastination or There's No Such Thing as Writer's Block

From @benwhitelaw

Last year I was talking to a newly published author (let's call them NewAuthor) at a book launch dinner, and discussed with them my theory on the non-existence of writer's block. Later I found out from a friend who had also been talking to NewAuthor that they had also had a conversation about writer's block, except it had been NewAuthor telling my journalist friend (or Journo) that they were suffering badly from this thing I had insisted doesn't exist, and had moved countries in an attempt to unblock. After hearing that from Journo my first reactions were to feel guilty and tactless. I'd like to blame it on the wine with dinner, but the truth is I'm incredibly opinionated, and rarely think at the time about how my opinions will be received by others. That's normally left until something like this happens, and then I feel guilty. I've been thinking about NewAuthor and our conversation that night quite a lot this week, as I struggle with my own writing.

Are You Campaigning?

Rachael Harrie over at Rach Writes is running her Platform Building Writer's Campaign, starting this month. I took part in the prvious incarnations of this (as the Crusdade) and I'm considering joining again this time round.

Getting round the 200-odd blogs that were participating last time was just too much for me, and I did neglect my fellow Crusader in my group as well. I'm wondering if it's a bit cheeky of me to sign up to this while I'm on a schedule hiatus from the blog, and working on the chapter. I'm also on an officicial holiday, the kind where I get to fly away from the UK, for two weeks in September and will be cutting it fine for participation in the all important challenges that month.

All of that said, I read more blogs and wrote more, blog-wise and novel-wise, while taking part in the Campign and it should be a good warm up for NaNoWriMo* in November. A lot of you out there got to the blog through the first two Campiagns and mny of the blog I follow were discovered the same way. So will you be Campaigning this autumn? How did you choose your Campainger group, and how do you plan on staying in touch with everyone? Do you think that this is an unashamed scramble for for followers(on my part, not yours)**?

*Disclaimer: still not 100% decied that I'm taking part in that either. You can though. Sign up for NaNoWriMo here and the Campaign here.

** It isn't that. Well, it mostly isn't anyway. 

Advice



Source



Watching the TV Book Club the other day (yes I will pretty much watch anything with 'book' in the title) I saw an interview with 'the Grandmother of Chick Lit' Jackie Collins. Aside from that absurd title for the bestselling author, one of the things which bugged me came from Ms. Collins herself. She trotted out that old 'write what you know' cliche. This is one of my pet peaves when authors are talking about their work; it is one of those empty phrases that does little more than fill time while they can think of a better answer. Yes, I get that it doesn't mean 'only write that which you have direct experience of' and more 'draw on your life experience to enhance the quality of your writing'. I would, however, prefer to hear that stated plainly with perhaps some advice on how that particular author makes their life experience work for them in their writing. Do they draw on people they know to create characters? Do they extensivley 'people watch' to see varieties of expression and movement? Do they research extensivley, plan meticulosly, sit down and write from the top of their heads? Do their characters come to them fully formed, or do they build them up during the writing process?

 

Of course there's no way that all that information will fit into the time it takes to churn out that stock phrase, but that is because to do more than spit out cliches leads to thinking about and engaging with the writing process.

 

That's my two cents (or pence I suppose, but the invasion of Americaisms is another post for different day). What I really started this post for, before Jackie Collins distracted me, was that I'm thinking, perhaps, maybe of taking part in NaNoWriMo this year. GULP.

 

I won't be able to make a decision on this properly until after my End of Year Review. If that goes badly (please God don't let it go badly) then I'll have to spend the time trying to fix that. Hovever, I have put writing The Novel off until I get on better with the thesis and if that's going well and I get to take the extra class I want top take for the new semester, then I should be able to devote some time to getting the creative stuff up and running.

 

So, over to you. Have you devoted the penultimate month of the year to NaNoWriMo before? Was it worth it? Were you more or less motivated? And did you reach the magic 50,000?