November 01, 2006
NaNoWriMo
It's (almost) the end of Day 1 of NaNoWriMo, and I'm happy to report that I have a whopping 1,852 words written. That's right, ONE HUNDRED AND EIGHTY-FIVE words more than my daily deadline.
However, as my gentle NaNoWriMo email pointed out today:
The keys to thriving in Week One are straightforward:
1) Surge early. To be on par for the month, you should be writing 1667 words per day. In Week One, try to get 2000 or 2500 a day, and beg, borrow, and steal as much of the first weekend as possible to write. You won't need to keep up this pace throughout the month, but nothing guarantees a NaNoWriMo victory (and a fun month) like opening up a hefty lead in the first week.
2) Know that you're not doing any of this alone. As you dive into your book, 70,000 other souls are going through the same ups and downs of the Great Sleep-Deprived Novel. Whenever you're feeling like hurling your laptop out the window or setting fire to your favorite noveling notebook, come to a local write-in or stop by the NaNoWriMo forums for encouragement and reassurance. Likewise, whe never you've had a ferociously productive writing day, celebrate by sending a pep talk or sports car or box of fantastically expensive Swiss chocolates to a writer in distress.
3) Embrace the fear. It's okay to be nervous. Nervous just means you're pushing yourself beyond your comfort zone---which is when great and magical things happen. Even if you have a complete story outline to serve as a map for the month, it's still terrifying to be stepping out into the frontier of your imagination. I blame this on a lifetime of exposure to the perplexing idea that art should be made by artists, and novels left to novelists.
Hmm, guess I still have some work to do tonight, since I'm determined to get 2,500 words under my belt by midnight tonight. Ambitious? I've found the key is to forbid myself from visiitng Target until the deadline is achieved. And since the soap situation is going to be desperate tomorrow, I do believe I can make the goal before closing time.
Check out my profile here. (Well, right now the server seems to have crashed, which is not surprising since 70,000 people have signed up. But check back...I bet it's up and running in no time.)
Update: Yeah bitches, I am a writing fool! New total: 2,522. And now, a reward trip to buy soap...
Posted by madchen at 05:22 PM | Comments (2)May 17, 2005
Writing Prompt #3 - Ten Descriptions
Pick ten people you know and write a one-sentence description for each of them.
(See if you can identify them all!)
1. Her acerbic wit made you want to be around her, if only because she couldn't be talking behind your back while facing you across the table.
2. Her boundless energy—talking, bouncing, giggling, flouncing, shrieking—filled a room more than her four-year old stature would suggest.
3. Urbane, sleek, and witty—it was impossible not to believe he carefully considered every move that might impact his cultivated image.
4. When not pottering around the house doing minor repairs and muttering to himself, he could occasionally be found on the couch, the football game turned down to an undistinguished hum, gently snoring while the afternoon faded to evening.
5. Despite his tendency to deplore everything that makes life worth living and belabor the materialistic society we inhabit, he owned a surprising number of gadgets.
6. She was insecure for good reason—close inspection revealed a boring, judgmental woman with no taste in fashion.
7. She showed friendship in small ways that stayed with the recipient long after the gesture had passed.
8. Her unwavering commitment to admirable causes made her friends aspire to daily letter-writing campaigns, grueling volunteer duties, and unwise financial donations—all in a feeble attempt to match her fervor.
9. She was deep as a river and I didn't know how to swim.
10. He was hypocritical without thinking twice, picking his morals as needed and casting them off when they no longer supported his cause.
May 16, 2005
Writing Prompt #2 - Jail Time
Write about someone you would like to see put in jail.
This one is hard, since there are so many people I would like to see put in jail--but since I don't have hours and hours to complete a full accounting, I will restrain myself to one person, Pat Robertson.
At the same time, prison sentences are a burden on the rest of society, so I would like to specify that Mr. Robertson does not deserve a country club jail. No, I'd prefer that he have a hole in the ground as a bathroom. I'm not advocating abuse, you understand, just skimping on the frills. From what I understand, he'd probably see it as a test from God, signifying that he is something of a modern-day Daniel.
Pat Robertson - At his official website you can "learn more about the man and his mission -- as a broadcaster, statesman, author, humanitarian, businessman and Christian." What you won't read is how routinely states that gays are worse than Nazis, worse than terrorists, and are the work of the devil--and how he speaks for God when he claims they will burn in hell forever. In addition, he's spoken about:
- Ending Apartheid in South Africa: (talking about apartheid South Africa) "I think 'one man, one vote,' just unrestricted democracy, would not be wise. There needs to be some kind of protection for the minority which the white people represent now, a minority, and they need and have a right to demand a protection of their rights."--Pat Robertson, "The 700 Club," 3/18/92
- Pro-Choice Lesbians: "I am absolutely persuaded one of the reasons so many lesbians are at the forefront of the pro-choice movement is because being a mother is the unique characteristic of womanhood, and these lesbians will never be mothers naturally, so they don't want anybody else to have that privilege either." -- Pat Robertson, The 700 Club television program, May 28, 1993
- Planned Parenthood: (talking about Planned Parenthood) "It is teaching kids to fornicate, teaching people to have adultery, every kind of bestiality, homosexuality, lesbianism-everything that the Bible condemns."--Pat Robertson, "The 700 Club," 4/9/91
- Homosexual Satanists ('cause, ya know, they are all over the place): "Many of those people involved with Adolph Hitler were Satanists, many of them were homosexuals--the two things seem to go together."--Pat Robertson, "The 700 Club," 1/21/93
- Support of Randall Terry, who said, "I want you to just let a wave of intolerance wash over you. I want you to let a wave of hatred wash over you. Yes, hate is good...Our goal is a Christian nation. We have a Biblical duty, we are called by God, to conquer this country. We don't want equal time. We don't want pluralism."--Randall Terry, Founder of Operation Rescue, The News-Sentinel, Fort Wayne, Indiana, 8-16-93
Actually, even jail is a little too good for this man. I'm thinking that some sort of Biblical plague might be more appropriate. Then he could blame it on the lesbian, pro-choice aethiests and die a vindicated man.
Posted by madchen at 01:34 AM | Comments (1)May 12, 2005
Writing Prompt #1 - The Last Time You...
Writing Prompt: The last time you…
The last time you corrected me in public, I let it pass. Secretly I seethed, knowing that—once again—you believed you had something to teach me, that I had something valuable to learn from you. You knew that I would disagree with you. You knew that I was in no position to question you. You knew that you could play off your position as an authority figure and so cast doubt on my ideas—without ever providing substantive comments of your own. You knew that if you could just make me a believer, if I would just agree to see the light, all would be worthwhile. But what you didn't know is that I am so disgusted with your condescending attitude that every word that comes out of your mouth is automatically greeted with suspicion, with antipathy, with loathing.
This is disturbing, not only because this visceral reaction means that I have a vested interest in our relationship, but because I have clearly stepped beyond rational boundaries and am now floating in an emotional purgatory. While I began our interactions with critical thinking, I am now disposed towards a negative interpretation of everything you think, everything you say, everything you stand for. I now embody the very characteristic that I find so despicable in you—a moral superiority based on some misplaced notion that the other person "just doesn't get it".
I don't know how to crawl back to my original position of objectivity. I don't know how to greet your criticism with an open mind—to glean the useful bits and discard the trash. I don't know how to value the system you defend, even though—intellectually at least—I understand the promise it holds.
I do not want your answers, which you give when no question is asked. I do not want "learning" to mean accepting your perspective. And so even though I realize I have wandered far from the correct course of action, I will not ask your advice. I will not be greeted as a prodigal son who finally sees the light.
Posted by madchen at 01:26 AM | Comments (1)
