Tuesday, October 26, 2010

back to the future

or forward to the past...either way it is time for me to settle myself down some. My life has been entirely too frenetic of late with farm visits, murder mysteries, family dramas, dog escapes, and so on. I need to tighten the traces and haul in the reins.

So - last year I did nanowrimo (national novel writing month). I don't really want to do it - reminds me of when I did the marathon or got a tattoo - I mean once is enough - I proved I was tough enough to write 50 thousand words in a month but man - what sort of order were they in? I've got that novel just waiting for A REALLY GOOD CLEANING! But not yet.

I do like the demented urgency of the nanowrimo thingy however. I liked that having said I would do the thing - I did the thing. So I'm going to steal the form and fashion it to my own needs. They even have a way to do that on the nanowrimo site - it is the Rebel  category although what I'm proposing is not within that but I'll stretch it and make it so.

My Nanowrimo challenge! I promise to revise for fifty hours in the month of November. It works out to a bit more than two hours a day and will allow me to get all crazy with the math and figure out how far I am behind and so forth. Think I can even figure out a way to steal the count button and make it work - any ideas? Fifty hours instead of fifty thousand words - yep. It will have the intensity of the nano experience but should prove to be useful instead of leaving me with yet another half-baked, half-finished story!  I think I will combine it with setting up a couple of reads for the person I'm swapping training for critiquing with. Just to increase the pressure.

OK - as you were. I just leave you with a photo of a wild blueberry field for your eyes delight...

11 comments:

Natasha said...

I love how you describe NaNoWriMo as something you do once to prove to yourself that you can do it.

Your goals for the month sound a lot more fun.

Liza said...

I like this idea and it should prove more useful to you in the long run. Thanks for the picture too.

Julia Kelly said...

I am in the same boat as you- just not so far ahead- but feeling the pressure to get it done in November would be good- thanks for the ideas!

Mason Canyon said...

I'm in awe of anyone who even attempts NaNo. I love the photo of the blueberry field. It's odd that it's so red. LOL

Mason
Thoughts in Progress

Jan Morrison said...

Thanks Natasha - it is rather tortuous - are you doing it? nano I mean.
Liza - I certainly hope so and then I can fix last years nano when I get this one all done and dusted!
Julia - you are welcome - I'd love to have company...
Mason - I know and the cranberry fields (before flooding) are completely green. This is wild berries - each different colour a different type...

Cruella Collett said...

What a great idea! You could just use the ordinary NaNo track meter, translating one hour to 1000 words, but I think there are also other alternatives that would allow you to customize the text (if so pleases you). I don't know - Google it?

Good luck with your revisions and getting your feet back on the ground after all the flying you've been up to ;)

Elspeth Futcher said...

I have blueberry fields about 10 minutes away from where I live, so that's a picture I'm familiar with!

As for NaNo; I've never done it before, but I admit I'm thinking about it this year. Can I do it? And, if I can, am I going to end up with anything workable or will I just have 50,000 words of crap? It's a gamble.

Unknown said...

NaNo's a really great way to get yourself motivated to do the little projects that are eating at you. That's why I do it.

CD

Hart Johnson said...

I think that is a great way to tap into the energy! 50 hours just means you count each hour as 1000 words, and because it is TIME, you don't have to do a speedy, pants job of it. You can do it right--I think the outcome is great. if you decide to sign onto the site, just to share in the manic thing, find me: hartjohnson.

Stacy Post said...

Another lovely photo, Jan! I signed up for NaNoWriMo this year and hoped I'd see you there. It's my first time, so we'll see how that goes. I like your 50 hour revision idea. I'll have to file that one away...

Jan Morrison said...

Mari - yes, I think that is what I will do - or just feed it chunks of the novel as I finish revising them...plenty of time to figure that out - three whole days!
Elspeth - yah, I think I got 50 thousand words of crap but I can wrestle a story out of it. It is certainly a challenge and it has made achieving word counts since as seemingly easy so that freedom is worth something! Go for it, girl!

Clarissa - yep! you are right about that. Hey I heard you deserve congratulations - think I'll speed over to your spot and do so!

Hart - oh I'm signed up and I'll friend ya right away. No point in doing this without community.

Stacy - yay! This will be fun with all these buds on board.