NaNoWriMo Events 2021
NANOWRIMO AT MILK WOOD We are excited to announce that we’ll be hosting a selection of online workshops again this year. Click on the links below to participate at the specific time. These workshops are held in Second Life®. All scheduled events take place online at the Milk Wood Writing Group area (unless otherwise stated) or in the writing room at Book Island (Sundays at 12 noon PT). All are welcome to join us. ══════════════════════════ Writing Workshops & Write-Ins ══════════════════════════ Character (with Goal) + Conflict = Plot Hosted by Robinette Waterson Friday 22nd October, 2021 8am PT / 11am ET / 4pm GMT F. Scott Fitzgerald said about writing fiction: “Character is plot, plot is character.” One approach at story writing is to first decide on a strong main CHARACTER (or characters). Once a writer knows what drives that character into action, their strengths, flaws, and internal conflicts will naturally and realistically lead to the kind of conflicts or obstacles standing between them and their goal. It is these conflicts and how the character overcomes them, that make up the PLOT. Looking at two examples: Examine how the characters of Jay Gatsby in The Great Gatsby and Katniss in The Hunger Games directly lead to the plot. Both characters have personality traits that predict their behavior, which indicate how they will approach their goals and how they will overcome obstacles in their path. Because of their character traits, one story ends in tragedy and the other in triumph. (Come to class for full disclosure!) A fun exercise would be to look at what would happen to your story if another character was the protagonist. Can you swap the sidekick and the main character? Or take one good or one bad attribute from a minor character and add it to your main character’s profile? Character is key. Put your writing effort there and see how all the other story elements fall into place. About Robinette Robinette Waterson is a writer of Victorian steampunk erotica, historical novels, and assorted ephemera. Instructor for Workshops: Story Weaving on Thursdays @ 2pm, Nanowrimo Prep, and After Nano-What’s Next? In Second Life®, Robinette role plays in historical sims, generally playing a strong-minded woman with a zest for life. Click here to be taken to the online event. ——– Huck’s Cube of NaNo Hosted by Huckleberry Hax Sunday 31st October, 2021 1pm PT / 4pm ET / 8pm GMT It’s National Novel Writing Month again! Prepare yourself for pep talks! If there’s one thing aspiring novelists can rely on in the month of November (besides sleep deprivation and bleeding fingertips) it’s other writers delivering their ‘top tips’ for getting 50,000 words written in the space of 30 days. Huckleberry Hax has absolutely no intention of deviating from this formula (chiefly because it makes him feel for an hour like a real, grown-up writer), and will be once again delivering his ‘Cube of Nano’ talk at Milk Wood as novelists assume the crouch position, ready for the...
Read MoreNaNoWriMo Pep Talk from Huckleberry Hax
So here we are in the final week of NaNoWriMo. How are things looking? Good? Great? Have you been surfing the crest of a steady wave of word count so far this November, banking with ease each day your 1,667 words and wondering what on Earth all the fuss is about? No? I didn’t think so. If you’re anything like me, you probably started the month in a majestic sprint the moment the starting pistol was fired, ran a couple hundred metres, twisted your ankle, pulled some muscle in your leg that you never knew existed, and have been limping along ever since. And that gap between where you were hoping to be right now and where you actually are is starting to look like an uncrossable chasm. Speaking of running, I learned something important about this in the last few months. I used to run a lot. And then I didn’t run for ages. And then, a few years ago, determined not to be beaten into defeat by the approach of a half century of existence, I started up again. But where previously running had been relatively easy for me, I now found it hard. I now found it boring. Running was suddenly something tedious, something I had to endure rather than enjoy. What I wanted to do – more than anything – was to get back to my level of fitness from about 2008, when I ran 10k in under 55 minutes. Well for 3 years now I’ve been trying to get back to that level, and I’ve improved slightly, but I’m still nowhere near that time. And then, this year, I discovered something. Because of social distancing, I’d decided it would be better if I ran without my headphones, just in case I rounded a corner and there were people there. I wasn’t really happy about this, because listening to music was my way of dealing with the dullness of running, my way of ‘getting through it.’ But needs must, and so on. Much to my surprise, I started to enjoy running again. I think the distraction of music had prevented me from emptying my mind and enjoying the run. Once I started enjoying that experience again, I stopped getting stressed about my speed. I wasn’t running to get to some target any more, I was running just because I enjoyed running. And that made me enjoy it even more. Then my speed actually did start to increase. So if you’re getting stressed about NaNo this year, just stop, take a moment, and remind yourself why you write: because you enjoy it. Turn off your music. Forget about your target. Immerse yourself in your novel. Love writing it. You never know, you might just find yourself back on track before you know it. ...
Read MoreNaNoWriMo Pep Talk with Lizzie Gudkov
Time usually flies pretty quickly when we’re immersed in a writing project. Yet, it seems to fly even quicker in November! After the fast-paced, highly motivated writing happening at the beginning of the month, your writing pace seems to be slowing down. And you’re panicking, right? I know I am… What can we do? I’m sure you’ve heard it all before. Write this way, don’t write that way, take notes, don’t take notes, keep going, take a break. What?! Get me out of here!! No! Don’t go! You cannot give up. Writing is tough. Yes, it is. Life happens. Yes, it does. However, giving up is not an option. So, here are five ideas to get you unstuck during NaNoWriMo®! And Then What? – If you go beyond the end of your story, what happens then? What can you bring into your plot from what happens outside its framework? You Are a Character in Your Own Book Now! – What if YOU waltzed into your own story? Would you admonish one of your characters? Would you encourage anyone? Would you rearrange the furniture? *grin* Would you get annoyed and go wash those dirty dishes in the sink yourself? Get your characters moving around you, and *evil grin* eavesdrop on what they are saying about you behind your back! Upside Down – What if the good became bad and the bad became angels? How would your terribly evil character act as an angel? What would he do if you told him he has to behave? You can even sneak inside your story again and tell him yourself. How would he react? Would he throw a tantrum? Ha! A Wombat? A Shoebill? A Glass Frog? – Transform all your characters into animals and see how they would relate to one another. Try to think of unusual animals. Make one hate the color of the other! Or love it, and be extremely annoying because he wants to take a photo for his social media! Who Are You?! – What if a character from your favorite author decides to waltz into your story? How would your main character react? What kind of impact would it have on the other characters? Would all your characters, friends and foes, unite to expel him from your story? And how about the story itself? How would it change? Could there be any secret alliances in the making after this unexpected intruder was kicked out? These are only a few fun activities that will trick your brain out of being stuck. Will they help increase the word-count? I don’t know. Will they trigger fresh ideas for your plot? I really don’t know. But one thing will happen for sure. You will not give up! Keep writing. You can do this! See you at Milk Wood. 🙂 Lizzie — Lizzie Gudkov is a fiction writer born in Portugal. After a career as a teacher of English, she rediscovered writing. In her blog http://lizziegudkov.blogspot.com, she features fiction mostly (micro, flash and short...
Read MoreNaNoWriMo Pep Talk with Raina Anatra
Ah, November. The month that brought you right to NaNoWriMo’s shores. By now, you’ve probably started your novel — maybe you tested the water with your big toe, maybe you dove straight into the surf. You deserve a big medal for showing up and starting, whether you’re a few dozen words into the challenge or several thousand. Starting is one of a writer’s most useful muscles. It’s what puts us in the flow of momentum. It’s what gets us from “Once Upon a Time” to “Happily Ever After.” And starting is what keeps us going in between. See if you can notice all the times you start writing. You start fresh each day. Start after an annoying interruption. Start after lunch. Start when you don’t want to. Start when you can’t wait to strew words on a page. Start at the beginning of a timed writing session. Start after you walk the dog. Start again even when you have no clue where the story will take you. Talk about flexing your muscles! Take credit for each and every start you can find. And if you’d like, move beyond awareness and appreciation of your awesome starting abilities and let each start become a celebration. Starting is a beautiful expression of trust. In yourself, in your story, in the benevolent Gods of NaNoWriMo, in the massive waves of creativity always moving inside you whether you know they’re there or not. Bravo to you, brave writer. Now start writing. Bravo to you for that as well. ~ Raina Anatra (aka Barbara...
Read MoreVirtual Writers: NaNoWriMo 2020 Event Schedule
NANOWRIMO AT MILK WOOD We are excited to announce that we’ll be hosting a selection of online workshops again this year. Click on the links below to participate at the specific time. These workshops are held in Second Life®. All scheduled events take place online at the Milk Wood Writing Group area (unless otherwise stated) or in the writing room at Book Island (Sundays at 12 noon PT). All are welcome to join us. ══════════════════════════ Writing Workshops & Write-Ins══════════════════════════ Creating Workshops for Second Life®: Writer’s EditionHosted by Mossy Symbiosis Monday 19th October, 20201pm PT / 4pm ET / 9pm GMT Mossy will take you through the process of making a workshop come to life in Second Life®. She’s hosted many circle talks, made worksheets for her own creative purposes, and led people through feedback exercises for their work. She combines the knowledge and skill she’s gained in an easy to tackle format. About Mossy An artist, poet, pagan, philosopher, wounded healer, and dilettante. Mossy hosts open talks on spirituality and open mics for poetry gatherings; she’s led pagan ceremonies and classes on Wicca from a Religious Studies perspective, and has been involved in various Second Life® installations, expos, and exhibits, including showcases of RL photography, poetry, Second Life® photos, drawings, digital art, and mixed media. Mossy is also an amateur builder, novice scripter, and aspiring sound sensation. Feel free to keep up to date with her projects, side quests and intermission missions, by joining her Second Life® group “Mossy’s Glorious Shenanigans“ Click here to be taken to the online event. ——– Writing Through Covid-19 ConstrictionsHosted by Barbara Jacksha (aka Raina Anatra) Friday 23rd October, 2020 8am PT / 11am ET / 4pm GMT Feeling uninspired, cramped or constrained by Covid-19 restrictions? If so, you’re not alone. Many writers have found it difficult to focus on their writing projects during the upheaval and uncertainty that the coronavirus has caused during 2020. In this workshop, we’re going to turn the tables. You’re going to learn how to use some of the restrictions you’ve been experiencing to jump-start your writing. You’ll receive writing prompts and some tips designed to get you and your writing process moving again — and keep you moving. No matter what new manner of craziness pops up in the world. The hand’s-on workshop will run for 90 minutes. Be prepared to write! All writers are welcome, no matter which genre or form you write in. You can interpret the prompts however you wish. Wild creativity is always welcome. About Barbara Barbara Jacksha is the author/creator of the Vision Pages series, which includes “Vision Pages for Creative Writers with Daring Dreams: a vision journal for imagining your dreams to life.” Her work has appeared in a variety of publications, including Smokelong Quarterly, Beloit Fiction Journal, The Summerset Review, Per Contra, Mad Hatter’s Review, and the W.W. Norton anthology Flash Fiction Forward. Barbara has received multiple nominations for the Pushcart Prize. She was also a co-founder/co-editor of the literary journal...
Read MoreNaNoWriMo: Closing Pep Talk with Doyle Slen
“Oh here it comes, that funny feeling inside, Winding me up again, Every time we touch,” Why can’t this be love? (Musical accompaniment by Van Halen) Why? Because it’s NaNoWriMo. Love has nothing to do with it. Or does it? Would you do this just for giggles? If so you’re sicker than a sausage straightener trying to figure out American slang. Seriously, there are 320 million of us, and we have regional slang the rest of the country can’t figure out. What does that have to do with NaNoWriMo? Here in America we’ve just enjoyed Fangsgiving. Watched the kind of football that people really get injured in (3 games scheduled for Fangsgiving Day; how great is that?), not the kind where they just fall over holding their shins when the wind blows past them. And our most beloved bloodsport, politics, is roaring ahead unabated with knives drawn and brandished. And we’re pounding out 50,000 words this month. It has to be love. “No, no,” you might say, “Love is just a second hand emotion. Love has nothing to do with it.” With Love to Tina Turner It better. I wake up at all manner of stupid hours to scribble. I sit here until my eyes bug out of my head searching for just the right word. Those tiny icepacks to keep the fingers from swelling with the salt mine like labors are starting to wear thin. I have that crazed look on my face like Ozzy Osbourne on the cover of that great album ‘Diary of a Madman.’ I have a spreadsheet to keep track of my snippets and poppets and do-wangers and do-whatses and all those Seussisms that have escaped through the holes in my head. My coffee pot has raised a white flag and my pod brewer, yes I have a combo machine that brews both, wants a well-deserved vacation. In order to manage what we’re attempting you have to have some sort of love for it. Now this isn’t my first rodeo or whatever you have in your part of the world that uses that same ‘slang term,’ (see how I worked that back in?). I keep several projects handy so I don’t burn out on just one. Had that happen my first NaNo, and come January, I didn’t love writing. It’s the story. Your story. The story only you can tell. It keeps gnawing at you. Won’t let you think about anything else. Talks to you while you’re driving. People in the cars next to you give you stares and make faces at you. You may order NaNo at the drive-through of the Taco Burger Barn and then have to sheepishly apologize while slapping yourself in the face. You better have some love for it, to go through this. We’re closing on the finish line, whether you’re not there yet or you’ve already finished and are enjoying the well-earned fruits of your labor. Just a few more days. The craziness will be over...
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