Barnes and Noble Writing Workshop - Rescheduled for November 12th + Nanowrimo Info

As I mentioned, tonight's Barnes and Noble Writing Workshop has been cancelled due to foot breakage. The next one is on Monday, November 12th at 7:00pm.

I was going to talk about Nanowrimo and many of you have been asking about it since I posted on it last week. NaNoWriMo is an annual (November) novel writing project. It's a great way to kick-start your writing, break through some blocks, practice some automatic writing, try out new styles or a new genre and all around have some very intense and creative fun.

I've gotten some emails and questions asking for suggestions. Here's the rub. Every one of you has a different style of writing, a different writing process, different reasons for writing, different subject matter that you're writing and lots of other differences. What you have in common are the tools of your creative endeavor. Words. Even the way you go about putting them down is different. I work with writers who use pen and paper, some dictate to someone or to a tape or podcast, some type on old favorite typewriters or computers, some on newfangled PDAs or even their phones.

The challenge is to assist YOU whoever you are, in getting what you want to say on the page. In articulating your thoughts, emotions, ideas and anything else and getting it from inside to the outside. Ok. That means you've got some thinking to do about the who, what, where, when and whys of your material and process. Having said that - I can answer generally here - Susannah H. posted a comment and question about it last week.

Susannah, thanks for the kind words and comment. The first thing I would do is check out Nanowrimo and register. As for getting ready. A great book that I recommend is Becoming A Writer by Dorothea Brande. It's great for beginning writers as well as experienced writers and it's the kind of book you can go back to over and over.

It was written in 1934 and isn't a how-to or about the ins and outs of fiction or other forms of writing. It really is about becoming a writer. Harnessing the inner and getting it out there. It has a beautiful purity about the process and writing, in my opinion because it was written in 1934 when writing and reading were so culturally different than they are now. Especially since the advent of personal technology and the immediacy of writing and electronic publishing that it has brought with it.

Brand's book is a great place to begin. Please email or comment with more questions - I'm not sure what kind of writing you do or how you go about getting it on the page. It's easier to make recommendations if I have more info.

As for Nanowrimo if you decide to do it - have fun! I'm doing it this year and looking forward to the insane pace of it and to see if I can accomplish what I'd like to.

Enjoy the day,
RK