We’re now more than a week into November, which means there are three weeks left in National Novel Writing Month. The widget above shows my progress so far. I couldn’t be happier with how much I’ve written. I’m adding on to a novel I started two years ago, hoping to finish the first draft this month. All together, including what I’ve written for NaNoWriMo, I’ve got a 105,000-word novel. How well is your novel writing month going? Comment and post your progress widget!
Today was the first day of November, which means it was the first day of National Novel Writing Month. I met with a friend at CK Cafe in Claremont, a little hidden cafe filled with comfy chairs and tables that are just the right height. Soon there were nine writers there, plugging away at their manuscripts–some on laptops, some with good old-fashioned pen and paper, and one woman on a 1930s typewriter. Best of all were CK Cafe’s $2.25 Thai Teas, which are the best beverages in the world.
All together, I kicked out 2,890 words! In order to write 50,000 words in thirty days, you have to write about 1,600 words a day, so I’m really happy that I’m ahead of the game at the moment. If I can get up to 5,000 words tomorrow, I’ll be 10% done. I was also expecting that I was just going to spew out a bunch of words, just to get the story on the paper, which I would later have to go back and fix. Not so! I’m actually happy with most of what I wrote–at least for now–and the good thing about where I’m at in the story is that it’s going to be pretty fast-paced and action-packed from here on out. It should be relatively easy and fun to write.
It looks like the gathering at CK Cafe are going to become regular, so I encourage any Claremont/Montclair/Rancho/Ontario/Pomona writers to come on down and soak up some of that great energy that develops when you get a lot of creative people working in one place. And if you’re taking part in NaNoWriMo this year, be sure to comment and let us know how you’re progressing! You can also watch my progress here on the NaNoWriMo site, or send me a buddy request so we can both do this together: http://www.nanowrimo.org/eng/user/419938.
This Saturday beginning at 1 PM there will be a “write-in” held in the Claremont Village to kick off National Novel Writing Month, 2008. Visit CK Cafe in the Claremont Village during the early afternoon hours and you’ll find me there, trying to plug away at the first 1,667 words of the 50,000 needed to complete NaNoWriMo.
From Jennifer Carey, another Claremont-area writer who will be there: “CK Cafe is really a hole-in-the-wall. CK Cafe is at 109 Yale Avenue. You’ll want to park on Yale then pass the Danson (which is also 109 Yale), going into the alley that is adjacent to the Danson, then turn left and you’ll see a patio. There’s a door on the patio that leads into CK Cafe. It might be hard to find, but it is worth it. The place has great atmosphere and wonderful coffee and tea. And: free wi-fi!
You can check out their website here: http://www.yelp.com/biz/ck-cafe-claremont
All are welcome and invited, even if you do not reside in the Pomona Valley area.”
So bring your laptop, your pad of paper, your outlines, and an insatiable urge to write, and let’s kick off NaNoWriMo with a bang.
With just a few days till the start of National Novel Writing Month, I’m really started to get excited. I feel as if I’m about to begin a race. I received an email today from Chris Baty, Program Directory for NaNoWriMo, that includes a funny, inspirational timeline for the month of November:
Here’s the plan:
Today: Make a tax-deductible donation to help us pay for National Novel Writing Month. So far, we’ve received donations from 3.4% of our participants, putting us 6.6% away from our goal. Chip in! Even $10 makes a big difference, and pays huge dividends in halos and noveling karma. We’re a nonprofit, and we’ve spent hundreds of thousands of dollars readying this swashbuckling adventure for 110,000 adults and 15,000 kids and teens around the world. We need your support!Tomorrow: Make sure you’ve set your time zone correctly (it’s under User Settings). Some word-count features appear and disappear at midnight on November 1 and November 30, so dialing those in now will save you stress later. Join a local region, and find out when and where the first novel-writing get-togethers (called “write-ins”) for your city or town will be held. Tune in to WrimoRadio, NaNoWriMo’s podcast, and learn how you can be on the November 3 episode.
October 31: Get the first pep talk email. You’ll receive about three of these a week—one from me and two from our panel of esteemed celebrity pep talkers—throughout November. Note: If you donate $50 or more today, you will receive six years of pep talks from me in a beautiful 80-page PDF, constituting about as much week-by-week NaNoWriMo advice and encouragement as any human being can handle without falling over.
November 1: At midnight, local time, start writing your book. You need to log 1667 words per day to stay on par. The site will be very slow for the first few days of the event, but with patience you can update your soaring word count in the box at the top of our site or on the “Edit Novel Info” page of your profile. Watch your stats graph fill. Send a link to your author profile to your friends so they can follow your progress. Revel in the majesty of your unfolding story. It’s November 1! You are an unstoppable novel-writing machine!
November 2: Stop writing. Wonder if you should start over. Keep going. Feel better.
November 3: The first November episode of WrimoRadio goes up on the site, beaming out overcaffeinated messages of hope from Wrimos worldwide. We’ll be podcasting every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from here until December.
November 8: As the first full week of writing comes to a close, you will be at 11,666 words. This is more fiction than most people write in their lifetimes, and you did it in a week. Go, you! This is also Municipal Liaison Appreciation Day, a raucous international holiday that celebrates NaNoWriMo’s volunteer chapter-heads (the folks who organized the write-in you went to last week). Chocolate, flowers, and gifts of expensive electronics are appreciated.
November 13: Nothing really happens on November 13.
November 15: After the second week of writing, you will be at 25,000 words. This is the approximate length of such legendary works of fiction as Animal Farm, Death in Venice, and Gossip Girl: I Like it Like That. You’re halfway to winning! Attend a Midway Party in your town, or come to San Francisco, where the Night of Writing Dangerously Write-a-thon will set records for group noveling and candy consumption.
November 16: The second half of NaNoWriMo dawns. Writerly confidence builds. Your book comes to life, and characters start doing interesting, unexpected things. Nice. Weird.
November 22: After the third full week of writing, you stand at 35,000 words, the NaNoWriMo milestone universally recognized as The Place Where Everything Gets Much, Much Easier.
November 25: Novel validation and winning begins, and Word-Count Progress Bars turn from blue to green (over 50K) to purple (over 50k and a verified winner!). Check our FAQs for details on uploading your manuscript and winning. For the first time ever, a very limited number of 2008 Winner t-shirts will appear in the store. These will make you smile.
November 27: American Wrimos celebrate the true meaning of Thanksgiving by gathering together with friends and family, wolfing down a huge meal as quickly as possible, and then ditching those friends and family to hide in the bathroom with a laptop.
November 30: By midnight, local time, we will all be the proud owners of 50,000-word novels that we could barely imagine on October 31. Plan to attend your local NaNoWriMo Thank God It’s Over Party, where grins will abound, champagne will flow, fives will be highed, and wrists will be iced.
If you’re taking part in NaNoWriMo, let us know. And don’t forget to download the latest issue of Faraway.
Marathon For the Arts
I just got back from my long run for the week and I am beat! I ran nine miles in 1:19:37, well below my goal time (1:21:39), most of it along the Pacific Electric Bike Trail. I also took a detour down Euclid Avenue through Upland, where there is a large, grassy median that would be perfect for running–it if weren’t muddy. I must say, though, that the cities of Claremont, Ontario, Upland, and any other city involved in the Pacific Electric is really to be commended for seeing that project through. I wish there were dozens of such trails, unobstructed and set away from cars–but one will have to do for now. I arrived back from my run utterly famished. I quickly downed two thick, buttery, syrupy Belgian waffles, followed them with a slice of pizza, four cups of Gatorade, and a tall glass of milk, and I feel like I could eat the same again right about now. When I stopped at the corner at the end of my run to cool down as I walked back to my house, it felt like I had no legs, which was a strange, worrying sensation. Next week we’re going up to ten miles.
Read more about the Marathon For the Arts Fundraiser, or click below to donate!
NaNoWriMo
In other news, National Novel Writing Month approacheth, and there’s been strong interest right here in our own ranks. NaNoWriMo calls for the writing of 50,000 words, or 175 pages, between November 1 and November 31, which equals about six double-spaced pages a day. I have it on good authority that our very own Jared Hernandez and Michael Pitassi are biting at the bit to get started. And who would I be if I let them outdo me? I don’t know that I can write that much in the time constraints I have, but I’m going to throw my hat in anyways. Wish us all luck!