National Novel Writing Month - Daily Q&A

Today's Guest: Ian Dudley, Founder of the Kid-Friendly Write-In

Lindsey Grant — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 01:04:55 +0000

Q: Ian, what made you decide to start a kid-friendly write-in? Any novel-related hazards as a result of having kids around while writing? With so many kids around, can anyone get anything written?
A: When I became a dad this year, I realized how limited write-in options are for parents who can't find babysitters. We've heard about NaNo widows and widowers, but NaNo orphans aren't an option (unless you enjoy frequent visits from CPS). I noticed other parents introducing themselves in our regional forum and saw a need.

There have definitely been some hazards. One boy is fully mobile and tall enough to grab things, such as my camera, off of tables. He also climbed onto his mom's vacant chair and merrily started 'adding' to her word count before she caught him. (I don't know if she kept the words.) Typing with your laptop on the floor is an even greater hazard, with outright key removal being a risk. Also, kids seem to find laptop displays irresistible when it comes to grabbing. Then there's the dreaded one-handed typing, when you're forced to hold your child in the other arm. That really slows down your typing.

A more common hazard (alas) is finally getting into the writing 'zone' only to have your kid start crying. You have to stop and deal with that, which derails the writing process. (Of course, you run into that at home too.)

Overall, having this event has been helpful. One mom writes far more during the day on her own (if her son is napping), but feels this is a good way to meet other NaNos. Another mom wrote 188 words at our last meeting, which doesn't sound like much until you consider that her daytime word count would otherwise be zero. She says this is the only write-in she can attend, and that alone makes it worth having.

Ian is an ML for the California :: South Bay region, and father to newborn twins.

Today's Guest: Danni Jenkins, Novelist at Sea

Lindsey Grant — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 19:03:59 +0000

Q: Danni, you and your fellow shipmates are participating in NaNoWriMo during Semester at Sea. Have the rolling waves enhanced your noveling experience, or have some of you been tempted to throw your story overboard?
A: Let’s face it. There’s crazy and then there’s crazy. We’re definitely crazier than most, competing in NaNoWriMo while at sea, because if there is anything just as crazy as writing a 50,000 word novel in 30 days, it’s sailing to 12 countries in three-and-a-half months while taking a full load of college classes and circumnavigating the globe! What tomfoolery to take on both challenges at once …Does that make us all Tomfools? Is there even any such thing?

But to answer your question, we took a poll and at this time most of us definitely vote for making our novels walk the plank. At this point, with word counts lagging and our travel-weary bodies dragging from rough, turbulent seas and seasickness meds, we are smack dab in the middle of a sea crossing that is the perfect metaphor for NaNoWriMo. The optimistic, celebratory excitement of first embarking on an arduous exploration into the unknown morphs from smooth sailing sunny days to dreary and cloudy ones filled with tidal waves of doubt. Fortunately, rough seas, doubts and all, we press on… and find that just about any obstacle not only can be overcome, but that depending on one’s perspective, each obstacle is a plot twist or amazing idea in disguise.

As we travel along during the month of November, we’ve faced some unique obstacles that double as amazing opportunities. For instance, because of the way Semester at Sea works, we spend two to seven days in each port of call. This month alone we’ve visited Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Hong Kong, SAR, Shanghai, PRC, and Yokohama and Kobe, Japan. In between each stop are our “sea days”, days during which we go to class and participate in the various clubs and extracurricular activities that make up shipboard life. There are only 16 sea days in the month of November. We actually spend half of the month traveling within our port countries. This might seem like a limitation, but it’s actually an opportunity in disguise (or at least that’s what we like to tell ourselves to avoid tears). Time in port is time to write less and think more, time to let the experiences we have in each of the countries we visit teach us and affect us, therefore changing us and our novels as well. Isn’t that amazing prestidigitation? Presto change-o!

Yet another amazing thing that we are doing this voyage is time travel. Yes, you read that correctly. We are literally going back to the future. Because we are crossing the international dateline while traveling in an easterly direction, we actually get an extra day to write! November 28th, for the voyagers on our ship, will happen twice. That’s an entire extra 24 hours to spend buried in our novels, catching up those word counts. Way to find a loophole!

The Fall 2009 Semester at Sea Nanos are a motley crew of diverse individuals sailing around the world as students and staff on the MV Explorer, a cruise ship outfitted as a floating university campus. Our itinerary for this voyage takes us from Nova Scotia to California by way of Spain, Morocco, Ghana, South Africa, Mauritius, India, Vietnam, Cambodia, China, Japan, and Hawaii in 114 days. The program is administered by the Institute for Shipboard Education and the University of Virginia is its academic sponsor. To learn more about Semester at Sea or track this voyage to its completion you can visit our website at http://www.semesteratsea.com.

Today's Guest: Vanessa Raymond, Peace Corps Participant

Lindsey Grant — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 21:57:10 +0000

Q: Vanessa, you're currently writing your novel in Bulgaria while serving as a Peace Corps Volunteer. How have you been able to balance volunteering with participating in NaNoWriMo? What's the best part about writing a novel in a foreign country?
A: Well, getting started was hard. As a community development volunteer, I had to designate short, concrete amounts of time in between work and evening meetings. I'd get home from a meeting at 4 PM and say to my husband, "Ok, let's go to the bazaar, then from 5 - 6:30 PM I'm writing 1,500 words, then we'll have dinner, then we'll go visit so and so."

But all this changed when during the first week of November the site that I live in, Yambol, declared a city-wide swine flu epidemic. For almost two weeks schools have been closed and large gatherings of people have been discouraged. My usual schedule of seminars, office hours, Scout Troop meetings, language tutoring, school visits, dance classes (it's good networking, I swear!), and planning sessions with colleagues went quickly from a flood to a trickle. Swine flu saved my novel!

And I would be remiss if I didn't mention that the other volunteers that I serve with have been super-star cheerleaders. They also serve as great character models because they are all crazy, charismatic, and fearless.

Navigating life and work here calls for a lot of on-the-spot thinking. I've been here for only six months so am still learning the language and customs. That being said, I have to wing it through a lot of daily activities... and my newly-honed flexibility, humility, and perseverance have really come in handy when writing.

Vanessa Raymond is a 27-year-old jazz-loving, Samoan-American who is currently serving in Peace Corps Bulgaria. She has two cats named Sasho and Gambolina. She likes blankets, rainy days, and Earl Grey tea.

Today's Guest: Joi Weaver, Promoted Participant

Lindsey Grant — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 21:05:41 +0000

Q: Joi, while most bosses would probably worry about their employees noveling at work, you actually ended up with a new job thanks to NaNoWriMo. How did that happen?
A: I was working in a call center, and had an hour off for lunch. So for the 2006 and 2007 NaNos, I brought my laptop to work, and would write furiously in the lunchroom for my entire break. My supervisor and the CEO of the company noticed, and would occasionally ask questions about noveling, as well as commenting on my ability to crank out a thousand readable words in an hour!

In 2008, a full-time copywriting position was created at the company, and I was immediately given the position.The CEO told me that they had been so impressed at my commitment to NaNoWriMo every year that they knew I was the one for the job! So now, instead of being on the phone for eight hours a day, I get to spend my time writing! Thank you, NaNoWriMo!

Joi Weaver lives in Southern California, where she writes for an international women's organization, and has been a Wrimo since 2004. Her favorite NaNoWriMo activity is meeting up with Wrimos from the Viddler group in places like San Francisco, Tucson, and Dallas to kick off NaNoWriMo each year.

Today's Guest: Cheryl Peterson, noveling across the miles

Lindsey Grant — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 01:59:35 +0000

Q:Cheryl, you decided to do NaNoWriMo to motivate your nephews to write, and now your niece has joined in too! What are the benefits of writing with your family? Have you found that your niece and nephews have been able to motivate you?
A: I'm the aunt who lives three thousand miles away, so I don't get to see them as often as I would like. Also the one who keeps sending e-mails about great books I've found for them, some of which have become favorites. In addition, there is the age difference between us, which makes finding things to talk about a little difficult. When I decided to do NaNoWriMo and saw the link for the Young Wrtier's Program, I thought it might be a way to establish a closer link with them. I challenged them to do NaNoWriMo (become crazy writers) with me and they took me up on it! I'm hoping that we'll be able to become closer through encouraging each other and sharing our work and experiences.

They're great motivators—I can't let them beat me, can I? And I can't give up because of sheer laziness. It's the whole "lead by example" thing—I need to do it! However, they all know we're on the same level here. We're all newbies working through the same challenges. Doing it together, having something in common, is the point after all.

Cheryl Peterson is a first time NaNoWriMo participant, with her team of Courtney, Tyler, and Jayson. She has always wanted to write, but never had the discipline; being old enough to remember when the IBM Selectric was state of the art, her youth was spent hating typewriters! She lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband, two dogs, a cat, over eighty rosebushes, and occasionally, her daughter - those college breaks are never long enough!

Today's Guest: Cable Complin, of the Typewriter Brigade

Lindsey Grant — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 00:37:04 +0000

Q: Cable, you're a member of NaNoWriMo's Typewriter Brigade. What are the benefits of writing your novel on a typewriter? Do you think the choice to use a typewriter affects the story you end up writing?
A: Primarily, using a typewriter keeps my Inner Editor in check. Hard to spend all your time deleting and rewriting on a machine that has no delete key! Also, a typewriter is very unlikely to crash and delete all your hard earned words with a single electronic burp, plus they have infinite battery life. Power goes out? No problem. Virus? I don't think so. The real kicker is that there is nothing to distract you from writing, like there is on a computer. Just try accessing the interwebs from a 1950's Smith-Corona, I dare ya.

As for whether it affects the story, it's certainly possible! This year's novel is a steampunk adventure, which certainly fits right in with the idea of a manual typewriter. Of course there's a sort of delicious irony in writing a futuristic novel on a 1919 Underwood, too. Maybe next year...

Cable is a proud member of that gaggle of miscreants, the Typewriter Brigade. When not writing and/or tinkering with old technology, he works as a backstage theater tech in sunny southern California where he lives with his lovely wife.

Today's Guest: Sara Rich, Educator in the Congo

Lindsey Grant — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 18:43:47 +0000

Q:Sara, you're teaching NaNoWriMo at an American school in the Democratic Republic of Congo this month. How did you hear about NaNoWriMo? What challenges and advantages come from noveling in the Congo?
A: The subject line read, “Thought you might be interested…” Upon opening the email, I was utterly disappointed to find nothing more than a link. But who knew that one measly website could cause such an uproar! At The American School of Kinshasa this month, our library is CLOSED TO THE PUBLIC on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays and our NaNoWriMo participants have full reign. We’ve been tearing up the keyboards on our nine computers three afternoons a week and are quickly realizing that this isn’t nearly enough time!

We are writers from around the world- hailing from South Africa, Kenya, Congo, Canada… and we are all in this together. As soon as I clicked on that mysterious link, www.nanowrimo.org, I knew this was something we simply MUST do. You can tell just from browsing around the colorful, comical, and totally thoughtful website that this is an awesome and worthwhile thing to be a part of. I leave my teacher title at the door and I have the privilege of tip-tap-typing right alongside this international crew. We use the 100% Non-Lame Middle School Handbook to help guide us, inspire us, and reassure us throughout our journey.

If you’ve never been to DRC, you are missing out. There is no place on this planet as wild and wacky as Kinshasa. The city’s colorful fabrics, lively music, chaotic hustle and bustle make for great writing ideas. It’s much easier to think outside the box, when you live in a place where life itself is… well, outside of the proverbial box.

We are thrilled to report that we have eleven novels in- Awww, the power just went out… again. Typical. Kinshasa certainly keeps us on our toes! (And reminds us to constantly keep that cursor clicking SAVE!) Best of luck to all the other novelers out there!

Sara Rich has been teaching World History and English at The American School of Kinshasa for three years. She loves coffee, cookies, her MacBook and all things colorful. This is her first time trying to write a novel.

Today's Guest: Tim Kim, 30 Covers 30 Days Coordinator

Lindsey Grant — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 18:09:44 +0000

Q: Tim, you're coordinating the "30 Covers, 30 Days" project with design firm Fwis. What are you looking for as you select the novels to include in this exciting challenge?
A: The first thing I’m going to be looking for is a complete novel title and synopsis. An excerpt would help, too! You can update all of that by going to your “My NaNoWriMo” page and editing the Novel Info.

Beyond that, I’m looking for novels from Wrimos all over the world! NaNoWriMo gets more and more international every year and we want to represent that in our book covers. I’ll also be trying to represent the broad range of genres you guys are writing in.

I'm thinking of Chris at Fwis (how great is it that that rhymes?), too. We’re asking him to turn these around pretty fast so I want to give him every advantage with vivid and evocative novels. But those won’t be hard to find with the Mariana-Trench-deep pool of creative talent here.

We've actually got the first few up already! You can see them on our blog, or in the "30 Covers, 30 Days" forum.

It's been exciting to dive in and read about all the novels that will be taking form this November. A little nerve-wracking too, but I’m trying to envision myself as a kind of literary man of mystery, scouring through author profiles and scaling Novel Infos everywhere. Dorky? Yes. Calming? Also, yes.

Today's Guest: Paul Carroll, vlogging toward 50K!

Lindsey Grant — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 23:06:10 +0000

Q: Paul, you've made three YouTube videos about NaNoWriMo. What made you decide to vlog about the program? Do you feel more motivated to reach 50K now that you've told the YouTube universe you'll be writing a novel?
A: For some time now, my writers group, The Literary Den, has been discussing our campaign to promote reading and writing, particularly over here in the UK and Ireland. We had spent a lot of time talking on our forum, and very little time actually doing anything, so I took it to YouTube and promoted the biggest global writing event I know of: NaNoWriMo. I had so much fun with it last year that I knew other people would love it too. I've even managed to get a couple of friends involved, one who was afraid she might not finish, the other who wasn't even sure what NaNoWriMo was! Now the three of us are in it together.

In one of the videos I announced that I would "adopt" a novelist, like what Wrimos were doing in the forums. The difference was that only people who had heard of NaNoWriMo could see that. I wanted to make the whole thing a lot more open and to get as many new faces involved as possible. The Den's all about making writing fun; and despite the obvious competition this will create in the manuscript department, it's for the greater good of the cultures we have over here. Writers like James Joyce, WB Yeats, and JM Synge once made Dublin a literary hotspot; now it's like a heritage site to people around the world where they can trace back their families. People are almost afraid to write for fun, to express themselves, and that needs to change.

This is why I've told the YouTube universe that I'm committed to NaNoWriMo for the month. I entered last year blindly, madly even (deciding a week in advance I was going to do it, with no ideas in mind) and without knowing anyone else until it came up in the Den that a few others were involved. And that was it. That was what motivated me to finish. Yes, having a fun novel to write was helpful, but having a public eye on me, knowing I might actually be judged by winners in the group (and people who followed my blog at the time) because I didn't finish like I said I would, that pushed me to the end point. That, added to the fun of the month (and my face quite literally on the Internet, telling people I'm entered to write yet another novel in a month) is sure to make the experience even more fun!

Paul Carroll is a writer, reader, bookseller, and blogger from Dublin, Ireland, studying to become a Religion and English teacher. He runs an online writers group known as the Literary Den and Vlogs from time to time about his life and books that he reads and writes, and has recently begun acting at college. His NaNoWriMo videos can be viewed here.

Today's Guest: Dan Pugatch, NaNo-ing nearlywed

Lindsey Grant — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:42:41 +0000

Q: Dan, you're getting married in November and have still committed to doing NaNoWriMo this year. Do you really plan on writing during your honeymoon? And how does your fiancee feel about all this?
A: That's correct, I'm committed to win NaNoWriMo this year after two previous attempts and fails. If there's one thing that describes me best it's perseverance, which is something to expect from a guy with a chest tattoo of "Goonies Never Say Die!" I'm getting married on November 7th and our honeymoon to Jamaica is from the 9th-16th. I plan on writing throughout the week, and the plane ride from Boston to Montego Bay is 4 1/2 hours each way. I'm an early riser (I get up at 4 AM most days for work and my lovely Heather wakes up 7 AM or so) so I figure I can write while she's still sleeping. I haven't decided if I want to bring my laptop with me, write on paper and type it up when I return home, or call the hotel and see if they have a public computer I can use. As far as what Heather feels about this, she said as long as it doesn't get in the way of the romance. Its only 1-2 hours a day, I can definitely find time, and what better muse for a story than laying on the beach with a drink with paper umbrellas in it...

Dan Pugatch is a bicycle mechanic from Boston, Massachusetts whose life revolves around bicycles whether it's racing for OrganicAthlete's vegan cycling team, running the Boston 3 Speed Bicycle Club, or volunteering his time for the Bicycle Benefits program. He has even worked in the past as a bicycle courier navigating downtown in the winter making deliveries. This year Dan figures NaNoWriMo would be a good excuse to put that English degree to use. Surprisingly, there are no plans for bicycles in his novel, but you never know!