MY FIRST-EVER CONTEST FOR CREATIVE TYPES!
Writer and illustrator Colleen Doran, whose credits include her creator-owned comic-book series entitled A Distant Soil, is participating in National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo. The goal is to write a 50,000-word novel in one month. You can sponsor her by hopping over to her blog; donations will go to the Office of Letters and Light, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit charity. Your donations to the Office of Letters and Light pay for NaNoWriMo’s youth and adult novel-writing programs, as well as the Office of Letters and Light’s operating expenses.
Someone named Laurie Sutton posted a suggestion in one of Colleen’s threads: maybe a few of us could do our own little mini-contest. A light-bulb appeared over my head (yes, an actual light-bulb — very odd, but also useful: I used it to replace one of the light-bulbs in my kitchen). I thought, “Why don’t I offer to host this informal mini-contest and throw my own hat into the ring?”
Colleen kindly let me use her blog to announce this, and I’ve already had a few takers. Colleen herself then said she would join us. I am told she did this because she thought it would be funny to see a grown man wet his pants. Well, I showed her, you know — I didn’t wet my pants. I had an anxiety-induced vomit instead. In your face, Colleen!
OK, seriously, here’s what I propose: if you’re working on a creative project that involves storytelling, set a quantifiable goal for what you’re going to accomplish between Nov. 1 and Nov. 30 and announce it in this thread. If you’re doing NaNoWriMo, you already know what to do: write a 50,000-word novel by the end of November. If you’re doing something else, set a goal that is challenging but attainable, and again: QUANTIFIABLE. I will then post weekly “checkpoints” asking all comers to leave comments letting us know how much progress they’ve made against their goal. Those “checkpoint” threads will also serve as an opportunity for us to motivate and support each other.
As the unofficial ringleader (read: jackass who has no idea what he’s gotten himself into), I should have some real skin in the game. I’m going to work on my comic-book. Moreover, I am going to ask Colleen herself to set my goal for me. Ms. Doran, bearing in mind that I have a day-job and can probably set aside 15 – 20 hours a week if I’m really good with my time, please tell me how many pages I should complete by the end of November.
I ask that the rest of you leave a comment in this thread announcing your project and your measurable goal for the month of November. Then come back every Friday to provide an update about your progress. At the end of the month I’ll post a wrap-up where we can all share how far we got and compare notes.
Also: don’t forget to sponsor the awesome Colleen Doran for NaNoWriMo!!!
Now if you will excuse me, I believe I am due for another anxiety-induced vomit.
November 1st, 2008 at 8:07 am
Not a good time for me to pursue this unfortunatly. Hopefully there will be a next time.
November 1st, 2008 at 1:14 pm
Maybe…
November 1st, 2008 at 2:11 pm
Okay, I’m up for this, Bill, as I told you by email.
My project is a novel, Godiva, and I’m going to try and target 2,000 words a day (which would come out to 14,000 a week).
So, of course, today… I’m dawdling around on all projects.
November 1st, 2008 at 2:45 pm
Yeah, I’m in. I won’t use the scary movie, either, since I’ve recently figured out how to end it. Instead, I’ll use an idea for ANOTHER movie, more a suspense thing with some commentary on the powerful people in the community and how they use their influence. And there’s a sociopath, several motorcycles, and several more really big knives. The title–TRIANGLE. It has nothing to do with Bermuda or Isoceles.
November 1st, 2008 at 3:02 pm
Well, it’s my own fault for starting this ball rolling, so I’m in as well. My goal is to write five 10,000-word stories about my anthropomorphic-Star-Trek-for-kids characters “Captain Blue and His All-Critter Crew”. Good luck to us all.
November 1st, 2008 at 7:01 pm
This Nanowrimo thing must work, because after massive procrastination which consisted of spending the better part of two years taking notes without writing anything, I just dashed off 2316 words on day one.
November 1st, 2008 at 7:03 pm
Oh, and it helps to read the instructions. I though you were supposed to upload portions of the document as you went along. No, you are just supposed to upload your word count. You verify later. Duh. That wasted and hour.
And the site is running VERY slow. I figure you’ve got to finish early since everyone will be trying to upload their books at the last minute.
November 1st, 2008 at 8:35 pm
Hello, Bill. Thanks for acting as point man for this. I empathize with you, Bill, for I also have a very demanding day job. Being in front of a computer all day isn’t particularly helpful when one wants to write.
However, I’ll strive to rise to the challenge. There are two projects I had in mind, but one would be far shorter than the other, so I’m opting for the lengthier one. It’s entitled “Forum Everyone”. It’s a bit of historical fiction, with some humor put into it.
My goal is to do 10,000 words a week. Here’s hoping I can keep it.
November 1st, 2008 at 10:15 pm
Thanks again to Laurie Sutton for suggesting this contest, to Colleen for helping me to promote it, and to everyone who has thrown his or her hat in the ring. This is shaping up quite nicely.
I think Colleen has set the example for all of us by polishing of 2316 words in one day. The idea is to get off the dime and get working. One can always make revisions later.
As for me, Colleen suggested that I strive to complete four comic-book pages by the end of the month. I’m already a bit behind the eight ball: the story isn’t fully scripted! But that’s the whole point of this exercise: to stop making excuses and make things happen.
Good luck to all. Please come back Friday to report your progress, and to support your fellow contestants. We can do this, folks!
November 2nd, 2008 at 9:39 pm
Ok, I’m in. The goal—finish my zombie movie script (Afterdeath). I’m about 60% done already so this isn’t a major challenge, which means if I don’t do it I should be ridiculed and mocked.
November 4th, 2008 at 11:02 pm
You’d think that 2,000 words a day would be easy. But I’m a day behind (had some running around to do yesterday). And catching up tomorrow will be a challenge, as I have even more running around to do. But I do mean to hit my target of 14,000 by the end of the week!
And you can booooooo! me, if I don’t.
November 4th, 2008 at 11:30 pm
I’ve decided to turn Triangle BACK into a book.
November 5th, 2008 at 3:58 pm
I am at over 9,000 words now, none of it even remotely publishable, but at this rate, there is no way on Earth I will miss the deadline, unless I get hit by a bus.
Already I am itching to go back and rewrite, because there aren’t two sentences I want to keep, and I have come up with new and better ideas as I have gone on.
November 7th, 2008 at 1:12 pm
The prologue is up over at my site. Hoped to have much more done by now, but the week’s been nuts.