Andrew, great reasons for attending Breathe or any writer’s conference for that matter.
Category: Uncategorized
3 Day Novel Throwback
Though it is done and over I wanted to share I post I wrote about the 3 Day Novel contest before I participated in it for the first time four years ago. I hope you will enjoy it. Rereading it makes me want to attempt it next year. Perhaps I will.
Sweaty palms, thoughts racing, constantly distracted, and trying to clear my mind. Sounds like a first date, but it’s actually a mental swirl occurring eight days before The 3 Day Novel Contest begins. Last night The Weaklings took a step forward into the public spotlight and my mind kicked into the “I’m late for work during rush hour” mentality. Photos were taken, interviews conducted, and soon we will be in the local newspaper. Exciting? Certainly. Terrified? Unequivocally. The panic can begin.
The 3 Day Novel Contest is a fantastic opportunity. I have never attempted anything of this sort. My first novel, which I am currently writing, will take me at least two years to complete. Obviously, this test will be a stripped down attempt, but nonetheless daunting. My original idea was to write a thriller set in a fictional communist country. I have since scrapped it (with much encouragement from my brother weaklings) to stay close to that with which I am familiar.
I have decided upon a prequel describing the events that catapulted my existing novel into motion. It has no overlay and is devoid of any characters pertained therein. This gives me the chance to understand the history of my novel better and practice my abilities as a writer. An outline will be posted shortly.
Through this experience I hope other people around me (namely you who are reading this) are encouraged to write and will discover the adrenaline rush that is overtaking me. Three years ago the thought of writing a novel, much less one in three days, had not even begun to formulate in the dusty corners of my mind. Now, with discipline and constant badgering from the weaklings, I will be well on my way to completing the first two books in a series! It is not too late to register. Visit The 3 Day Novel Contest for details and start stockpiling food.
I shall now return to pacing in front of my computer. Waiting. Thinking. Hoping, that the splendid dialogue and clever plotline that circulates in my mind will make it to the page intact.
Until next year.
Cheers,
Bob
Writing with Passion and Persistence
This is a short piece from YouTube about the late great Ray Bradbury. He talks about his passion for writing, how he wrote a short story a week, and slowly became a published author.
He discusses the turning point in his career – a short story titled The Lake which is based on a true story. At the end of the piece he says it took him ten years to write something beautiful. I realize now, at times, how impatient we are with our inner authors and how passion and persistence pays off.
Rest in peace Mr. Bradbury and thank you.
Cheers,
Bob
Why Do You Follow A Blog?
A few weeks ago, I wrote a post asking what makes a good story good. Today I’d like to ask a similar question. There are tens of thousands of blogs out there in the blogaverse and we all have our favorites. Some of mine are in my blogroll. But there are some blogs that we follow more religiously than others.
So, I ask you, why do you follow a particular blog?
Thank you for your participation!
Cheers,
Bob
Writing Is Not Formulaic
Striving toward publication is like being in a maze. And, occasionally, somewhere in the void above there is a cackling voice telling you the end is just around THAT corner or just beyond THIS chapter. Then, you turn the corner only to find another dead-end and a chorus of maniacal laughs.
Okay, more seriously, if you have been writing for a while you will know writing, good writing, takes time. There are mountains of work and it takes more than merely plopping down in front of a computer and penning the greatest novel of all time. There is research. There is plotting. There is putting together a list of believable characters and their back story. There are thousands of words that are written that have nothing to do with the work in its finished form but helps the author gather their bearings whether they are composing a novel or a collection of poetry.
Some writers point to a particular systematic approach of writing short stories and getting them published. Then after the writer has struggled out those smaller pieces a larger work takes form and they write that then pursue an agent. Other writers might tell you to self publish first. Or they might say to do what you are good at, writing a novel for instance, and skip all of that short story business. Even more insist on getting that must have MFA from such and such a school.
Honestly, I don’t think everything works for everyone. I believe the most important thing is to discover what you are good at and saturate yourself with it. If its poetry read about it, write it often, and share what you have written with other poets. The same goes for writing articles or putting together a novel. Writing is not formulaic, but ignoring that maniacal laugh and diving into the world of writing can go a long way to fulfilling your publication dreams.
Write well.
Cheers,
Bob
Another fellow Weakling put a post together about the 3 Day Novel contest. Please enjoy Andrew’s post below. And, if you are a competing, good luck!
This weekend is usually filled with the thrills and craziness of the 3-day novel contest. But the Weaklings, my writers group, are unable to participate. We did write posts about our experience yesterday which I will reblog through the weekend. Please enjoy Josh’s tale in the following blog. Write hard 3 days writers. Don’t give up.
Cheers,
Bob
Normally, Labor Day Weekend brings about thoughts of family reunions, cookouts, and the beginning of school (not to mention the economic and social contributions of workers). But for the last few years, it has had very different associations for me. I think of long nights, early mornings, and typing until my fingers ache and my eyes dry out. You see, Labor Day Weekend is the official time-frame for the 3-Day Novel Contest.
It was shortly after the formation of the Weaklings, my writer’s group, that one of our members told us about the 3-Day Novel Contest.
“You write a novel in three days,” he said, as though that were something that could be done. Some of us had already been working on novels for three years at that point.
“What?” said the rest of us.
We looked up the information online. Sure enough. One novel, three days.
Of course…
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Combating Writer’s Block
When working on a novel I typically move through four stages: The Eureka Moment, Orienteering, Heavy Lifting, and Brain Dead. They are described below.
- The Eureka Moment– When
the final cog in that baby novel, poem, short story, blog post – you name it, is put into place. Its like a rocket launch – pure energy. - Orienteering – This is when the fuel runs out and you gather your bearings. Sometimes it takes going back a few pages to find out where you were headed or editing a little bit. Here there is still measurable progress.
- Heavy Lifting – This is when you are near the end of a draft and fleshing out the last bit of your work. The pressure is mounting and you push through with your friends cheering you on (at this point your friends might be of the imaginary sort).
- Brain Dead – After the final final final final FINAL final final! draft, this sets in. You can no longer see the trees but only the forest. Each word and page blend together and if you have to read that chapter with the sappy love scene even you cannot believe you wrote one more time you’ll vomit.
Writing has a tendency to drain you. No, at times it’s more like being mugged. If you are telling a honest and good story you are constantly dredging deep into your creative well until you are living on fumes.
I believe this is where writer’s block sets in. When you have written too much or have other stressers in your life that snuff out the flame of your creativity.
So, how can the novelist avoid writer’s block? There is no formulaic answer, but there are a few listed below.
- Live – Go outside, meet with friends, exercise, do something other than writing.
- Write at an even pace – This might sound familiar to the runners out there. When running a 5K, you don’t try to run as fast as you can at the beginning or you’ll end up keeled over at the end of the race.
- Send it to a friend – If you cannot handle editing it one more time, print it off and give it to a friend for review. This might be a sign that you are teetering toward the Brain Dead stage where all momentum stops. This will get your mind off your novel.
- Take a break – Grab a good book that you have always wanted to read and read it. Give yourself permission to allow your book to grow. Don’t simply churn out a book, only to spend hours reworking it where a simple break would have allowed the space you needed to write the book want.
How about you, have you ever experienced writer’s block? If not, what are your tricks for revitalizing the writer in you?
Cheers,
Bob
I recently stumbled across an amazing blogpost about small book exchanges scattered across the London Landscape. They are located in abandoned phone booths. If you are a book lover, don’t miss this post. If I ever get across the pond, I will be sure to visit one of these dandy little establishments.
The blog is run by Christina M Janz and is titled Dragonfly Dithers.
Part-Time Novel Turns 1!
I regret that I have missed a major milestone. Last Thursday, Part-Time Novel turned one! This is great news for a writer that sometimes makes decisions on a whim and does not always harbor a realistic sense of time.
Here is what I desired for this blog at the beginning:
The intention of this blog is to share what I have learned with those who work full time, have children, are otherwise engaged, but still have the wild dream of publishing a novel someday. Thus, with all of the other responsibilities you and I juggle, I thought Part-Time Novel would be a good title. I hope that through this site my readers will be able to see my progress and triumphs as well as share their own.
I’d like to think I’m still circling that idea.
Also, over the last year I completed another draft of my novel, met with an agent, and continue to get comments from people that also love writing every week.
It’s such a thrill to be on this journey. And I believe writing is similar to long journeys that you and I read about in novels. The perils of trying something new, the dashed hopes that come with a rejection letter, and the eucatastrophe that comes with a new idea on how to finish that stubborn chapter, are all pieces of this grand struggle.
I guess what you can draw from this post writer is that there are times to forge ahead into new territory and up the hard mountain of another draft. But there are also times to take a moment and look back down the slope you have climbed and give yourself a moment to appreciate how far you have come.
Here’s to many happy returns for our wild dreams of publishing a novel someday.
Cheers,
Bob
PART-TIME NOVEL 