Updates

Halfway through NaNoWriMo and a whole bunch of us are still slogging through our novels. But noveling doesn't mean there's no time for hijinks!

Here's a picture of a bunch of NaNoers at a very salah (wrong) Halloween party. My NaNo novel is stalled as my muse is on strike and has run off to Timbuktoo with Pina Coladas.

I blame it on work stress and working on music for an upcoming play in December. But my novel! I must persevere!

And so shall you, oh NaNo peeps. Halfway there, just keep writing. Just keep writing.

ML Appreciation Day

Ok, ignore the fact that this is late.

November 8 is ML Appreciation Day, where we show our love and thanks to our beloved Municipal Liaisons who make Nanowrimo possible. They're the ones who are responsible for cajoling, persuading, pleading, hitting and whacking us to get our novels written. They're the ones, whom in the month of November, have the unenviable job of prodding us Wrimos on.

So to Malaysia's own ML, Erna @ eaglewing @ Mothership,

HAPPY MUNICIPAL LIAISON DAY! We love you!

Nanowrimo Survival Tips

These were written because I suspect some of those on my F-List have not started at all. Starting can be the hardest thing in the world, but take heart!

1. You must start.
Starting can be as simple as saying: Her name was Amelia. That's it. All you need to do is just start. It can be a single sentence, or, in the case of William, "The End." Then let the story flow. By starting, you would have put yourself FAR AHEAD of the many others who say that they'll write a novel but take their stories to the grave.

2. You CAN write.
If you can read this, you can write. If you've ever left a comment behind, you can write. Writing is not hard to do, it takes willpower and determination (and in some cases, pure compulsion).

Which leads me to the next point:

3. Yes, it's sucky.
Your work during Nanowrimo is a work in progress. It's a rough draft. As Anthony Piers and Chris Baty (the founder of Nanowrimo) have pointed out, it's completely normal. So go ahead. Let loose. Just write. By the end of that period, you'll have discovered more reasons to write within yourself than you would have otherwise tried at any other point of your life.

4. Nanowrimo Dares are the most under-used weapon in any Wrimo's arsenal.
This little thread (that's actually thread 2, there's a thread part 1 somewhere) should be bookmarked. Or the forum where they reside should be bookmarked. Dares help you get over the rough spots where you don't know what to write, or when you're facing a writer's block. Using a dare often leads to new places and plots, and in some cases, might make your novel change for the better.

Think of dares as friendly helping hands to get you over rough spots.

5. Never, ever reread.
And lock up your inner editor while you're at it. The aim of Nanowrimo has always been to pound out as much words as you can. Which brings me to my last survival tip:

6. Try, as you might, not to write alone.
Or at least embark on Nanowrimo solo. The three years I went at it solo (as in I was the only one I knew in my vicinity doing Nanowrimo), I failed horribly. I hit only 20k at the maximum. In 2007, I met great friends who spurred me on to greater heights. It's part competition, part encouragement.

Like quitting smoking, get a friend who's either doing Nanowrimo, or can be counted to encourage, push, punish, prod, or if needed, verbally beat you into hitting that word count. In most cases this is usually your ML (in Malaysia we call her the Mothership) but if you can't really get in touch with your ML, your friends will do.

Go for write-ins. Take part in word wars online and in the IRC channel. Jump into the forums. Nanowrimo is best experienced and enjoyed with a bunch of like-minded friends.

Just remember to write.

I hope this helps. Happy Sailing, Dear Wrimo Person, and may we cross the finish line together.

Joining NaNoWriMo

A friend once mentioned to me (well more like ten minutes ago) that he wouldn't be coming along for the NaNoWrimo thingy that would take place in a few days from now. Upon asking him why, he replied that it was an abstract event. An occasion whereby: He would be abstractly attending the abstract conference room, of which he would abstractly walk out of now and then if he was bored because uncommitted writers are like that in an abstract way.

At the time, I had no idea what the hell he was talking about, but I just decided to humour him, because banter is fucking awesome like that. So long as you leave annoying little girls who repeat your words for no reason at all, out of the conversation. So we spoke on the abstract sense and the literal sense, and though I was at best a mile's length from understanding the meaning behind the statements made, I went on anyway.

He seemed to be worried, or rather nonchalant about the idea of NanoWrimo, thinking it to be an abstract event. A date without an event in a park, a gallery to attend, nor a workshop to meet. Therefore, he would join and not join.

At last a pearl of supposed wisdom popped into my mind, reminiscent of Aesop's tortoise and the hare: I mentioned that it was actually possible to participate in NanoWrimo by not participating. To do so would bring about the analogy of being in a race, although it would involve you just standing around, chilling out. Nobody said that you had to win, although finishing is generally a good idea.

It was then that I decided to allude it to Merdeka. Yes, our national day. You can choose to celebrate, observe the significance of Merdeka in your heart, or you can choose to join in the parade that goes through the streets every year. Of course, there was the chance of getting arrested for interfering with the process of a procession.

Stumped, my friend burst out into laughter and acceded to my request for his presence.

So for you Nanites out there, here's a little quote from me to you: Join or join not. There is no try.

Welcome to the finish line

Dear WriMoPerson,

Hi!

It's been 23 days since the last post. We at NaNoMaLaySia sincerely apologize for the dearth of stuff. Real Life™ has once more Conspired™ to Rob Us Of Life And Limb™. Also, wordcount.

Several of us privileged few (I saw privileged, but secretly the rest of us want to beat them with rocks) have managed to cross that arbitrary yet magical line that says they managed to sink time blood and tears into something that exists only as scraps of paper, bits in cyberspace and immense personal satisfaction, although that last one is somewhat questionable, self-judgmental as writers tend to be.

As the final hours of NaNovember draw to a Close™ we celebrate those who journeyed with us up the steep hill of challenges and to them we say 'Hurrah!' or alternatively, 'God no the pain why.'

All that is left is to look forward to another year of fast friendships, close connections, and of course, the Thank God It's Over™.

We interrupt this broadcast for a special message from the Mothership: 'Show up or else.'

*errorerroroutofcheeseredofromstart*

Week 1 Pep Talk

Yes I know we all get one, but gosh darn it this one is so good.

Roger Ebert, one of the most eloquent people I can think of, has taken on a greater dimension to me than 'that movie critic with the thumbs up.' Two years ago he developed throat cancer. After his surgeries he has lost the ability to smell, taste, breathe through his nose, or speak.

He's started blogging.

Earlier tonight I read a post where he wrote about writing, but I will not replicate the post (although I will link to it.) There was a comment that he responded to, and that is the peptalk.

Josh Pounds writes:

I fancy myself an "aspiring writer", but I have some terrible block in my mind that prevents my thoughts from becoming words and parking themselves on paper (or a computer screen for that matter).

I have ideas, I like to think I understand (thanks to you and many others) story structure, characterization, dialogue, etc...but there's...there's just something I don't "get".

You've devoted your career to writing. This is a desperately important task that I believe bears witness to the human condition in a very profound way.

Please help if you can.

Ebert: Actually, maybe I can help you. There is nothing you don't "get" because there is nothing to get. You are the writer. What you write is what is written. It is exactly right because it is exactly what you wrote. If someone else doesn't think so, fuck 'em. There is no objective goal, no objective right or wrong. Only the process. Your mind will set itself down in words. Do not criticize. Do not look back at every sentence. Just write. You have no idea where you are headed. Your words will lead you. This above all: Nothing is ever completed until it is started. Start. Don't look back. If at the end it doesn't meet your hopes, start again. 

Now you know more about your hopes.

-Calvin Wong

November 7th, 2008

Gimme an N!

NaNovember.

Perennial wackiness. Random sex. The frenzied rush for 50k, the rustling of the keyboard at 3am.

I joined NaNo because I thought it would help my writing. It did, but equally importantly I found many friends, who I speak to everyday and sometimes even get answered.

But this is not a post about them, wonderful though they are.

This is a post about you.

Yes, you.

You, at the keyboard and the fiddly monitor.

On this, the first day of NaNovember, you may have begun. You may have not. You may have the beginning tendrils of an idea, or you may have flowcharts describing your protagonist’s butler’s family tree. You may be writing chic lit, science fiction, human drama, or even a traditional epic.

The only difference between you and any other person who’s decided, for fun or for profit, for simple pleasure or deep persuasion, to join the ranks of the 50k club, is what you’re going to do.

You can write.

Or you can not write.

It really doesn’t matter if you don’t. It’s not a contest. There are no ‘winners’ despite the nomenclature used to describe those who make the final tally. I firmly believe that those who join us every Saturday for cold chocolate and conversation are winners no matter how many words they end up with.

If you do write, I have only one question for you.

Why are you bothering? It’s fifty thousand words for chrissakes. It’s tiring, ardous, time-consuming. (who has time nowadays, eh? I ask you) It’s fretsome, worrying, sometimes destructive, and most of the way you’ll probably have no idea what you’re doing.

Honestly if you showed up for the free book at the start and just left it you’d probably have a better November than most of us.

…but not a better December.

December is the month of two things. Thank God It’s Over – the party for the Who’s Who, the What’s What, and the Bee’s Knees besides.

And the sheer, utter soul-lifting joy that is seeing the massive tangle of pronouns, adverbs, conjunctions and punctuation that by some insane measure you’ve had the nerve to call a ‘novel’.

It may be terrible. It may be worthless. It may be the greatest piece of human literature every conceived. It may be a million million things, but there’s something that it definitely is, and nothing or no one can ever take it from you.

It’s yours.

Have a happy NaNovember, and if you’re going to be up at 3am for god’s sake have the good sense to pull some of us in so at least you’ll have friends.

-Calvin Wong
November 1^st, 2008