Well folks, NaNoWriMo is quickly approaching and I find myself looking for a new book-length project. I've already done the post-apocalyptic, the time travel, the mystery and the young adult adventure story. I've written in third person, first person, had a male protagonist and a protagonist named Bertha. I'm a crazy person. I've done it all.
Okay, so I haven't done it all, but I'm definitely looking for something different. I think it's tough to find your niche if you don't do a little niche-hopping every once in a while. You may think you've found it, but you could have just hunkered down into the nearest dirty corner and called it your own. In my quest for differentness I've been reading a lot and searching the InterWebs for inspiration. Sometimes I find inspiration in photos like these:
Sometimes I find it in places like these:
http://wa.emergent-publishing.com/2012/09/try-something-different/ http://mommyhasapottymouth.com/the-best-of-dog-shaming-part-17-18-pics-22490/.
Sometimes I just made stuff up off the top of my head, because...you know...creative.
I'm going to be honest with you. Most of my story ideas have come from something really insignificant--a look on someone's face, a weird dream sequence, an unexpected shadow or a conversation with a friend.
I think writing fiction is seven parts creativity, 67 parts persistence, 45 parts books you've read and 22 parts self-loathing. It looks something like this:
Okay, so I haven't done it all, but I'm definitely looking for something different. I think it's tough to find your niche if you don't do a little niche-hopping every once in a while. You may think you've found it, but you could have just hunkered down into the nearest dirty corner and called it your own. In my quest for differentness I've been reading a lot and searching the InterWebs for inspiration. Sometimes I find inspiration in photos like these:
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| Where dreams go to die |
 |
| Don't press it!!! |
http://wa.emergent-publishing.com/2012/09/try-something-different/ http://mommyhasapottymouth.com/the-best-of-dog-shaming-part-17-18-pics-22490/.
Sometimes I just made stuff up off the top of my head, because...you know...creative.
I'm going to be honest with you. Most of my story ideas have come from something really insignificant--a look on someone's face, a weird dream sequence, an unexpected shadow or a conversation with a friend.
I think writing fiction is seven parts creativity, 67 parts persistence, 45 parts books you've read and 22 parts self-loathing. It looks something like this:
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| Awesome graph about writing |
You're welcome. I made that myself. For you.
I've done NaNoWriMo for the last two years with surprising success, and once I accidentally did it on my own in April before I knew there was such a thing as NaNoWriMo. But it feels better to do with with the support of thousands of other crazies. That way, when people ask you why your hair isn't combed, or why you're shouting dialogue in your office, you can say something that sounds legit, like "I'm participating in NaNoWriMo," to which people normally respond, "Oh really? What is that?" But when you say, "I decided to write a novel in 30 days," people tend to respond with something like, "Why..." and back away slowly, avoiding sudden movement.
Right now I'm going to attempt an outline of a story that I think I might be interested in working on. If the outline makes me hate myself, I won't write it. It's a promise I made to myself in an attempt to shrink the self-loathing section of my clever pie chart. Write because you love it!
Is anyone else out there participating in NaNoWriMo this year? Feel free to join me on NaNoWriMo as a buddy if you are. It's free. Just create a profile, update your word count and start writing.
Blog off.
Labels: 30 days, book, books, creativity, Cynthia, dream, dreams, Loveland, NaNoWriMo, novel, persistence, Tinkerbell, weird, writing, zombie apocalypse
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