Tag Archives: nanowrimo

Patriotism, Writing

What does NaNoWriMo mean to me?

Posted on by Shawn E. Bell

This morning I received an email soliciting funds from NaNoWriMo. 

NaNoWriMo was an annual writing challenge that took place every November. As it’s popularity has grown, it’s created NaNoWriMo, Camp NaNoWriMo and other annual, Internet-based creative writing contests that takes place throughout the year. The challenge is to a novel (50,000 words is the minimum length of a novel) between a scheduled start date and end date. The winner (anyone who writes the minimum number of words) gets an internet badge they can put on their website or facebook page or whatever. I have several on my site here, as I have often participated, supported, and won the challenges.

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Inspiration

First Camp NaNoWriMo of the year kicks off on April 1st…

Posted on by Shawn E. Bell

2014CampNanoParticipant…and i’m nowhere to be found.

It’s been a hectic end of March, and I’ve been working hard to finish up some projects and clear my table for the NEXT big project – getting a film made this year.

Life can be complicated.  But, as I remind other writers constantly, if you want to be an AUTHOR you have to WRITE.  You have to write every day without fail.  Even if it’s only a few thousand words, you have to write.  Your passion for putting pixel to screen or ink to paper has to consume you completely.

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Dead Tree Books, eBook

Camp NaNoWriMo set to start up in April and July of 2014!

Posted on by Shawn E. Bell

campnanowrimoparticipant2014Chris Angotti, the Director of Programs over at NaNoWriMo sent out an email blast to everyone on the mailing list for NaNoWriMo about the summer program.  If you’ve never tried to write 50,000 words in month you should.  That’s what NaNoWriMo is all about.  Camp NaNoWriMo is the off-season alternative to the ginormous November writing event, and it offers much more in the way of flexibility – but just as much fun and excitement.  The word goal is up to you – anywhere from 10,000 to just shy of 1,000,000 words – and it’s up to you to make it happen!

From the email:

You’re invited to return to Camp NaNoWriMo, running this April and July!

We first imagined Camp simply as an off-season alternative to National Novel Writing Month, but it’s evolved into much more than that: writers choose their own projects—from novel sequels to scripts to pop-up books—and find cabin communities (and often new friends) to support them. Continue reading →

Dead Tree Books, eBook, Success Stories

NaNoWriMo: National Novel Writing Month

Posted on by Shawn E. Bell

2013-Winner-Facebook-ProfileAs a multi-year winner (including this year, he wrote, tooting his own horn), I always look forward to NaNoWriMo.  And Camp NaNoWriMo.  And I have fond memories of Scriptfrenzy, and hope they bring it back.

An article from the Examiner puts NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) in perspective:

A day to remember for a lot of writers. NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) has officially come to an end. While a lot of authors have triumphed, writing 50,000 words in just one month, others gave it their best but didn’t quite make it. But that should hardly be the point.

A lot of people think the NaNoWriMo goal of 50,000 words in a single month is about completing that. It’s just a goal; a difficult goal. But the point of this goal is to learn how to squeeze every ounce of free time into your creativity: For writers to give it their best, grasp the concept of pumping out a rough draft without worrying about revisions, editing, or how a chapter flows.

Talk to any writer and most of them will tell you they have an abundance of ideas, and the hardest part is writing it out. This is the sole purpose of NaNoWriMo: get that idea out on paper and worry about refining when it’s finished! This could very well be a revolutionary idea in the realm of books.

You can read the whole article HERE.

If you’re a writer, you can find out more about NaNoWriMo HERE.

Goals, Success Stories

NaNoWriMo 2013: And now for something completely different.

Posted on by Shawn E. Bell

For NaNoWriMo this year, I tried an experiment. Normally I use Dragon NaturallySpeaking coupled with Scrivener and LibreOffice.

This year, I used Notes, Scrivener, Dragon, and Siri on my iPad and iPhone. I dictated virtually the entire work, sometimes when I was sitting in traffic, or out hiking, sometimes at home, or just wherever (“wherever” includes waiting on annoyingly late dates to show up. I’ve decided that waiting for someone who doesn’t have the respect to show up within 15 minutes of the date isn’t worth waiting for.  No matter how big her boobies are).

My work schedule has been: get up early, dictate while I hike (watching out for coyotes – they’re out in force). Get back home, pick up my computer, head over to get coffee, and spend the hour there organizing everything I’d saved in Notes into Scrivener. Then organizing the Scrivener bits into something reasonably coherent.

I’ve been working roughly 4 hours a day on this project just to see if I’m more productive by using ‘gap time’ (the time between locations, assignments, waiting for the microwave to ding, drive-time, waiting for clients or dates, and down time throughout the rest of the workday).  It isn’t dedication, it’s a science experiment.

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