As my indefensible brother likes to point out NaNoWriMo is next month.
Yes, NaNoWriMo (short for National Novel Writing Month) is a silly name. Personally I think the founders could have done themselves a favor by calling it NaNoMo (National Novelling Month) but, my brother loves to mock the name, so he’s out there saying it, so perhaps their marketing is working.
NaNoWriMo is an online contest whereby aspiring writers “compete” to write 50,000 words in the month of November. If you complete a 50,000 word novel in the month you “win”. It’s really a lose interpretation of winning and competition as I could fake the whole thing and still “win.” However I have not faked the past four times I’ve won.
Although I’ve spoken to several writers who think that writing in the NaNoWriMo style is not for them, I’ve found it’s a terrific avenue for getting the rough draft out of the head and onto the paper in as short a time as possible. There is also an opportunity to meet and write with fellow writers. The NaNoWriMo website offers the ability to connect with other writers in your area and “meet up” to write together.
I’ve already started outlining my NaNoWriMo entry for this year and am looking forward to starting it next week. If you’ve ever felt like writing a novel, need a kick in the pants to get going, and are looking for an opportunity to do a brain dump over the course of 30 days, then go visit NaNoWriMo on the web and sign up. I’m a proponent.
Showing posts with label National Novel Writing Month. Show all posts
Showing posts with label National Novel Writing Month. Show all posts
Monday, May 4, 2026
2010 No Id for NaNoWriMo
For those not NaNoWriMo literate let me explain the title. Novel Idea's for NaNoWriMo. I have several. Now that it is a week away I had to decide on one. The next few days, leading up to the start of NaNoWriMo I'll detail each idea I had and in the case of the first few, why I decided not to use it.
First - Soul Food
I've been wanting to write Soul Food for years. It is a Sci-Fi story about an astronaut who bungles a mission in space, falls into a coma, and wakes up twenty years later and sees the changes happening on Earth all around him. Prior to his slipping into this coma he thinks he sees an alien force or being causing the catastrophe.
As an astronaut his projects were all about "off Earth" living, but after his coma he sees that surface dwelling capabilities have exploded, that religiousosity is a new, overwhelming fad, and that there have been great leaps forwad made in ensuring contentment in old age as well as longer living. It is only becasue he has as an alternate perspective due to his coma that he begins to see that all of these advancements are a product of the alien entity and he surmises that the alien is harvesting human souls for food. How the hero discovers that Aliens perfer the taste of old souls in a manner similar to human's like corn fed beef is still a bit of a mystery.
The original title was Soul Ranch. Soul Food is more tongue in cheek but far more catchy. Could be a comedy in the vein of Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, but sadly I have no comedy writing experience. It's a pretty nebulous topic for a novel. Hard to write believably. Plus, what would the ending be?
Would have been fun to explore themes like religiosity keeping the herd docile, the ability to increase population in a manner similar to a cattle ranch being taken over by new ownership and turned around. All fun, but tough stuff to get across easily.
Needless to say, this idea goes back in the cellar for more aging. Not suitable for NaNoWriMo 2010.
First - Soul Food
I've been wanting to write Soul Food for years. It is a Sci-Fi story about an astronaut who bungles a mission in space, falls into a coma, and wakes up twenty years later and sees the changes happening on Earth all around him. Prior to his slipping into this coma he thinks he sees an alien force or being causing the catastrophe.
As an astronaut his projects were all about "off Earth" living, but after his coma he sees that surface dwelling capabilities have exploded, that religiousosity is a new, overwhelming fad, and that there have been great leaps forwad made in ensuring contentment in old age as well as longer living. It is only becasue he has as an alternate perspective due to his coma that he begins to see that all of these advancements are a product of the alien entity and he surmises that the alien is harvesting human souls for food. How the hero discovers that Aliens perfer the taste of old souls in a manner similar to human's like corn fed beef is still a bit of a mystery.
The original title was Soul Ranch. Soul Food is more tongue in cheek but far more catchy. Could be a comedy in the vein of Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, but sadly I have no comedy writing experience. It's a pretty nebulous topic for a novel. Hard to write believably. Plus, what would the ending be?
Would have been fun to explore themes like religiosity keeping the herd docile, the ability to increase population in a manner similar to a cattle ranch being taken over by new ownership and turned around. All fun, but tough stuff to get across easily.
Needless to say, this idea goes back in the cellar for more aging. Not suitable for NaNoWriMo 2010.
NaNoWriMo Idea #2
The second idea I discounted came by way of my indefensible brother.
Leveraging my military experience and my desire to write a thriller, David wanted me to write a novel depicting two Special Forces units involved in hostilities in "the Ghan." I believe that some of this idea came about as my brother was watching a show that showed a Spec Ops unit all hepped up on testosterone refusing to be called off from the objective. The idea would be to have the two units involved in a long range fire fight neither of them knowing that they are actually shooting at one another. Each unit could call in air strikes on the other and continue to escalate the battle without ever realizing who the enemy is. It was my addition to have a native, enemy, unit watching the battle and instigating action when they see it starting to lull.
Some of the themes that might be fun to play with include out running the lines of communication in battle, a la Pat Tillman, the intransigency and stubbornness of Spec Ops operators in regards to mission completion, and the splintered chain of command in the Spec Ops community. This last has always been a bone of contention with me.
I discounted it due to the fact that I still haven't fleshed out the idea enough to make it anymore than a novella or short story, and I don't know if it would be a good topic for my first thriller novel.
So Far...But So Far To Go
I'm 4300 words into my first thriller novel. Still a long way to go.
But, there's no payoff at the end according to this article (here) so at least I got that going for me. The best line in the article? Is one I've heard before. When Elmore Leonard was asked what writer's should write in order to insure they get the most money his answer was "ransom notes."
Finally, I read an article (here) about critique groups. In it she discusses both the importance of critique groups as well as what a young writer should look out for. I post it if only because a week or so ago I posted about that same subject (here and here). One area where I and the author differ is on online critique groups. She writes that it is best to eschew them. I feel that my own usage of one is due in part to the demands of my youngsters. I do hope to find a "flesh and blood" critique group that I might enjoy reading with, but until then I actually feel lucky with the one that I found.
But, there's no payoff at the end according to this article (here) so at least I got that going for me. The best line in the article? Is one I've heard before. When Elmore Leonard was asked what writer's should write in order to insure they get the most money his answer was "ransom notes."
Finally, I read an article (here) about critique groups. In it she discusses both the importance of critique groups as well as what a young writer should look out for. I post it if only because a week or so ago I posted about that same subject (here and here). One area where I and the author differ is on online critique groups. She writes that it is best to eschew them. I feel that my own usage of one is due in part to the demands of my youngsters. I do hope to find a "flesh and blood" critique group that I might enjoy reading with, but until then I actually feel lucky with the one that I found.
Thrilling Links
Found my next favorite blog, and this one is incredibly timely. The Curzon Group appears to be a group of thriller writers who submit their work toward a common story. Years ago a radio host promoted this same concept. He asked a dozen or so thriller writers to write one chapter, one after the other, and continue a thriller novel as a group. Sounded like fun, and this Curzon group does too. I look forward to following it, particularly now that I'm trying my own hand at writing a thriller.
And as this is National Novel Writing Month, I found this link (here) that lists famous books that have been written in short time periods. (I believe I pulled this link from the Curzon Group website) I don't write my 50K word stories expecting them to come out perfectly. I'm not Robert B. Parker whose first draft is his last. I like this month becuase it makes me put something down and gives me a deadline for doing it. Self-editing while writing will come later I hope.
And as this is National Novel Writing Month, I found this link (here) that lists famous books that have been written in short time periods. (I believe I pulled this link from the Curzon Group website) I don't write my 50K word stories expecting them to come out perfectly. I'm not Robert B. Parker whose first draft is his last. I like this month becuase it makes me put something down and gives me a deadline for doing it. Self-editing while writing will come later I hope.
Advice I'm Thrilled to Accept
I'm at 8000 words. End of Chapter 3 of my thriller novel. I'm less than thrilled with it.
That being said, I found two snippets of advice. First this (here), advice to newbie thriller writers. I think I fit in that class of writer at this point. Like most others, a couple of the points this author makes is first, read. Read lots. Second . . . write. Write lots. Even when you don't feel like doing either, it's good to buckle down and do them both. Good, simple, advice.
The second piece of advice comes from David Morrel of First Blood fame. His advice, and I've yet to try it, look forward to it though, is to go to a bookstore and read the first page of as many thrillers as there are on the shelves. He says that you'll find an amazing similarity among them, and on the whole you won't be impressed. But, when you do find that one, or two, that does make you sit up and take notice, stop and figure out why. He says that's what's important. Try to be a game changer.
That being said, I found two snippets of advice. First this (here), advice to newbie thriller writers. I think I fit in that class of writer at this point. Like most others, a couple of the points this author makes is first, read. Read lots. Second . . . write. Write lots. Even when you don't feel like doing either, it's good to buckle down and do them both. Good, simple, advice.
The second piece of advice comes from David Morrel of First Blood fame. His advice, and I've yet to try it, look forward to it though, is to go to a bookstore and read the first page of as many thrillers as there are on the shelves. He says that you'll find an amazing similarity among them, and on the whole you won't be impressed. But, when you do find that one, or two, that does make you sit up and take notice, stop and figure out why. He says that's what's important. Try to be a game changer.
Halfway
Each year the writing gets easier. This year it is surprisingly easy. I'm at the halfway mark, 25K words and I'm barely a third of the way through the story I have planned out. Secondly, and I must thank Donald Maass' book Writing the Breakout Novel, I believe this is a far deeper story than my previous NaNoWriMo entries. I'm actually looking forward to editing this sucker. Nevertheless, at eleven days in I'm at 25,401 words and still going strong.
NaNoWriMo Links
Anyone who reads this blog is aware that I've been in the throes of a tough decsion regarding my story Toe the Line . . . whether to continue to search for an agent and publish following a conventional method or to self/ e publsih. Articles like this one (here) always make me swerve into the lane of self publishing. Still not sure which way to go. I have sent my query out to several agents, maybe this time I'll learn that it's a waste of time.
I enjoyed this article (here). For anyone who wants to know a bit of background about NaNoWriMo, or how another writer sees the event, it is a short read. Basically it let me know that I'm just as motivate as that dude and have the second guesses except I don't harken back to the movie Cool Runnings, for me, it's Never Been Licked (WHOOP!).
Finally there is this (here). Truthfully this link best represents my own opinion on NaNoWriMo. The article is titled Everyone Has a Certain Amount of Bad Writing to Get Out of Their System. This is the mantra I keep, even if my writing is horrid, it's writing. I look back on my last few year's NaNoWriMo submissions and they look nothing like the final manuscripts. In the words of Rebecca Howe when she was a part of Norm's painting company: "ust do it, Babe!"
I enjoyed this article (here). For anyone who wants to know a bit of background about NaNoWriMo, or how another writer sees the event, it is a short read. Basically it let me know that I'm just as motivate as that dude and have the second guesses except I don't harken back to the movie Cool Runnings, for me, it's Never Been Licked (WHOOP!).
Finally there is this (here). Truthfully this link best represents my own opinion on NaNoWriMo. The article is titled Everyone Has a Certain Amount of Bad Writing to Get Out of Their System. This is the mantra I keep, even if my writing is horrid, it's writing. I look back on my last few year's NaNoWriMo submissions and they look nothing like the final manuscripts. In the words of Rebecca Howe when she was a part of Norm's painting company: "ust do it, Babe!"
If Not a Thriller, a Duller
I'm worried that my new story might be more a Duller than a Thriller. Do other's think this? When Dan Brown wrote DaVinci Code was he bored as he wrote it and only found a way to make it gripping during the rewrites?
Matt Lynn, a thriller author, advises in his blog (here) to learn about structure for Thrillers and to do so by studying early Frederick Forsyth novels. I'm listening to Day of the Jackal right now and two years ago I read Dogs of War. Although they're good books I still feel as though that they both act as treatises on how to be a project manager in the 1950's. Both are filled with the minutiae that go into military operations and assignations. I remember one scene in the Dogs of War where Cat Shannon describes in great detail getting a boat out of customs and bonding it properly. Then again, there's Nelson DeMille. In his book the Lion's Game, the first half seems to be nothing more than a description of the actions during fifteen minutes during an emergency landing of a 747.
So what have I learned? Take your time? Be excessively descriptive? I think of Tom Clancy's books and boy that second one rings true when applied to his books. When I first started writing this thriller I'd hoped to leverage my experiences and history in Special Operations, now. . . particularly if Forsyth is my guide,. . . descriptions of my project management capabilities might be more apropos.
Also, I'm up to 38K for NaNoWriMo. I feel confident I'll hit 50K easily and probably 90K after revising and rewriting.
UGH! NaNoWriMo Hell
Things have slowed down! I have less than five thousand words to go and the pace of my thriller is about as slow as a turtle in winter. Not only that, and this is something I discovered last year, my chapters are short . . . painfully short. A couple of paragraphs and then done.
This is why I believe that this manuscrip will easily be 90K words when it's complete. Once I go back and write the setting and add more back story, this sucker will be almost 30% longer. Right now though I just want to get to the end. Not to 50K but to the end of the story.
Two NaNoWriMo's ago I finished the 50K words but didn't finish the story. It's still not finished. I'm going back and editing it now . . . the ending is still missing. I'd rather have an ending that gets massaged and changed over time than no ending at all.
This is why I believe that this manuscrip will easily be 90K words when it's complete. Once I go back and write the setting and add more back story, this sucker will be almost 30% longer. Right now though I just want to get to the end. Not to 50K but to the end of the story.
Two NaNoWriMo's ago I finished the 50K words but didn't finish the story. It's still not finished. I'm going back and editing it now . . . the ending is still missing. I'd rather have an ending that gets massaged and changed over time than no ending at all.
NaNoWriMo 2010
Made it to 50,000 words. Sadly, as I've predicted, it will take another 20,000 at least till the end of the story. I'm faced with the predicament of going forward and plunging ahead with the other 20,000 or going back to my entry from 2008.
I'm going back. I think that writing so quick, although great for getting a rough draft out there, just isn't good writing. So, although it's still a positive experience each year, it's back to the editing of the other book.
One of the best aspects of NaNoWriMo that I've discovered is the community that springs up on their website. Forums and writing buddies are everywhere. Sadly, as in the previous years, I expect they'll slough away in a few weeks.
I'm going back. I think that writing so quick, although great for getting a rough draft out there, just isn't good writing. So, although it's still a positive experience each year, it's back to the editing of the other book.
One of the best aspects of NaNoWriMo that I've discovered is the community that springs up on their website. Forums and writing buddies are everywhere. Sadly, as in the previous years, I expect they'll slough away in a few weeks.
Prepping for Nano
I'm preparing for my sixth NaNowWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) this November and I have to say that I've seen a decided pattern regarding the complexity of my characters. Looking over the past few tries, the complexity of both the characters and the story itself has not necessarily evolved. It has less to do with which year I wrote it in, one would expect the more I do it the better I get at it. Instead, it has far more to do with how much I edit the novel. For example, my last nano had extremely shallow characters, at least as shallow as the characters in my second nano. But I'm on my third (maybe fourth) edit of my second nanowrimo effort and the characters are becoming far more complex . . . so complex that I actually think it might be too much for the reader to take in all at once. I think I've added too many threads to the tapestry. It's going to make my next NaNoWriMo interesting. I can disregard trying to be complex and just focus on the broad strokes of the story. More on the story I plan on writing later.
NaNo Rules and Regulations
Someone asked me what the rules are behind the NaNoWriMo. Do contestants have to write everything in that one month? What if you do any brainstorming before hand? How do you verify? Who oversees and audits the entries and approves them?
All good questions. Before I attempt to answer, let me state that the governing and creating body of the event is located in San Francisco and is called "The Office of Light and Letters". With a name like that, based out of city like SF, you have to know that the answers are going to be pretty weak, and extrememly pliable.
Yep, everything has to be written in one month. What do you win? Nothing. You get a little "winner" button on your NaNo webpage. Brainstorming before hand? Acceptable. Writing before hand? Outlining is fine, but no actual writing. No one oversees or audits.
Yes, it's a goofy event and it's shouldn't really be called a contest. But, it does work. Each year I do more writing during November than any other month. Even the novels which I think are junk, I usually go back and find something redeeming. So, is it worthwhile? Yep. Is it serious? Not really.
All good questions. Before I attempt to answer, let me state that the governing and creating body of the event is located in San Francisco and is called "The Office of Light and Letters". With a name like that, based out of city like SF, you have to know that the answers are going to be pretty weak, and extrememly pliable.
Yep, everything has to be written in one month. What do you win? Nothing. You get a little "winner" button on your NaNo webpage. Brainstorming before hand? Acceptable. Writing before hand? Outlining is fine, but no actual writing. No one oversees or audits.
Yes, it's a goofy event and it's shouldn't really be called a contest. But, it does work. Each year I do more writing during November than any other month. Even the novels which I think are junk, I usually go back and find something redeeming. So, is it worthwhile? Yep. Is it serious? Not really.
Coming Up on Nano, Wonder What I'll Do This Year
For those not NaNoWriMo literate let me explain the title. I have several ideas for books I want to write during this years, National Novel Writing Month. Now that it is a month and a half away I have to decide on one. If you see one you like, let me know.
Soul Food
I've been wanting to write Soul Food for years. It is a Sci-Fi story about an astronaut who bungles a mission in space, falls into a coma, and wakes up twenty years later and sees the changes happening on Earth all around him. Prior to his slipping into this coma he thinks he sees an alien force or being causing the catastrophe.
As an astronaut his projects were all about "off Earth" living, but after his coma he sees that surface dwelling capabilities have exploded, that religiousosity is a new, overwhelming fad, and that there have been great leaps forwad made in ensuring contentment in old age as well as longer living. It is only becasue he has as an alternate perspective due to his coma that he begins to see that all of these advancements are a product of the alien entity and he surmises that the alien is harvesting human souls for food. How the hero discovers that Aliens perfer the taste of old souls in a manner similar to human's like corn fed beef is still a bit of a mystery.
The original title was Soul Ranch. Soul Food is more tongue in cheek but far more catchy. Could be a comedy in the vein of Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, but sadly I have no comedy writing experience. It's a pretty nebulous topic for a novel. Hard to write believably. Plus, what would the ending be?
Would have been fun to explore themes like religiosity keeping the herd docile, the ability to increase population in a manner similar to a cattle ranch being taken over by new ownership and turned around. All fun, but tough stuff to get across easily.
Needless to say, this idea goes back in the cellar for more aging. Not suitable for NaNoWriMo 2010.
Soul Food
I've been wanting to write Soul Food for years. It is a Sci-Fi story about an astronaut who bungles a mission in space, falls into a coma, and wakes up twenty years later and sees the changes happening on Earth all around him. Prior to his slipping into this coma he thinks he sees an alien force or being causing the catastrophe.
As an astronaut his projects were all about "off Earth" living, but after his coma he sees that surface dwelling capabilities have exploded, that religiousosity is a new, overwhelming fad, and that there have been great leaps forwad made in ensuring contentment in old age as well as longer living. It is only becasue he has as an alternate perspective due to his coma that he begins to see that all of these advancements are a product of the alien entity and he surmises that the alien is harvesting human souls for food. How the hero discovers that Aliens perfer the taste of old souls in a manner similar to human's like corn fed beef is still a bit of a mystery.
The original title was Soul Ranch. Soul Food is more tongue in cheek but far more catchy. Could be a comedy in the vein of Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, but sadly I have no comedy writing experience. It's a pretty nebulous topic for a novel. Hard to write believably. Plus, what would the ending be?
Would have been fun to explore themes like religiosity keeping the herd docile, the ability to increase population in a manner similar to a cattle ranch being taken over by new ownership and turned around. All fun, but tough stuff to get across easily.
Needless to say, this idea goes back in the cellar for more aging. Not suitable for NaNoWriMo 2010.
NaNo Idea Number 2
Leveraging my military experience and my desire to write a thriller, my brother wanted me to write a novel depicting two Special Forces units involved in hostilities in "the Ghan." I believe that some of this idea came about as my brother was watching a show that showed a Spec Ops unit all hepped up on adrenaline refusing to be called off from the objective. The idea would be to have the two units involved in a long range fire fight neither of them knowing that they are actually shooting at one another. Each unit could call in air strikes on the other and continue to escalate the battle without ever realizing who the enemy is. It was my addition to have a native, enemy, unit watching the battle and instigating action when they see it starting to lull.
Some of the themes that might be fun to play with include out running the lines of communication in battle, a la Pat Tillman, the intransigency and stubbornness of Spec Ops operators in regards to mission completion, and the splintered chain of command in the Spec Ops community. This last has always been a bone of contention with me.
Some of the themes that might be fun to play with include out running the lines of communication in battle, a la Pat Tillman, the intransigency and stubbornness of Spec Ops operators in regards to mission completion, and the splintered chain of command in the Spec Ops community. This last has always been a bone of contention with me.
The Future
Ah, the future that all NaNo'ers hope for, to have your NaNo entry make it to the bestseller list (here)
The problem? I agree with the author, I gag violently as well whenever something is compared favorably against Harry Potter.
My friend Bill hates potter and I'm almost at the point of agreeing with him. I could defend the first few books. They were shallow and easy, just the thing to help introduce kids to writing. However the longer the series went on, and the more seriuosly Rowling took herself, the worse the writing. I was hardly able to finish the last book.
Add to that that the only fantasy I'll even consider touching now is George R.R. Martin, and you can be pretty sure I shant be reading this particular NaNo bestseller.
Still, good to see it can be done. Provides hope for we non-pubslished folk.
The problem? I agree with the author, I gag violently as well whenever something is compared favorably against Harry Potter.
My friend Bill hates potter and I'm almost at the point of agreeing with him. I could defend the first few books. They were shallow and easy, just the thing to help introduce kids to writing. However the longer the series went on, and the more seriuosly Rowling took herself, the worse the writing. I was hardly able to finish the last book.
Add to that that the only fantasy I'll even consider touching now is George R.R. Martin, and you can be pretty sure I shant be reading this particular NaNo bestseller.
Still, good to see it can be done. Provides hope for we non-pubslished folk.
Yet Another Novel Idea for NaNo
Last year I helped set up a digital video conference for police departments who used COBAN technology, a local dash mounted video camera maker. We watched an extremely disturbing dash mounted video camera scene where in a man who is caught in the country making meth, beats up and eventually kills a police officer who was trying to arrest him. The entire fight was caught in front of the camera and lasted for fifteen minutes. It was horrifying. We had several others like it, includeing high speed crashes caught on tape that killed the officers, and some that showed police missconduct.
My idea was to have a flunky for a dash mounted video camera maker who goes around to different departments to help them with their videos. He sees from one department that they are trying to hide a very high level murder that one of their officers was involved in. Naturally he doesn't know who to turn to and he is eager to extricate himself from the situation, but the department heads learn that he knows what is going on and the full force of the department is arrayed against our main character as he tries to escape. I would throw a partner into it who gets killed and maybe the original victims family would be involved. It would require quite a bit more development, but I think it would be interesting and I could leverage my dash cam experience.
My idea was to have a flunky for a dash mounted video camera maker who goes around to different departments to help them with their videos. He sees from one department that they are trying to hide a very high level murder that one of their officers was involved in. Naturally he doesn't know who to turn to and he is eager to extricate himself from the situation, but the department heads learn that he knows what is going on and the full force of the department is arrayed against our main character as he tries to escape. I would throw a partner into it who gets killed and maybe the original victims family would be involved. It would require quite a bit more development, but I think it would be interesting and I could leverage my dash cam experience.
Getting Ever Closer
So, as NaNo comes closer, I have more and more ideas that I want to write about.
The second idea comes by way of my brother.
Leveraging my military experience and my desire to write a thriller, my bro wants me to write a novel depicting two Special Forces units involved in hostilities in "the Ghan." I believe that some of this idea came about when he was watching a show that showed a Spec Ops unit all hepped up on testosterone refusing to be called off from the objective. The idea would be to have the two units involved in a long range fire fight neither of them knowing that they are actually shooting at one another. Each unit could call in air strikes on the other and continue to escalate the battle without ever realizing who the enemy is. It was my addition to have a native, enemy, unit watching the battle and instigating action when they see it starting to lull.
Some of the themes that might be fun to play with include out running the lines of communication in battle, a la Pat Tillman, the intransigency and stubbornness of Spec Ops operators in regards to mission completion, and the splintered chain of command in the Spec Ops community. This last has always been a bone of contention with me.
Might be a better novella than actual novel, but I think it'd be easy to get to 50K with.
The second idea comes by way of my brother.
Leveraging my military experience and my desire to write a thriller, my bro wants me to write a novel depicting two Special Forces units involved in hostilities in "the Ghan." I believe that some of this idea came about when he was watching a show that showed a Spec Ops unit all hepped up on testosterone refusing to be called off from the objective. The idea would be to have the two units involved in a long range fire fight neither of them knowing that they are actually shooting at one another. Each unit could call in air strikes on the other and continue to escalate the battle without ever realizing who the enemy is. It was my addition to have a native, enemy, unit watching the battle and instigating action when they see it starting to lull.
Some of the themes that might be fun to play with include out running the lines of communication in battle, a la Pat Tillman, the intransigency and stubbornness of Spec Ops operators in regards to mission completion, and the splintered chain of command in the Spec Ops community. This last has always been a bone of contention with me.
Might be a better novella than actual novel, but I think it'd be easy to get to 50K with.
Roommate Novel
Another NaNo idea I have, and this is rather apropos considering that Catch 22 is 50 years old today, is a comic novel about my old Army roommate. This fellow was a Mormon and might have been the worst Mormon I’ve ever met. We snapped a picture of him playing poker at a casino once, at two in the morning with two drunk girls on his lap, a cigarette, a half drunk bottle of beer and a dip in his mouth. That image pretty much summed him up. Have you ever seen these movies wherein they motivate and train monkey by enticing them with a banana? Substitute the monkey for my roommate and make the banana a beer and you know what motivated him. Although I tried not to spend too much time with him, I invariably did so, and I accrued a treasure trove of interesting stories.
So, although I think this could be a good NaNo topic if I don’t find myself motivated by any of the others, I also think that this story could be more of a compilation of short stories and might be better as a non-NaNo project.
So, although I think this could be a good NaNo topic if I don’t find myself motivated by any of the others, I also think that this story could be more of a compilation of short stories and might be better as a non-NaNo project.
The Valley of Despair is No Place to Hang Out for Long
So, as I said in my previous posts (here and here), I stopped reading to concentrate on my writing. For the most part it worked. I say for the most part cause it was a good short term kick in the pants. In the long term it worked against me.
In order to get ready and in the right mindset for NaNoWriMo (quite possibly the lamest name ever) I decided to download and read a book from one of my favorite authors, Banker by Dick Francis. Based just on reading a few pages from that I've been re-inspired and have written more in my novel than I did the entire last few weeks. Granted, I was also stuck on a plane for 4 hours, but still the inspiration was there.
The valley worked, but in the long run its no place to stay for long periods.
In order to get ready and in the right mindset for NaNoWriMo (quite possibly the lamest name ever) I decided to download and read a book from one of my favorite authors, Banker by Dick Francis. Based just on reading a few pages from that I've been re-inspired and have written more in my novel than I did the entire last few weeks. Granted, I was also stuck on a plane for 4 hours, but still the inspiration was there.
The valley worked, but in the long run its no place to stay for long periods.
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