Queer Writers Unite!

[Medusa]

Hey All -
Wondering if anyone would be interested in attending the Saints and Sinners Literary Festival in May or the Tennessee Williams Literary Festival in March?

Anyone ever been to either festival? I kinda remember Arwen might have gone to Saints and Sinners but can't recall exactly.

Anoyone doing NaNoWriMo in November?

Anyway - This thread is for us! Let's support each other!

[Linus]

I've tried to do NaNoWri a few times and want to try it again (now that I'm settled and looks like November might be quiet for me).

[IrishGrrl]

I"m doing nanowrimo.


:seeingstars:

[Artdecogoddess]

How did I get this far in life and NOT know about this NaNoWrMo?

Irish and Linus and Medusa - you are my new heroes. Iam trying to figure out if I can manage this - it seems too cool to be true!!!!!

Love the idea of this thread.


ADG

[Medusa]

How did I get this far in life and NOT know about this NaNoWrMo?

Irish and Linus and Medusa - you are my new heroes. Iam trying to figure out if I can manage this - it seems too cool to be true!!!!!

Love the idea of this thread.


ADG


ArtDeco! It is an AMAZING experience!

I did it a few years back and didnt finish but it gave me some amazing motivation.

This is my profile over there: http://www.nanowrimo.org/eng/user/235614

We can all "friend" each other and keep up with our stats. It also lets you post snippets of your work and is a GREAT tool to make good writing connections.

I hope you decide to do it! Im super busy and will probably do it but I highly doubt I'll be able to finish it unless I get crazed and manic. Just the motivation to write every day for 30 days is enough to get me exited about it :)

[IrishGrrl]

Well I can assure you all, that I will be writting absolute crap. But the idea of purge is exciting. I mean, it's gonna be like a colonic for my brain. So happy.
:blink:

[Gemme]

It sounds like something I'd like to do! :)

[Gayla]

I've attempted NaNoWriMo several times over the years and it's probably the hardest thing I've ever done. My writing style just doesn't fit well with it and I find it more frustrating than anything else!

I have a number of friends who do it every year and it's just an amazing experience for them, so I encourage everyone to try it at least once. Well, everyone who writes, that is! :)

[Spirit Dancer]

I'm in, doing the nanowri this year
don't know if it will get finished
but I'm going to try my best.:writer:

[Artdecogoddess]

Okay folks count me in. I will register tmw at work - when I am supposed to be working.

I am so excited. I think we shall write masterpieces as we empty our brains bit by bit. This IS a good thing.

ADG

[Gemme]

ArtDeco! It is an AMAZING experience!

I did it a few years back and didnt finish but it gave me some amazing motivation.

This is my profile over there: http://www.nanowrimo.org/eng/user/235614

We can all "friend" each other and keep up with our stats. It also lets you post snippets of your work and is a GREAT tool to make good writing connections.

I hope you decide to do it! Im super busy and will probably do it but I highly doubt I'll be able to finish it unless I get crazed and manic. Just the motivation to write every day for 30 days is enough to get me exited about it :)

I added you! This is me:

http://www.nanowrimo.org/eng/user/654571

[Medusa]

Hey All!

Is everyone getting ready for NaNoWriMo?!

If you have never participated in NaNoWriMo it is a GREAT opportunity to renew your creativity or just a fun way to do a personal writing challenge! The way it works is that you commit to the "contest" and try to write a 50,000 word novel from scratch in one month's time. You "win" when you upload your work to the NaNoWriMo robotic word counter and it verifies.

Tons of people participate and it really is pretty fun! :)

I'm already getting ready - buying extra coffee supplies, index cards for note-taking, and dusting off my trusty "inspiration blanket" (it's a raggedy blanket that I've had for years but I like to cover my legs with it while I'm doing my "serious" writing).

Gemme and I have friended one another and there are a few other names out there that I recognize - Would love to see more of you participating ;)

Besides, some of your work could be used for our anthology!

[IrishGrrl]

Yes, I know it's not November 1st. Here is the start to my novel. Like I said, it's all crap. LOL

-----------------------------------------------------------
He began by telling me how much I wanted it. How much I would like it, the feel of his cock inside me. Turns out he was right, but not in the way he thought. And so it began, my journey towards love, if that's what it can be called, in the back seat of an old musty car parked in an abandoned school parking lot.
Everyone had always said that love didnt come easy, but it didnt seem all that complicated to me. A game really, the business of love. One I would learn to master, mostly. If you are smart you will draw it out, because as soon as it begins, it's almost over. I can always see the end from the start. It's the middle that I'm curious about.
When I was a child love meant pain, hurt, abondonment, and abuse. You loved someone by striking them in the face with a closed fist. Speaking profanities at the top of your lungs. Humiliation, and degredation. I thought anything different was not real, how could it be? At least when someone is beating you, you have thier full attention. Thier deepest emotions are being played out on your body, mind and soul. It's a gift, like the socks and pajamas you open at christmas. Even if it isnt what you wanted, something
is better than nothing,and at least you werent completely forgotten.
Later on, I realized that not everyone knew that kind of love, the love you dont speak about. It's not something you go shouting from the rooftops. It's not the love you are supposed to aspire to. Love is pretty, shiney, and everyone wants it. It cannot be bought, sold, or bribed. It takes it place among whomever, and whereever. That's what everyone said anyway, but I beg to differ.
What is love to one is not love to another, and if you learn how you can manufacture your own brand of love anytime, anywhere. The kind that you feel safe in, the kind you recognize. That's what true love really is. It is your own story, that begins with your roots, moves slowly toward your center, and shines bright at the top. Where you begin telling this story, what part you show to the world is another matter all together. Exposing your roots can be dangerous. People dont love roots, they love what you show them.

c IrishGrrl 2010

[Pixie]

Thanks to sissy I joined

http://www.nanowrimo.org/eng/user/706328

[Medusa]

Daywalllllkerrrrrrrr! Oh, DAYYYYY?????


I just added Pixieboo and am looking for more names to pop up. Only 3 more days until we start - MIDNIGHT begins the write-a-thon!

[IrishGrrl]

http://www.nanowrimo.org/eng/user/706330

[IrishGrrl]

Crap, I"m stuck already!!

[Gemme]

Crap, I"m stuck already!!

I've forgotten my log in. :|

*smacks head*

I knew I should write all my log ins down somewhere.

You're doing great, Irish. I liked what you wrote. I think mine, once I get in there, will pretty much just be free form thinking, basically. I don't have the dedication and discipline necessary for structured writing.

Maybe I can get away with doing a book of poetry...:thinking:

[canadianmusician]

Hey folks!!! I'm signed up as well!!! If you're on the Nanowrimo.org site feel free to send a message :) ryanj79 is my name there!

R

(RyanCGY on the old b-f site)

[Medusa]

It starts tonight at Midnight!

[nicetgurl_30]

Wow I guess I do have some catchingup to do! Sounds like fun.

[Arwen]

I don't do NaNoWriMo but I have taught a workshop during it to help folks get that 50K out.

Here's a tip for today.

If you think you are stuck, you aren't. Just skip to another scene.

There is no one reading this over your shoulder.

There is no Great Big Mean Writer's Rule that says you must write the book in order. Many famous bestsellers write scenes as they come and then piece them back in later.

So stop worrying about being stuck. Leave that scene where it is. Start another one.

[canadianmusician]

Thanks for posting Arwen!!!!! Brilliant!

[Arwen]

Here's today's NaNoWriMo I'm Stuck tip.

When you hit a point where you hate your story or your characters or yourself (lol), go to Google.

Type in something about your character and search in images. Then write a scene about that image for your character.

Remember, this is about word count and moving forward. When you get to the end of this month, you are going to start adding and removing stuff from your ms (manuscript).

So if you get stuck, think in pictures!

[Arwen]

Here's today's NaNoWriMo I'm Stuck tip.

When you hit a point where you hate your story or your characters or yourself (lol), go to Google.



P.S. Set a timer. No googling for longer than 10 minutes!

[Arwen]

Best. Tip. EVER.

"Victor Hugo would write naked and tell his valet to hide his clothes so that he'd be unable to go outside when he was supposed to be writing."

[Jesse]

Lol! That would so not stop the likes of me!


Best. Tip. EVER.

"Victor Hugo would write naked and tell his valet to hide his clothes so that he'd be unable to go outside when he was supposed to be writing."

[Gemme]

Lol! That would so not stop the likes of me!

Nudist!!! :blink:

[rlin]

arwen...
thank you for posting these tips...
the google scene tip is excellent...
i never thought of it... not even close...

thank you...
again...

[Arwen]

arwen...
thank you for posting these tips...
the google scene tip is excellent...
i never thought of it... not even close...

thank you...
again...

You are so welcome, rlin! How is your NaNoWriMo going?

[Arwen]

Another NaNoWriMo "keep writing" tip.

Remember that you want to show not tell. Telling doesn't put your reader in the scene. You will hear "show don't tell" so much you will want to SCREAM, but there's a reason for that.


EXAMPLE:

TELLING: Dean thought it was a hot day. He wanted some tea. Instead he found signs of thieves. That made him mad.

SHOWING: Sweat pooled under Dean's collar. He knew he would be red as a beet by noon but there was no escaping the west Texas sun. His boots scuffed up dust clouding the fence line. He dreamed of a shade tree and a
pretty girl handing him a sweet tea. Cursing softly, he found where
the barbed wire had been cut clean and neat by someone who knew what
they were after. "Rustlers. I'll kill the varmints when I catch them."

In the SHOWING, you not only have more words (Go NaNoWriMo), but you also now know where the character is and you should be able to feel the heat on your own skin. You also know why he's angry and the level of anger.:tea: Keep writing!

[Passionaria]

Well I signed up. I have begun something I wanted to flesh out. We'll see what happens ! This is fun!

:cherry: Pashi

[Arwen]

Yet another tip to help you get that word count up for NaNoWriMo.

Nobody is reading this.
Nobody is hating this.
Nobody is reading this but you.

No really.

What you are writing right now is not for public consumption. This is the dough for the eventual loaf of bread you will serve. But right now it's a gooey mess of flour and water and salt and yeast. You have to keep at this or it will stay a gooey mess.

But no one is reading this yet.

So stop worrying about what others think and forge ahead. Don't worry if one scene makes another obsolete. Keep writing. You can scoop that bit of eggshell out later. :)

[canadianmusician]

FOlks, I DID IT!!!!!!!!!!! 58,442 words!!!!!! HELL YEAH!!!

Thanks to those posting all your tips and if anyone is behind...remember....you still have a whole day and a half! Order pizza, throw on a pot of coffee, drink tons of water, and GO NUTS!!

[Arwen]

FOlks, I DID IT!!!!!!!!!!! 58,442 words!!!!!! HELL YEAH!!!

Thanks to those posting all your tips and if anyone is behind...remember....you still have a whole day and a half! Order pizza, throw on a pot of coffee, drink tons of water, and GO NUTS!!

That truly rocks. Congratulations on winning NaNoWriMo 2010.

[Arwen]

http://voicesftheart.blogspot.com/2010/12/you-know-youre-writer-if.html You know you're a writer if...