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Beyond 50,000

A month later.  I certainly did get sucked into the NaNo vortex.  And I’m proud to report that I won, with a grand total of words over 50,000, including a tacked-on ending.  (Your NaNo book should technically have a beginning, middle, and end.  I’m still missing quite a bit of latter middle, though.)  But this is no return to the normal world, as has been the custom for my last several Decembers.  No rest for the possessed.  You see, I want to keep going.  I feel like these characters and this town deserve to have their story continued while it’s still on fire in my easily distractable (distractible?) brain.  But what to do?  The NaNoWriMo site is still active but is no longer accepting words– the game is over for another year.

I’m going to make this my new wordcount logging site.  There’s something about being able to put your latest numbers up someplace after a writing session (or occasionally in the middle of one).  Rejoice, gentle readers– you’ll be witness to the daily current wordcount of not just one novel but two:  The Shadow over Portsmouth (only a working title), this year’s NaNo project, and a book called Player Choice (also only a working title), which has been in the works for, well, a long time and has been subject to frequent grinding halts, including the most recent halt that occurred on October 31 at approximately 10:49 pm.

Player Choice is the one that I’ve long regarded as the most probable candidate for my first fiction book to be published.  It has, however, been dragging for a while.  Benjamin has demanded to see a draft by Christmas Day or else daily harassments will begin.  (I’ve made a similar demand of him for a draft of his novel in progress, Ar– whoops, almost dropped a secret there with the title.  He may not be willing to put it out in the open yet.)  So in essence, another game has begun, at least as far as Player Choice goes.  A smart fellow would concentrate his energies entirely on Player Choice in December, yes?  And leave The Shadow over Portsmouth for later.

I have this crazy idea, though, that I can do both.  (It might have something to do with having a rather light freelancing schedule right now.)  So folks, without further ado, here’s our starting wordcounts, at 12:00 pm on December 1:

The Shadow over Portsmouth: 51, 327
Player Choice: 100,410

Now you might look at that latter number and say “Holy crap, you’ve already got a whole pile of words for Player Choice— time to wade in there and start cutting!”  But I already know for a fact that about 25,000 of those are destined to be deleted.  So we need some more bulk beforehand to make up for that impending gouge.  An ending to the book, for example, would really be helpful.

Onward!

It’s NaNoWriMo time

Well, it’s November 2nd, and we’re already more than a day into National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo.  How’s your novel coming along so far?  I’m working on a book of interconnected horror tales set in Portsmouth, my little haunted town on the coast.  Last night I gave a brief talk and answered some questions at the local library, which is hosting various novel-writing events this month, with a quiet workspace and free pens and snacks.  I thought it might interest you to include the basic text of my speech below– maybe it’ll inspire you to start tap-tapping away on your next great work!

Fellow Wrimos,

Allow me to quote from my own t-shirt, using the immortal words of NaNoWriMo founder Chris Baty.  “Novels are written by everyday people who give themselves permission to write novels.”  Today is the beginning of an epic writing journey.  Even if you don’t finish it on time, you’ll still come away with something to be proud of.

NaNoWriMo is a mission to write, and finish, a novel in the month of November.  For the next 30 days, you’ll be doing your best to write a 50,000-word fictional story.  NaNoWriMo is a way to challenge yourself and be part of a writing community, knowing that there are thousands of other people struggling toward the same goal.  It’s a kind of competition, but it’s one where everyone can win if they put in enough effort.  There are no prizes except the satisfaction of being able to call yourself a novelist.

I’ve been participating in NaNoWriMo since 2003, and I’m proud to say that I’ve reached 50,000 words every year except one.  I wrote a book called The Great Typo Hunt, published by Random House, that just came out in paperback last month.  It’s nonfiction, but I was able to write it using the discipline that I learned from NaNoWriMo, writing fiction year after year.

There’ll be rough spots.  There’ll be times when you’ll consider giving up.  But as Winston Churchill said, “If you are going through hell, keep going.”  If you get stuck, the forums on nanowrimo.org are a great place to turn to for help or inspiration.  A quick look at a news site might give you fodder for the next crazy plot twist.  Character names can be easily found in the spam folder of your e-mail.  And you can find material for your characters themselves by observing your crazy uncle, or your classmates or officemates, or the mysterious lady sitting outside Breaking New Grounds.  Just don’t forget to change the names!

I’d like to wrap up with a note about this library, which has been kind enough to offer a place for quiet work on your novel.  Let’s respect the space this month by staying quiet while we write, remembering that it is still a library.  If you’d like to discuss stories out loud with other writers, just head over to one of the fine cafes in town.  The folks at the library aren’t NaNoWriMo organizers, so you should go to the NaNo site for any general questions about the contest.  And feel free to ask me anything here tonight or on the website—my handle is vincent3rd, that’s Vincent 3 R D.

Thanks very much and good luck!  Any questions?

Suit the action to the word, the word to the action

There’s a story about the headstrong actor who was dead set on doing an audition for a prestigious theatre company’s production of Hamlet, against the advice of his manager.  “What, you don’t think I’m good enough or big enough for the role?” he raged at the poor woman, overriding everything she said without hearing a word of it.  “This is my big chance, and nothing will stop me from grabbing it!”

At the audition, he privately fumed about the shocked looks of the producers as he climbed to the stage– were they really so surprised that someone of his limited fame would dare to try out for the play?  But he was able to control his anger and channel it into the performance of his life as the gloomy prince of Denmark.  He stalked about the stage, spitting lines from Hamlet’s most famous monologue, contorting his face and his voice into different realms of agony as the prince debated suicide.

When he was finished, the room was quiet, and he thought to himself, I have awed them into silence.  “Well?” he demanded.  “What did you think of my Hamlet?”

“Very impressive,” said the producers.  “But we are auditioning for Queen Gertrude.”

Maybe there’s not always room for improvement, but surely 99% of the time there is.  That’s one of the principles of editing, that a work can always be stronger.  And as a freelancer, your work can always be stronger, and more in accordance with what your clients are looking for.  That’s why asking for feedback is important.  You will want to know that you are on track, both with the assignments that you’re completing for others, and with the way you’re communicating yourself, your professional conduct.  Getting feedback and adhering to it will satisfy your current customers and increase your likelihood of obtaining new ones.

Listen to me, I sound like a real live businessman.  Maybe I should start wearing a tie again.  But this t-shirt and hoodie deal is so much more comfortable.  Your intrepid freelancer is learning lessons along the way, though.  We can posit this one as:

Freelancer lesson #2: Feedback is your friend.  (Unless you’re a sound tech.)

New Frontiers, Once More

2011-Summer-0312

Here once again at the precipice of something new, or rather, having already flung myself or been flung into the void.  I am now Jeff Deck the full-time freelancer, available for editing and writing jobs as you please, and continuing to speak on various word-related topics.  Perhaps even having the opportunity, from time to time, to actually work on the next book.  This maverick lifestyle will come with its share of knocks and bruises as I figure out the best methods of doing things– indeed there’s already a skinned knee or two– but that’s all part of the adventure, no?  I’ll try to detail what I’ve learned about the freelancing life, right here on the blog as I go along.

The event currently looming on my personal horizon for now, though, and on the horizon of Benjamin D. Herson, is the imminent release of The Great Typo Hunt in paperback.  For that I should post some buttons around these parts to encourage the purchasing of said product– for I am, as always, merely a greasemonkey for the engine of commerce– but for now you can find them on the main Great Typo Hunt page.  We’re also conducting a 50 Typos, 50 States contest in which several fabulous prizes can be won if you share your typo pictures.  Exciting stuff.

Meantime, if you find yourself in need of editing or writing services, turn to someone who’s been in the word-crafting game for a while now through various outlets, and… hey, where are you going?  I’m talking about me.  E-mail jeffdeck [at] jeffdeck.com with inquiries.  My rates are reasonable and my turnaround is swift, swift as a rushing brook.  Yes, this is one thing that I have learned already…

Freelancer Lesson #1: Be ready to promote yourself, especially with nature-themed metaphors and similes.

People love nature.  Thus people will love you if you compare your skills and business practices somehow with the aroma of fresh pine.

In debt and in denial

Early August:  You know it’s bad when even John McCain, he of the infamously rubbery spine in the last decade or so, has a few epithets for the Tea Party crowd. (Though his quoting of an article that referred to those folks as “hobbits” was a little off base. Hobbits are the good guys.) They gambled for their cause with the very economy of the country as their chits. And now we see the consequences of brinkmanship, as the nation’s credit rating begins to be downgraded and the stock market tanks, investors turning their fond thoughts to places like France and Canada as real rocks of solid return.

As a writer, it’s hard to mine this material, for the villains here are so cartoonish in their malevolence and their distortions and naked greed that they would make for less than believable characters. The impulse is still there; you have to use your particular skill somehow for the greater good, yes? Is that not a familiar theme? But how do you hoist these zealots by their own petard?

Late August:  I wrote the above a few weeks ago and forgot about it.  Since then, satire has shown itself to fail in the face of these absurd antagonists as well.  The Onion put out an article from Michelle Bachmann’s point of view that is easily one of their weaker efforts.  It just sounds angry and frustrated, rather than sharp.  Maybe the mushy brains of the Tea Party have an enmushening effect on even their critics.  Party on.