Jeff Deck, Author & Novel Coach
Tell the story you're meant to tell.
5/8 Deeds
Did some packing/cleaning — 60 GP
Read 50 pages — 15 GP
Subtract entertainment minutes — -60 GP
Did P90X routine with Jane — 15 GP
5/9 Deeds
Practiced for talk — +1 Pre, 10 GP
Arranged for move-in — 50 GP
Put on reading event in Concord — +1 Pre, 20 GP
Spent time with family — +1 Gen, 20 GP
Subtract entertainment minutes — -150 GP
5/10 Deeds
Called to set up a few things — 20 GP
Read 50 pages — 15 GP
Did some editing — 30 GP
Subtract entertainment minutes — -110 GP
The Shadow over Portsmouth: 58,555
Player Choice: 104,352
Confession time: I can have a difficult time with social interactions, including but not limited to public speaking. I’ll focus on the speaking angle today, though. Each speaking gig that I have takes a lot of preparation beforehand to get into the proverbial “zone.” Writers today are supposed to be enthusiastic performers as well, sort of like how musicians today must tour and no longer have the option of just hiding in the recording studio. It’s the harsh voice of economic reality. If you write, you have to be able to talk about the book, to the media and particularly to eager audiences.
So I joined the local chapter of Toastmasters a little while ago. I went to a few meetings to just check out the scene first, and I did a couple of brief, impromptu speeches, amazed in spite of myself at how easily my tongue would tie itself into knots. When The Great Typo Hunt came out last year, my epic book tour included countless radio and TV interviews, including ABC World News, CBS Sunday Morning, and the Today Show (see below), for cryin’ out loud. Yet I couldn’t come up with “someone I’d like to meet from history” off the top of my head, for God’s sake. I guess I’ve always done better with prepared lines and canned points, which was largely what the Great Typo Hunt interviews were all about– well-practiced answers to the same questions over and over again. I did a little acting in high school and college. I can memorize a monologue.
But extemporaneous speaking– pretending like you’re a persuasive or at least interesting human being– that’s tough, man. For me, it’s tough. While we’d gotten a positive response from the audience for our Great Typo Hunt talk last month at the Wonderful World of Words weekend, and Will Shortz seemed to enjoy it, he still did mention that my delivery reminded him of Norm MacDonald. It wasn’t what I was going for, but it did make me think. Jane mentioned something about figuring out how well-known people with my type of dry speech use it to their advantage, which is something to keep in mind. I know I’ll never be the most energetic communicator, but I could certainly settle for dryly funny. It worked for Bill Murray, yes?
Side note: totally not feeling the Player Choice side of things tonight. Think it’s time to abandon ship.
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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?