So last year as a lot of you may know I finished NaNo for the first time, thanks to the crazy dares and challenges that I agreed to do if I didn't. Last year was loads of fun, but it lacked something that I always hear other Wrimos talking about: spontaneity.
Everyone is always excited, confused and sometimes downright furious at the things that their characters decide to do. They decide that they need different careers. They decide that the villain is actually a pretty nice guy and take him out to lunch. They decide to die. They say and do all of these wonderful off the cuff things, only barely under their writer's control. My characters did not.
I had an outline of scenes which I had jotted down on the day I came up with my silly little concept: of a girl haunted by the ghost of a black Labrador retriever until she fell in love with his former master. Oh Stirfry (the dog) was fantastic to write about! He did all sorts of fun things... but my actually living characters? They went from point A to point B and really didn't develop much at all. They just followed the outline. That's becuase the only real CHARACTER that I had was the dog. The rest were just sort of there so that I could write more about the dog. One very fun side character made a few brief appearances (Psychic Selma, of Psychic Selma’s Tarot Card Reading, Palmistry, Phrenology and Exotic Pet Emporium) but for the most part my novel just diligently (and boringly) followed it's little outline.
This year, I refuse to outline. Downright refuse. But, this year I have characters! Real people with wants and needs and problems and dreams who also just so happen to have really ridiculous watered down super powers. Some hide their powers in fear. Some use them constantly in the hope that somebody, anybody will notice - though no one does. Some powers are useful (if only slightly) while other are huge annoyances.
I have a man who can control flies, a girl who conjures tomatoes out of thin air when angry, a man who channels his weak telekinetic powers into the form of an imaginary, invisible squirrel, a man who can see through cardboard (but only if it's thin enough) and a man from a long defunct government agency who knows all of their genealogies back to the original six super heroes. I know when they discovered their powers. I know how they feel about them. I think I even know what makes a couple of them tick. I know that two will meet, learn of each others powers, set out to find more people like themselves, and perhaps fall in love. I also know that their powers aren't quite as useless as they think they are...
I don't know the rest. I don't want to. I'm hoping that in time, they will tell me.
Monday, October 19, 2009
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Welcome All!
Hey y’all!
Yep, it’s time to try to get this back up and running. We also have a NaNo_Maine group over on LiveJournal. I’ll get the link to it up here ASAPA (As Soon As Pancakes Arrive - modified by one of my teens).
We have so many fabulous writers in Maine and we should be proud of them. We should really be trying to create a writing community in our too spread out state. As it’s hard to create personal writing communities with people all over the place - so why not try it online? We form a fabulous community every November and then it fades away for ten months or so. Yes, some of us manage to keep getting together year round with a variety of other writers and writing friends, but we need something more!
What I propose is that we really try to pull together here - as well as on the NaNo boards - and form a writing community that helps each other through whatever anyone might need. I know we’re all on different levels with our writing - some just starting , others are published - but we can all learn from each other.
So, post anything and everything to do with writing! Ask your questions, scream, yell, cry and kvetch, celebrate and we’ll celebrate with you! We’re a small state and all should stick together to help each other!
Ken
Yep, it’s time to try to get this back up and running. We also have a NaNo_Maine group over on LiveJournal. I’ll get the link to it up here ASAPA (As Soon As Pancakes Arrive - modified by one of my teens).
We have so many fabulous writers in Maine and we should be proud of them. We should really be trying to create a writing community in our too spread out state. As it’s hard to create personal writing communities with people all over the place - so why not try it online? We form a fabulous community every November and then it fades away for ten months or so. Yes, some of us manage to keep getting together year round with a variety of other writers and writing friends, but we need something more!
What I propose is that we really try to pull together here - as well as on the NaNo boards - and form a writing community that helps each other through whatever anyone might need. I know we’re all on different levels with our writing - some just starting , others are published - but we can all learn from each other.
So, post anything and everything to do with writing! Ask your questions, scream, yell, cry and kvetch, celebrate and we’ll celebrate with you! We’re a small state and all should stick together to help each other!
Ken
Saturday, October 21, 2006
Nano '06
Hello, lo, lo, lo... *echos through the hollow void we left off last year* Anybody out there, er, er, er, er... *more echos through the void we created on the internet*
Wow guys, it's almost November and no one has been her to whine, bitch, cry, moan, throw things or fall down in a heap on the floor. I'm shocked at you people!
I guess it's my job to get things rolling here again. I found last year it was nice to come here and just let a few things out. Just rant, rave and ramble. I feel funny doing that on the Yahoo group, even though it's the same people who read. I guess I find a different feel between emails and blogs. Does anyone else feel that way? Or am I just deranged?
So, what's people's thoughts and feelings about this year's nano? Do we feel good? Do we feel like we're going to make it past the dead line? Are we ready to crawl into a hole and say screw it even though it's still October?
I'm really pumped up for this year. I really miss everybody and wish beyond all belief that I was down there with you guys for the full month. I'm planning on being there most of the last week of the month, but I need to find a place to crash and all that. And I don't have wheels this year, yay, grumble grumble.
The new ML down in your area and I are working on a cool TGIO for you guys, by we're not spilling the beans as of yet! All I can say is the place will be less expensive than last year.
azjhnp[;p-; Oops, sorry, Melon Head decided to say hi to everyone in his way through. He's one of my new kitten since I moved up; three of them! As soon as I can I'l post pics on the Yahoo group page.
So, I'm going to step back and let other people have a turn. I'm also going to post this on the Maine Forum and our Yahoo group for all of thos who forgot this was here.
Later days,
Ken
Wow guys, it's almost November and no one has been her to whine, bitch, cry, moan, throw things or fall down in a heap on the floor. I'm shocked at you people!
I guess it's my job to get things rolling here again. I found last year it was nice to come here and just let a few things out. Just rant, rave and ramble. I feel funny doing that on the Yahoo group, even though it's the same people who read. I guess I find a different feel between emails and blogs. Does anyone else feel that way? Or am I just deranged?
So, what's people's thoughts and feelings about this year's nano? Do we feel good? Do we feel like we're going to make it past the dead line? Are we ready to crawl into a hole and say screw it even though it's still October?
I'm really pumped up for this year. I really miss everybody and wish beyond all belief that I was down there with you guys for the full month. I'm planning on being there most of the last week of the month, but I need to find a place to crash and all that. And I don't have wheels this year, yay, grumble grumble.
The new ML down in your area and I are working on a cool TGIO for you guys, by we're not spilling the beans as of yet! All I can say is the place will be less expensive than last year.
azjhnp[;p-; Oops, sorry, Melon Head decided to say hi to everyone in his way through. He's one of my new kitten since I moved up; three of them! As soon as I can I'l post pics on the Yahoo group page.
So, I'm going to step back and let other people have a turn. I'm also going to post this on the Maine Forum and our Yahoo group for all of thos who forgot this was here.
Later days,
Ken
Saturday, December 17, 2005
... But It's Only Just Begun
Nanowrimo may be over, but our local writing community has only just begun.
My first year I met a bunch of interesting local writers and stayed in touch with some. Last year there didn't really seem to be many nebies. Then there was nanowrimo '05! We have gone from a couple of small separated groups to an actual writing community - yay!
Now we just need to keep it going. We have our website, our blog, our online group and our weekly writeins. Do we want more? I know the list looks like a lot, but most of it is online stuff and rarely takes more than five minutes a day.
Do we want to put together a monthly critique/editing group. Lori, Janelle and I had one going, weekly, for over a year after nanowrimo '03. Life just kind of got in the way and the group fell apart. I know the three of us got a lot from the group, but once a week is a hard thing to so. That's why I'm thinking once a month might be doable. I miss having others look at my work objectively and give me some perspective on it.
It's just a thought, but something I'd like ya'll to considder. Let me know what you think.
Ken
My first year I met a bunch of interesting local writers and stayed in touch with some. Last year there didn't really seem to be many nebies. Then there was nanowrimo '05! We have gone from a couple of small separated groups to an actual writing community - yay!
Now we just need to keep it going. We have our website, our blog, our online group and our weekly writeins. Do we want more? I know the list looks like a lot, but most of it is online stuff and rarely takes more than five minutes a day.
Do we want to put together a monthly critique/editing group. Lori, Janelle and I had one going, weekly, for over a year after nanowrimo '03. Life just kind of got in the way and the group fell apart. I know the three of us got a lot from the group, but once a week is a hard thing to so. That's why I'm thinking once a month might be doable. I miss having others look at my work objectively and give me some perspective on it.
It's just a thought, but something I'd like ya'll to considder. Let me know what you think.
Ken
Thursday, December 01, 2005
Its all over!
What an adventure!
What awesome people us Maine writers are...
And so many winners ...
We had 1,829,641 words as a state!!! .. Which is #34 of all regions in Nano!!! ... Great job ...
Me and my wife also got 50,000 words as did Kendra, WriAnimator .....
We beat Sweden and Philadelphia .. and missed beating Oklahoma by only 12,000 words ...
Here at the Maheux/Davis-Quinn house, we were both winners ...
I ended up with 56,695 words and Lanna had 50,100 ....
Lanna wanted to make sure she had as much drama as possible ... She had under 25,000 words at 2 pm Saturday ... Since then she has been on a tear with 7,000 on Saturday and 4,000 or more every other day ....
She had only 1,000 words left around 10:30 and then her computer refused to work... I unfortunately was at the Great Lost Bear and had to run back and give her a computer ....
She got to 50,000 on her book from Microsoft Word wordcounter by writing the very,very,very,very,very,very,very,very,very,very end ....
I am so proud of her .. .She was officially a winner at 11:53 pm ... just 7 minutes before the deadline .. Lanna Maheux-Quinn rocks ..
So there are 50 Winners in Maine!!!! WOWWWWW!!!!! ... 50 of us passed 50,000 words out of 207 in the state . .Give yourself all a hand!!
Well I will see you all tomorrow at the Village Cafe in Portland ..... Village Cafe is on Newbury St. in Portland. If you need more in depth directions, feel free to email me. ... The thank god its over party starts at 5:30...
It was also great to meet some more of you at the Great Lost Bear! .... That is one of the great beer bars in the country #4 in America according to beeradvocate.com
And Maine is #1 in the country in cool writers.
edmund davis-quinn
Novelist
What awesome people us Maine writers are...
And so many winners ...
We had 1,829,641 words as a state!!! .. Which is #34 of all regions in Nano!!! ... Great job ...
Me and my wife also got 50,000 words as did Kendra, WriAnimator .....
We beat Sweden and Philadelphia .. and missed beating Oklahoma by only 12,000 words ...
Here at the Maheux/Davis-Quinn house, we were both winners ...
I ended up with 56,695 words and Lanna had 50,100 ....
Lanna wanted to make sure she had as much drama as possible ... She had under 25,000 words at 2 pm Saturday ... Since then she has been on a tear with 7,000 on Saturday and 4,000 or more every other day ....
She had only 1,000 words left around 10:30 and then her computer refused to work... I unfortunately was at the Great Lost Bear and had to run back and give her a computer ....
She got to 50,000 on her book from Microsoft Word wordcounter by writing the very,very,very,very,very,very,very,very,very,very end ....
I am so proud of her .. .She was officially a winner at 11:53 pm ... just 7 minutes before the deadline .. Lanna Maheux-Quinn rocks ..
So there are 50 Winners in Maine!!!! WOWWWWW!!!!! ... 50 of us passed 50,000 words out of 207 in the state . .Give yourself all a hand!!
Well I will see you all tomorrow at the Village Cafe in Portland ..... Village Cafe is on Newbury St. in Portland. If you need more in depth directions, feel free to email me. ... The thank god its over party starts at 5:30...
It was also great to meet some more of you at the Great Lost Bear! .... That is one of the great beer bars in the country #4 in America according to beeradvocate.com
And Maine is #1 in the country in cool writers.
edmund davis-quinn
Novelist
Tuesday, November 29, 2005
Two things...
First of all I just set up our Yahoo group. I sent out some invites for people who's email addys I had. Whoever I missed please shoot me an email so I can send you one.
Secondly, there is a TGIO party on Friday. Village Cafe in Portland at 5:30. I need people to tell me if they will be able to attend so I can let them know how many of us they have to put up with. Please email me at nano_maine@yahoo.com
Ken
Secondly, there is a TGIO party on Friday. Village Cafe in Portland at 5:30. I need people to tell me if they will be able to attend so I can let them know how many of us they have to put up with. Please email me at nano_maine@yahoo.com
Ken
Sunday, November 27, 2005
3 more winners at the Meetup!
3 more Maine winners today
At our meet up at Panera Bread in Westbrook, 3 more people crossed the 50,000 mark and are Nano Winners....
I couldn't be happier!! Also turned the cable back on which is nice.
My wife has also kicked serious butt with 7,000 words yesterday and another 5,000 today...
I am so proud of her
.My book is currently just under 54,000 words but still has a ways to go. Its going to be hard to let the Fitzgeralds go. I am really enjoying interacting with them through my fiction.
And of course, the strange case of Timothy Thomas Higgins, from an amazingly awful week, to a terrifically great one.
Cheers!
Congratulations Kendra, Jenny and Liz! You are all winners!!! And can get little icons and stuff from the site :))
edmund davis-quinn
At our meet up at Panera Bread in Westbrook, 3 more people crossed the 50,000 mark and are Nano Winners....
I couldn't be happier!! Also turned the cable back on which is nice.
My wife has also kicked serious butt with 7,000 words yesterday and another 5,000 today...
I am so proud of her
.My book is currently just under 54,000 words but still has a ways to go. Its going to be hard to let the Fitzgeralds go. I am really enjoying interacting with them through my fiction.
And of course, the strange case of Timothy Thomas Higgins, from an amazingly awful week, to a terrifically great one.
Cheers!
Congratulations Kendra, Jenny and Liz! You are all winners!!! And can get little icons and stuff from the site :))
edmund davis-quinn
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