Ginger B collins

With NANOWRIMO, (National Novel Writing Month, www.NANOWRIMO.org.) starting on November 1st, I’m faced with a challenge . . . can I practice what I preach?

Once I bring up a topic on my blog, I feel obliged to take my own advice. When I wrote about the awesome sensation of finishing a novel during the 2008 NANO, consciously or unconsciously, it was a set up. In talking about last year’s experience I was giving myself an ultimatum. I have to sign up for 2009, and I definitely have to write the 50,000 words!

Okay, maybe I’m delusional, but this little ploy works for me. Here’s another example. A few weeks ago I picked up the hub at the Halifax airport. He had been in the States for over a month and we agreed that a long weekend would be a good welcome home gift to each other. We headed to Prince Edward Island to explore, eat seafood, and play kissy-face. That was our agenda. Writing was the last thing on my mind.

Yes, I brought my computer, and yes, I brought the outline and notes from my work in progress, but it was mainly because I feel lost without the computer close by, and believe that having the current WIP at my side is kind of like actually working on it. (Probably a topic to pursue with my therapist.)

Driving to the north cape, (the point where the waves from the Northumberland Strait crash against the waves from the Gulf of St. Lawrence, we listened to CBC’s Definitely Not The Opera. It was a show on transformation and reinvention, and explored how hard it is to escape your past in the days of Facebook, MySpace, and camera-phones that record daily activities. Today it’s suspicious when someone drops off the grid and reappears in a new location, with a different look, and sporting a different personality.

It made me think of my main character, Ellie. When I started the novel I thought the biggest challenge would be finding the voice of a contemporary teenager. The real-time lives of today’s teens hadn’t occurred to me. My first thought was to turn up the volume, listen close, and write down my thoughts later. But no . . . I had to practice what I preach. I dug out my little notebook, got into Ellie’s character, and wrote my impressions on the topic.

Back at the hotel I found a podcast of the show and downloaded it to listen again later. I read over my notes and realized there was no way I could have “remembered” in such rich detail. I also knew that I wouldn’t have bothered to write in the notebook if I hadn’t just talked about it on the blog.

So, be prepared to read numerous blog posts about my NANOWRIMO experience next month. It’s all one big plot to get 50,000 words on paper in 30 days. That breaks down to 1,667 words a day . . . or about 90 minutes of straight writing . . . or 3-30 minute sprints.  Are you with me?

 

Ginger B. Collins writes short fiction and creative non-fiction. Her work appears online and has been published in Freckles to Wrinkles, Silver Boomers, and the newly released Scratch Anthology of Short Fiction. She recently completed her first novel. Read excerpts at www.gingerbcollins.com.  All writers are invited to follow the blog and share experiences. http://coppertopcollins.blogspot.com.