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My NaNoWriMo Results

December 4, 2013 2comments Announcements , , , Permalink 0

NaNoWriMoNow that National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) has officially ended and my life has transitioned back to a state of normalcy (as normal as it’s going to get with the stress of finals looming), I’ve had some time to reflect on my experiences as a first ever participant.

I have a couple disclaimers before I begin. (If you’d like to read how I ever decided to join NaNoWriMo in the first place, please click here.)

1. I edit. A lot. I could not completely divorce myself from my “Banger” ways. This past month was as “Swooper” as it gets for me. Before I began a new day, I read over my previous day’s words and revised and edited them. Whenever I finished a chapter, I spent a few days just revising and editing it. Though this put my overall word count in jeopardy, it renewed my confidence that I was headed in the right direction.

2. I also currently teach five days a week (for the first time ever in my teaching career), and it’s difficult find uninterrupted blocks of time to write while teaching, grading, and lesson planning, among my other responsibilities.

Prior to NaNoWriMo, my wife and I constructed a schedule for me to follow during the month of November that included at least three hours of writing per day, 24 writing hours per week. I wrote this on an index card and taped it to my computer as a daily reminder.

So was I able to adhere to this schedule?

Ehh… Kinda. There were days that I was unable to write due to work obligations and a peer evaluation (I’m acclimating to a new college), but my NaNoWriMo schedule forced me into a pretty regular routine, and I was a more productive writer this past month. Prior to NaNoWriMo, my best months featured about 5,000 words, or one short story.

In fact, I’m so pleased with my results that I’ve decided to create new writing schedules–new index cards–for myself whenever my schedule changes to keep up my routine. During winter break, for instance, I will follow a new routine, and during the Spring semester, I will follow another new schedule. My goal is to finish a first draft of my novel by this summer.

What did I learn?

To call yourself a writer, you have to write. NaNoWriMo encourages this through daily emails and forums and meet-ups. It essentially creates and promotes a culture of writing that is easy to adopt for the entire month. The trick is to let this momentum carry you into the rest of the year. For those of us in education, December and January should be good writing months.

Would I do it again?

Yes! Though I did not “win” by writing 50,000 words for the month, I bested my own personal record, and I’m that much closer to finishing the first draft of my novel. What more can you ask for?

 

Photo credit: Wired.com

NaNoWriMo Is Almost Here!

October 30, 2013 4comments Announcements , , , , Permalink 0

Press StartWhen people think of the month of November, they might envision turkey dinners and pumpkin pie. Family visits. Black Friday shopping.

I did. That is until Edwin Vega-Roman inspired me to accept the challenge of National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo).

As per their website, “NaNoWriMo is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that believes your story matters. We organize events where kids and adults find the inspiration, encouragement, and structure they need to reach their creative potential.”

For the first time ever, I’ve officially signed up this year as a participant. I will be joining a community of over 150,000 writers from all over the world, all of us with the same individual goal: to compose 50,000 words from November 1 to November 30. I think of it as a writing marathon.

Now let me preface this by saying just the thought of writing 50,000 words scares the crap out of me!

I’m teaching five days a week, so I don’t have a lot of free time, but as for fiction, I don’t think I’ve ever written more than 5,000 words in a month! I’m notorious for revising and editing while drafting. I actually can’t begin a new page unless I’m comfortable with the previous page. I’ve read of other writers, like Kurt Vonnegut, who used this approach. He referred to these writers and himself as “Bangers,” and he called writers who are able to suspend their inner-editor “Swoopers.” I know I’ll need to turn off my inner editor and intuit a Swooper mindset when writing if I’m ever going to be able to be a “NaNoWriMo Winner.”

At the very least, though, I’ll have more of my novel completed by the end of the month.

So if you’ve ever thought about writing a novel, why don’t you join me? Signing up is free, and depending on your location, there will be several local events available for you to attend to help you maintain your focus and determination. Also, there are online forums available if you can’t attend any of the coffee shop meet-ups or workshops.

For more information on NaNoWriMo, or to sign up, please click here.

Wish me luck, y’all! Write your heart out.

 

 

 

 

Photo credit: NaNoWriMo.org

I Love Dropbox!

October 23, 2013 4comments Modern Writer v1.0 , , Permalink 0

dropbox-logotype-vertical-colorIn a previous post, I mentioned how I wrote using a typewriter in my junior high school days. Today, I have another old-timer story for you. Ha.

In college, I often saved my work on 2.5″ floppy disks. Eventually I replaced these disks with USB drives. Even then, transferring my stories from computer to computer was a pain. (Oh, first world problems!)

I’ve since ditched those floppy disks and USB drives, and now that I have a smart phone, I can carry all of my documents with me all the time.

 

Best of all, I can save time by syncing all of my documents wirelessly through Dropbox. As written on its website:

Dropbox is a home for all your photos, docs, videos, and files. Anything you add to Dropbox will automatically show up on all your computers,phones and even the Dropbox website — so you can access your stuff from anywhere.

Dropbox also makes it super easy to share with others, whether you’re a student or professional, parent or grandparent. Even if you accidentally spill a latte on your laptop, have no fear! Relax knowing that your stuff is safe in Dropbox and will never be lost.

If you’re a writer, you’re doing yourself a great disservice by not taking advantage of Dropbox’s capabilities. Please see the following video if you are unfamiliar with Dropbox.

 

 

Signing up is free. You will earn 2 gigabytes of cloud storage, and it never expires. But I have a special offer for you today! As a bonus to our loyal readers, if you use this link to sign up, you and I will each earn an additional 500 megabytes of space! Win-win!

With Dropbox, I always have the latest drafts of my work with me all the time. And there’s a safety in knowing that. However, if you ever accidentally delete a file, you can always restore it, as long as it is within 30 days.

So what are you waiting for? Sign up for a free Dropbox account today, and write your heart out anywhere you go!

 

Photo credit: Dropbox

Oh, Brother: Selecting the Right Printer for Your Home Office Needs

August 28, 2013 0 Modern Writer v1.0 , , , Permalink 0

Cabinet InteriorMy wife and I share a home office, and recently, the All-in-One Kodak printer we purchased last year has started acting up.

Its wifi connection to our router is temperamental; and coupled with the fact that we replace its expensive ink cartridges at an alarming rate, we are looking for a new printer.

However, I have a few criteria that this new printer needs to address:

  1. As I prefer editing on paper, I need the printer to be cost effective. Since ink cartridges are a necessary evil, like gasoline, I’d like the new printer to print at a cost of three or four cents per page.
  2. I hope to have a rough draft of my novel completed sometime next year, so I’m anticipating that I will print approximately 320 pages per draft. I need a printer designed to handle lots of paper. Our current printer can only hold 25 pages at a time, so I always need to reload the paper tray before the print can continue.

Additionally, my wife has other criteria of her own:

  1. She needs the printer to also function as a reliable scanner and fax machine. (Late night runs to Kinko’s are no longer a viable option for us!)
  2. Aesthetics are important, so the printer should look at home on a bookshelf among our other possessions. (We would like to stash our printer and router and wiring out of view.)
  3. Space is also a concern to us. We’d ideally like the new printer to fit in a space measuring 17″ x 13″ x 19″. (This rules out most laser printers for us.)
  4. Price. We want to stay under $500 for the actual printer. And the ink cartridges should be reasonably priced, too, since they will be a regular expense. I don’t know how many of you have been bamboozled into buying a “cheapo” printer, like us, only to find out that its ink cartridges were ridiculously overpriced… [Shaking my fist at the sky]

After doing a little bit of research online, I have found a printer that meets all of our needs and more–the Brother Business Smart Series Inkjet All-in-One MFC-J4610DW. Note to Brother: How about simplifying your product names?

 

 

As writers, properly investing in a good printer can increase our productivity and lessen stress and frustration. (Oh, first world problems!)

What do you consider when buying a new printer? Have you found the right one for your home office needs? Please send me a comment below.

That’s it for this week. Until next time, write and print your heart out!

 

Photo credit: Thomas R. Stegelmann / Foter.com / CC BY-NC-SA

Choosing a Good Job to Sustain Your Writing Life

July 24, 2013 2comments General Advice , , , Permalink 0

The Casual VacancyWe’ve all heard of success stories like James Patterson’s rise to fame and fortune. The same can be said of other writers like Stephen King or E. L. James.

But unfortunately, for every J. K. Rowling, there are millions of working writers we’ve never even heard of.

I have a touchy topic to discuss with you today, so I apologize to you in advance if you take this the wrong way. I don’t want to discourage any of you to pursue your dreams. But I don’t think this will come as any great shock to you:

Realistically, most of us won’t be able to live strictly off of our own writing. As writers, if we’re going to be in it for the long haul, we need to find jobs that will allow us to make enough money for us to live.

So, to address this, there are two important aspects to consider when choosing a good job to sustain your writing life:

  1. A good job should allow you to create or maintain a writing routine.
  2. A good job should not drain your inspiration to write.

We all know people who work long hours and come home exhausted, too tired to do anything but watch TV, especially in this economy. I had a friend who worked as a copy editor, and when he was done with his day at the office, he didn’t want to work on his fiction. He spent all day working on other people’s manuscripts, and it sucked all the joy out of writing from him. The job wasn’t a good fit if he wanted a writing life.

I’ve heard of writers working as graveyard shift security guards, scribbling their thoughts on pads of paper, reaching for paperbacks from out of their back pockets. That could be a better fit.

From the outside looking in, my allergist has working hours that would be a great fit for the writing life. He never arrives to his office before 10:30 a.m. And he hardly ever stays past 5:30 p.m. He schedules no work on Fridays, Saturdays, or Sundays. He never takes his work home with him. And he makes bank. You should see the invoices that he sends to my insurance!

The best work I’ve found for myself is in teaching college writing. The pay might not be as great as other professions, but I enjoy standing in front of a group of students and sharing what I’ve learned with them, while embracing and encouraging them to be the best writers and people that they can be. I can be passionate about it because I love writing. I can share tips and strategies I’ve gleaned from other writers, and my students appreciate my efforts because they are in the class to improve their abilities.

I particularly love teaching at the college level because my students don’t have to be there. Some high school students approach class as if they’re serving jail time. But in college, when a guy picks his desk in the back of one of my classrooms on the first day of the semester, you can’t tell me that he isn’t making sacrifices to be there. He is dedicating time and energy and resources. I’d be willing to bet that if he’s honest with himself, some part of him wants to be there, and that part of him wants to be a better writer! I love working with these students. It inspires me and energizes my writing when I am able to witness someone’s marked improvement, sometimes over the course of year or longer, if the student takes multiple courses with me.

My whole point is: Like college athletes, writers need a backup plan. You might never find work that you love in the same way that you love writing, but hopefully, you will be able to find work you love in a different way–not less–and it will afford you the lifestyle needed to write your heart out!

 

Photo credit: Little, Brown and Company

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