Deconstructing Annie Wu

About a month ago I had an idea for a murder yarn for next month’s NaNoWriMo (www.nanowrimo.org) and ever since I have been obsessed with the idea and in love with my title, “Shrimp Fried Lies.” As November 1^st drew nearer I became even more obsessed with my original idea to the exclusion of all others, but there were problems. I had a block that I could not seem to get past. I could not think of my main protagonist and I couldn’t think of why anyone would kill poor Annie Wu, Chinese restaurant proprietress extraordinaire.

Then it happened! I saw a tweet about this fascinating article I read last week about Nasa’s 100-Year Starship (sounds like a 60s rock band). Immediately synapses began firing and I had a flood of characters, conflicts and chapters, oh my! I have been furiously writing down all my ideas to explore the idea of what it would be like to make the decision to leave earth and never come back. What would be the ethical considerations and what type of people would make this decision? Why would anyone want to leave earth? Probably for the same reasons people move to Alaska…to escape the law, people, family, friends, etc.

Ah, inspiration, sweet mystery of life, at last I’ve found you!!

Let the NaNoWriMo-ing begin!!

It was the Friday Before NaNoWriMo...

Yep. Panic is starting to set in. My hands are beginning to shake and I can feel the distant echo of an encroaching pain…a stress headache just a few hours away. I can feel it coming and still I do not have my main characters, supporting players or basic plot for National Novel Writing Month (www.nanowrimo.org). Perhaps I will find inspiration at Sunday’s kick-off at the Barnes & Noble in Smyrna where I will meet some of my fellow NaNoWriMos.

Does anyone know if pepto bismal works on unadulterated panic?

The last time I was “in the zone”, that quiet tunnel of perfect concentration where I am lost in the moment and my muse whispers feverishly in my ear, I had a clear picture of my inciting incident and the setting where my yarn will take place. I have recently been derailed by the twin responsibilities of work and school, not to mention that viral video of the time traveling lady in the Charlie Chaplin video. I am convinced that this is not a hearing aid because she is actually talking into the device and no one else appears to be listening to her.

But I digress. Even though I have a 10-page research paper due Monday, 123 pages to read for my new history class beginning on Tuesday, I am oddly confident that I will begin NaNoWriMo on Monday in a great place…at least able to pull off my first 1,667 words.

For those of you about to NaNoWriMo, I salute you!

Six Days until National Novel Writing Month

Six days until the official kick off of National Novel Writing Month (www.nanowrimo.org) and this I what I have come up with so far:

·         A murder in a Chinese restaurant

·         ???

·         ???

·         ???

·         ???

Of course, procrastination, writer’s block and chaos are all part of the fun during the 30-day quest to write 50 thousand words. That works out to about 1,667 words a day. This sounds quite doable on the surface, but by day two of week three every word can become a desperate grasping at straws.

Last night I dreamed about my victim. She was slumped over a bowl of wonton soup wearing a brocade ball gown that was last fashionable about 50 years ago. It was such a powerful visual image and yet I knew that the story had to open up with dialog to set up the strange story. I still need to come up with my main characters, killer and ancillary characters.

My only hope is that I will make it across the finish line this year in spite of the fact that I have a final paper due Monday for my film class, a new class on Tuesday and end-of-the-year projects at work. Being a writer is not easy or convenient and many of us toil away while working full-time jobs.

To all of you NaNoWriMo writers out there, I salute you!

8 Days Until National Novel Writing Month

Eight more days until the official start of National Novel Writing Month (http://nanowrimo.org/). I have spent all day at Twitter #NaNoWriMo instead of doing my outline, sketching characters and plotting my story. I still have not done my laundry and my dogs are looking at me, eyes dewy with neglect.

I suppose I will have to get on the stick in a big way as I am also behind on a research paper for my film class. I think this is the great thing about NaNoWriMo is the chaos and the uncertainty and that feeling of dread that it can't possibly be done. There's nothing that galvanizes so much as a challenge.

While the laundry is spinning I will be working on my character list, scene cards and outline. Eight more days until the great challenge begins. Even if I am not prepared I will be ready!

Gearing up for 30 Days of Torture known as National Novel Writing Month

Every year thousands of masochists (i.e. writers) around the world say goodbye to their lives as they know them and go on a 30-day mad dash to write 50,000 words in 30 days. I have undergone this exquisite torture for the past 5 years and this will make year number 6. I still have yet to reach the requisite 50,000 words, but this year I feel hopeful. There is no particular reason for this hope. I have not prepared my outline or written my list of scenes or made a plan of how I will get 1,667 words a day written for 30 days in the month of November. I have simply learned to love the anticipation of November 1st and the joy beating my creativity with a baseball bat until it bleeds words and scenes in some coherent order. I also look forward to all the interesting people I will meet at the write-ins around town. Instead of being such a solitary slug slouched over my laptop, I want to be a more sociable participant this year.

I plan to chronicle my 30 days of torture here as a cathartic release from the writers block that is sure to come and hopefully as a hedge against giving up in week three which has been my habit these last 5 years.

This year I will be writing a novel about a murder that takes place in a Buckhead Chinese restaurant entitled, "Shrimp Fried Lies." I have no idea what is going to happen yet, I only know that someone has to die in a bowl of won ton soup. I have read that this can happen.

The rules are as follows. Participants cannot officially start writing until midnight November 1st, although you can do as much outlining, planning and prewriting as you want. Then you write fast and furiously for the next 30 days, forgetting to shower, forgetting to eat anything other than rice cakes and coffee and frequently forgetting such trivialities as family, friends, jobs, laundry, etc.

What do you get for winning? For crossing the threshold of 50,000 words (which amounts to about a 150-page novella) you get, uh, bragging rights, an editable first draft of a novel that can someday be published, and knowing what napalm smells like in the morning...the smell of victory!

Will I make it? Will I grind out the 50,000 words in between working a full time job, studying as a full time student and being a full time pet parent to two rascally dogs? Check in and see.

If you are interested in taking the 50,000-word challenge, you can check it out at http://www.nanowrimo.org/.