Ravens' View

NaNoWriMo winner

I "won" this year, as I did last year. Meaning I wrote at least 50,000 words in the 30 days of November. It's hard to explain to people the concept,the idea that that's "all" I had to do to win. They ask where can they buy it, or when will it be published. Tiny steps, I tell them, as the aim of this is to provide the focus and encouragement to get writers, or would-be writers, to shutup  and write.

But it was harder this year to finish. Before I started last year I was worried that I'd never get it done, as it was my first major writing project ever. So, to prepare, I had planned like mad, developing a plot, major plot points, and a full list of scenes from beginning to end. And that worked, I did pretty well at sitting down every morning and writing for a couple of hours, basically filling in the blanks. The characters did come up with the occasional twist, and I added and deleted some scenes along the way, but chugged along and finished the story two days early, at about 51,000 words.

Sci-fi Book Club

I'm in a small but keen science fiction/fantasy book club. We've been meeting for about a year now, sharing new - or re-discovered - books with each other. We also discuss politics, economics, food, music, Occupations, retirement, ABCP, families - whatever we are all interested in. The books we choose can be pretty well anything - just not so old we can't find a copy, or so new we need to wait at the publisher's door. We do a writeup for our newsletter, I'll copy it below, and keep in adding every session.

Ack! - another book

Or maybe ack ack ack ack!

Another book percolated to the top of my hold list yesterday - it's so nice having a library only a 15 minute walk away. And since a common bit of advice to writers is to read a lot - I am. Mostly fiction, but also several on how to write. Yesterday I picked up another one by P. D. James, An Unsuitable Job for a Woman, and almost made it home. "My" pub had an open stage going on, so I stayed to listen, and chat, and drink many pints. Life goes on.

The Middle East's various conflicts are still covered in print and online but there's not quite the distraction of a few weeks ago, as many watched live coverage from Tahrir Square in Egypt. I know it used up a lot of my day - as well as my online bandwidth. Yesterday's Citizen had a good article by Ian MacLeod - Birth of a Revolution- that explained some of the demographics of the region, of what some call "age rage" . While 36% of Canadians are under 30, in Yemen it's 73%. Coupled with high unemployment rates - 27% in Tunisia and an overburdened medical and education system, with internet access to show what other more fortunate countries provide, and as a way to communicate across borders, it's not surprising that there is so much unrest.

Less books

Might also call this - right books. Pun not intended. The Globe and Mail had an interesting essay  yesterday by Nancy Pearl, explaining her Rule of 50 for books. Like many of us, she was raised with the work ethic to finish what she started, including books. I admit I do feel an obligation tp keep slugging through, for a myriad of reasons, such as: others liked it, so it must just be me that needs to try harder, I owe it to the author that worked so hard, my friends will think I'm a quitter. When the author became a librarian, surrounded by more books than she could even attempt to get through, she realized she needed a new rule to manage her focus better to the "right" books. She reads critically, giving a book 50 pages to prove itself. If it hasn't grabbed her by then, if she doesn't care if the butler did it, if she doesn't even care if the butler dies - she stops. She adds that if you really only want to see the ending- then flip to the end. Either way, when you bring a book back, the library doesn't know how many pages you read. Your friends may think if Oprah loved it then you should too - that's their problem.

Some books

Part of my New Year's readjustment on priorities is more reading, not just more writing. As Stephen King says:

If you don't have the time to read, you don't have the time or tools to write.

I think it's a quote from his book, On Writing. He makes a good point, you need to read a lot to know what good writing looks like. Focus on your genre by all means, to see what works for others, but spread your scope too. And read critically, as you learn what should be in a good book, if the one you've just started doesn't grab you, analyze why. Then move on - time is too short for mediocre books. So, I'll jot down in here some notes on books I've just read, am reading, or will read. Or have written.