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Smokin'
Keyboards-Issue Eleven
The newsletter for
and about writing.
Nov. 27/07
Editor: Arlie MacGregor
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Smokin'
Keyboards First Annual Contest!!!:
We're close enough to the magic 100
subscriber mark that I'm going to go ahead and start this thing. Here's
the pitch:
- In no less
than 1500 words, describe an event that had a profound
impact on your life. Happy, sad, frightening, or a mix of emotions,
take us there, make us a part of the experience, let us feel what you
felt.
- Contest will begin today, Nov. 27/07, and run until midnight March
31/08.
- No fee, email submissions only to DitchWitch Publications.
- *Drum Roll* (This is the part you REALLY want to know about):
1st prize: $75.00, plus publication in
the newsletter and on the website
2nd prize: $50.00, plus publication in the
newsletter and on the website
3rd prize: $25.00, plus publication in the
newsletter and on the website.
- Depending upon response, there may be an anthology released at a
later date. Potential contributing authors will be notified at that
time.
- All payments will be in Canadian funds.
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Welcome to the
eleventh
issue of Smokin' Keyboards!
Just when you
think you've got all the bugs worked out, disaster hits. This time, it
was in the form of a hacker. For anyone unfortunate enough to trip over
my website over the last few weeks, my apologies for the distasteful
images you may have encountered. I assure you I had nothing to do with
it.
The website is temporarily down, courtesy of an unknown hacker who used
his genius to corrupt a benign little writers' site. It will be rebuilt
though, but these things take time. Time is something I don't have a
lot of, so it will most likely be a week or so before it's even close
to its former grandure.
However, from chaos comes growth. The new and improved version will be
better than ever. Now is your chance to voice your opinion and tell me
what you need or want to see on it. In the meantime, Smokin' Keyboards
will continue to provide informative articles as well as markets and
leads.
Happy Writing!
~Arlie
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Yes, NaNoWriMo 2007 is
winding down to the end. I have to confess, I only hit 5100 words and
probably won't get much further than that. Does that make me a failure?
No. I have the beginning of what might possibly be some of my best
writing to date, and that might not have happened without the insane
allure of speed-writing. The novel will be completed, and next year,
I'll make 50,000 words. Are you up for the challenge?
National
Novel Writing Month -
Are There Benefits
To High-Speed Novel Writing?
By Lisa A.
Sorensen
Some writers say that National Novel Writing Month is sheer craziness
and that anybody who thinks they can write a novel in 30 days is just
kidding themselves. Sure, perhaps it's possible to get the words
down, they'll tell you, but what would the point be? It can't be
any good. Real novelists take their time to get it right, and if
you're a real writer, if you truly care about your prospective novel,
then you'll work on the first draft for months or years, pouring every
ounce of your soul into it.
These are things I've heart time and time again when the subject of
National Novel Writing Month has come up in conversation with other
writers. So is there truth in it? Maybe there is, and maybe
it's only a matter of opinion and personal preference.
Something I have noted is that in my personal experience, the bulk of
folks who've told me such things are writers who have yet to start
and/or finish a first novel.
Personally, I'm a huge advocate of the high-speed approach to novel
writing. What I particularly like about the concept of
high-speed novel writing is that it advocates a sort of literary
liberation, a quantity-over-quality approach which is geared to getting
words onto the page despite the plague of a nagging internal
critic. Get the words down on paper. Tell the story you
want to tell in your book. At that point, and not a moment
before, you may worry about how good or bad it is, and whether or not
it merits investing the time to edit, polish, and submit.
Another perk of this method is that it doesn't give you a chance to
over-think. Sometimes, writing this way, you won't know what happens
next until you, yourself, see it on the screen. Often, this can
add to the unpredictability of your novel, keeping it fresh and full of
life, something that many carefully outlined and plotted novels are
missing.
The important thing to remember is that writing fast does not preclude
one pouring one's heart and soul into their work. If anything,
often writing fast allows you to bypass your inhibitions and put more
of yourself into what you write.
The most vital benefit of the high-speed novel writing approach,
however, is that it gets the job done. Many would-be novelists
agonize over their novels for months and years. They struggle
with every paragraph, every sentence, every word. They write and
rewrite and second guess, and often, at some point, they simply lose
interest. Writing a novel in a 30-day timeframe doesn't give a
writer enough time to lose interest in the work, nor to second guess
themselves, and at the end of the 30 days, they have a
completed first draft to work with.
So are there benefits to high-speed novel writing, or is it truly a
waste of time? This is a question that each writer must answer
for themselves, but I'd strongly recommend that every would-be novelist
try it at least once. I'd venture a guess that they won't be sorry they
did.
Lisa is an author on http://www.Writing.Com/
which is a site for Creative
Writing.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Lisa_A._Sorensen
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Call For
Submissions:
Motherwords
is an irreverent, realistic look at motherhood. We’re looking for
submissions that capture the true essence of motherhood and serve as a
"neighborhood" where mothers can share experiences and connect with one
another. It's a forum for caretakers to talk about ideas and
information; a place for writers to stretch their proverbial wings. We
are actual moms who want to read and write about real motherhood, kids
and life partners.
We welcome submissions from women and men from all over the world.
After all, we are all in this together. What could be more universal
than child rearing? For submission guidelines, click here.
Freelance
writer available:
Do you need content for your website/ezine? Are you looking for a fresh
voice for your magazine? For reasonably priced, well researched
material, contact Arlie
MacGregor.
1).
Are
you a publisher/editor looking for submissions? Drop me a line
(Subject:
Submissions Wanted) and I'll post your request in the next issue
of
Smokin' Keyboards.
2).
If you're a writer looking for work, reviews, or need to shout at the
world about your latest release, let
me know!
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Smokin' Keyboards is
published by Arlie MacGregor, Editor & Contributing Author,
whenever she has something worth saying or sharing.
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