Wednesday, December 25, 2013

Hypocrisy in A Christmas Carol?

Scrooge and Bob Cratchit illustrated by John L...
Scrooge and Bob Cratchit illustrated by John Leech in 1843 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Ebeneezer Scrooge is a miserly, mean old man, and the perfect example of this is when he doesn't want to give his poor, hard-working employee, Bob Cratchit, the day off for Christmas.

After he sees the ghosts and has his epiphany, he insists on buying the biggest turkey the poultrymonger has, to provide the Cratchits with an amazing Christmas dinner. This is seen as a great example of how he's changed.

...Which means the poultrymonger is working on Christmas.

So, to recap: Bob Cratchit working Christmas is bad, and Scrooge is a miser.  Poultrymonger working Christmas is good, and Scrooge is generous.

I feel like there's a moral to that story somewhere.  Merry Christmas if you celebrate, and happy holiday-of-choice (or just Wednesday) otherwise.


Enhanced by Zemanta

Monday, December 23, 2013

I Don't Know What I Want... Chapter 5, Part 4

I Don't Know What I Want, But I Know It's Not This

By Julie Jansen


Chapter 5: Where's the Meaning?

Sorry I've been so distant, folks.  It's been a hectic December. Anyway, let's move on:
Step 3: Create an Action Plan
At this point, we fill out a worksheet. I'll do mine here; you can play along at home, in the comments, or (if you're reading this on a mobile device and can't comment) on Facebook.

The kind of meaning I want to pursue is: Balance and Accomplishment

The short-term action steps (tasks/activities) I will take are:
...I have no idea.  The example in the book wasn't really about meaning; it was more about applying that meaning onto a concrete goal.  I don't have a concrete goal.

You know what? Let's go pipe dream. It won't ever happen, I don't think, but we can use it as an example. So! Starting over!

The kind of meaning I want to pursue is: Creative Accomplishment. I want to produce a dramatic podcast.

The short-term action steps (tasks/activities) I will take are:
  1. Re-write my scripts for the first story arc.
  2. Write scripts for the second story arc.
  3. Workshop scripts for the second story arc
  4. Re-write scripts for second story arc
  5. Write scripts for the third story arc.
  6. Workshop scripts for the third story arc
  7. Re-write scripts for third story arc
  8. Write scripts for the fourth story arc.
  9. Workshop scripts for the fourth story arc
  10. Re-write scripts for fourth story arc
  11. Consult Chris for some kind of contract for actors, since I probably won't be paying them, but I'll need them for a while
  12. Audition actors
  13. Find recording space
  14. Record scripts
  15. Figure out how to edit recordings
  16. Figure out how to put it all up on iTunes
  17. Evaluate success
  18. If successful, restart process for Season 2
  19. If any monetization happens, figure out my best tax structure, as money ought to be reinvested first, reimburse actors somehow second. My payout would best come from spin-off items: swag, related novels, etc.
Now, technically, I'm supposed to have due dates attached to these, but I'm currently working on a novel, with a second novel in a drawer for later, so I really don't know when Step 1 will get started.

...But these aren't terrible action items, are they?

Now, these are subject to change, but they're supposed to make us feel more committed to the project.  Kind of like committing to NaNoWriMo did, actually.  

Next time! Chapter 6 begins!

Edited 8/11/14 for formatting issues.

Wednesday, December 11, 2013

Solo Trips

I don't object when Chris gets invited on a boys weekend. It doesn't happen very often, and he always has a good time.
Metro train over the Potomac
Metro train over the Potomac (Photo credit: LR_PTY)

Ideally, I'll take advantage and go on a solo trip of my own.

Once, I went to Washington, DC, by myself.  That was great. I took the bus down, got a hotel right by the Metro, and spent the day doing free museums and monuments. I ate in food courts. My expenses were low.

That's what I look for in a solo trip.

But I'd like to try something different next time.  I don't have a set "next time" in mind, but it's likely to come up sooner or later.

So let's see. A city I can get to fairly easily by bus, train, or not-terribly-expensive flight. It should be relatively safe for a woman to walk around alone at night, at least until midnight and at least in the tourist sections (later and further are better, of course).  Walkable and/or sensibly mass-transitable.  Plenty to do, ideally with a lot of it cheap or free. Good food, with cheap options. Good local beer is nice, but not necessary. It would be cool if I knew someone in the area for a drink or lunch, but not so many or so close that my entire weekend is obligations to stay there and hang with them -- the whole point is it's a solo weekend!

Consulting my (admittedly not very good) mental map, we've got Boston, which I've done a lot; Philadelphia, where I'd feel obligated to stay with family; Pittsburgh and Chicago, both of which I've done in the cold but would like to do in the warm; Baltimore, which, no; and DC, which as I said, I did by myself before.

I'm open to suggestions!

Do you like to travel alone?  Where do you go?
Enhanced by Zemanta

Tuesday, December 10, 2013

2013 Holiday Gift Guide: Subtly Quirky

I am neither a hipster nor a trendster. If what I like is out of fashion, oh well.  If what I like in in fashion, I stock up, because who knows how long that will last?  I live in variations on a theme: sundress and cardigan; tank top, skirt, and cardigan; tank top, jeans, and cardigan; t-shirt and jeans, with or without the cardigan; cable knit sweater and jeans.

(I've heard this is the year of the cardigan, and while I do have a decent collection, I'm not going to say no to anyone who wants to help me build my stash to see me through until the next time it comes around!)

But I have fun with accessories.  Not wild and crazy stuff; I don't really feel comfortable in big statement necklaces, and I don't actually have pierced ears, believe it or not.

Here are some recommendations for a subtly hint of quirk for the lady in your life whose fashion sensibilities maybe sound a bit like mine -- or if you like something a little wilder, you can always play these up!


One of my signature pieces these days is my dinosaur necklace by turtlelove. It's silly but tasteful, and when people notice it, I get to have a fun conversation about dinosaurs that never existed. turtlelove has a couple different dinosaur pieces, plus states, elephants, ampersands, and more









Next is my watch. It looks heavy and bulky, doesn't it?  Nope! It's slender and super lightweight... and it's made of wood.  There's a ton of styles and a good handful of colors at WeWood, and it seems like everyone in my family wants one!




I have a few handbags, to go with different outfits. Black, brown, grey. Oh, my grey handbag. My sister-in-law had this first, and I liked it so much she got me a similar, if slightly toned down, version, from Harveys. It's made of seatbelts!



When I'm not wearing my watch, I have a go-to bracelet.  Unfortunately, I got it at a craft fair, and I don't have the designer's card. But I cruised Etsy, and this is pretty close. Get your recipient's initial in a typewriter key!





So these are just some ideas. Check out the sites and see what strikes your, or your loved one's, fancy.


Enhanced by Zemanta

Monday, December 9, 2013

I Don't Know What I Want... Chapter 5, Part 3

I Don't Know What I Want, But I Know It's Not This

By Julie Jansen


Part III: How Do  You Get There?

Chapter 5: Where's the Meaning?

So, now that we have a sense of what we find meaningful, now we get to the downside. 
Step 2: Explore Roadblocks and Opportunities
Well, [once again] Jansen wants us to make a blind list before she gives us any practical jumping-off point, so right now we just list any real or perceived obstacles or barriers to finding your meaning.  OK, let's delve into my insecurities!
  1. I am not charming and fear I am not inherent likable. (Hey, I warned you!)
  2. I have a hard time enumerating my skills, which makes me feel like I don't have any.
  3. The things I daydream about all seem to involve a lot of invested time, for most likely very little payoff
  4. The things I daydream about would require a lot of people getting along and working together, which is not something anyone can control.
  5. Very little I am interested in and/or good at pays well.
  6. Ugh, maybe the nihilists are right and there isn't any meaning anyway!
Now I'm going to peek ahead at Jansen's "most common barriers": 
  • Pay decrease -- I'm lucky to be in a situation where that's not a huge concern, although that does overlap somewhat with my #5
  • Too old -- not a huge concern
  • No specific experience -- A mild concern, sure; I guess that overlaps with my #2
  • Don't know how to find a company that would fit -- not a concern; I thought the whole point of this book is to figure out what you want and then find the company?
  • Can't make a difference -- Haha, definitely overlaps with my #6
  • Don't know how to solve problems in a new industry -- not a concern; that would just be the first problem to solve, right?
  • Don't know if I can change my lifestyle -- not a huge concern
  • Don't really feel passionate about anything -- Definitely a concern, and one I wish Jansen had mentioned earlier.
  • Don't have enough time -- not a concern
  • Not very creative -- very mild concern, more wrapped up in my insecurities than reality.
Jansen then goes through some anecdotes and advice for each of those barriers. I'm not going to outline all of them, but here's what jumped out at me:
  • A women who was in marketing did a super job of selling herself in her new field, and thus managed to keep her old salary.  Well, of course, she knows how to market herself!
  • The "I can't make a difference" section basically says, look around for something that's broken and fix it; you're special, you can do it! But... I've never been in a situation where I was empowered to do more than maybe bring it up.  It was completely out of my hands as to whether anything could possibly done about it.
  • The "I don't really feel passionate about anything" section talks about how to weave your seemingly incompatible passions into your worklife.  Which... doesn't really answer the question.
  • Overall, this section is more pep-talk than actually, usable advice, and I don't find it helpful; in fact, given my personal list, I worry it might actually do more harm than good! (Does that count as a barrier?)
Next time, we attempt to create an action plan. I have no idea how that's going to go.



Thursday, December 5, 2013

Penelope Trunk: Find the right career by doing the wrong career

Whew, it's been a while since I've done one of these, and longer still since I've done one as a one-off. It's kind of nice to get back to it, actually.

So, way back in October 2010, Penelope Trunk, founder of the Brazen Careerist, wrote this post. She begins by reassuring us, in her not-particularly-reassuring way:
[E]ven though trial and error looks very similar to aimless flailing, it’s what everyone has to do.
Hmm, that's another one for the Rotating Quotes in the banner, isn't it?

She then gives her tips for productive flailing:

  1. Let yourself try things that are widely seen as lazy and indulgent.
  2. Figure out what makes you special. 
  3. Get other opinions. All top-performers have lots of coaching.
  4. Recognize the difference between a career and a hobby.
  5. Take suspiciously awful opportunities. They might lead somewhere good.
  6. Forget conventional ideas of a good job. A good job feels good to you.
These tips seem the typical combination of easier-said-than-done (if I knew what made me special, I wouldn't run a blog about trying to figure that out, would I?!) and typically Millennial (oh, of course a good job feels good to me.  That's why the good jobs don't pay. So good job=bad job?). 

But 3 and 6 look promising to me, for whatever that's worth. Having some proper coaching or a mentor? Would love it. Take opportunities? Sure!

Give it a read and let me know what you think.

Updated 8/25/15 to fix typos and broken links.

Enhanced by Zemanta

Wednesday, December 4, 2013

2013 Holiday Gift Guide: Introduction

Presents
Presents (Photo credit: Wysz)
It's December, NaNoWriMo is over, and I have long since eaten through my buffer of posts.  And with the holidays and all they entail coming up, I'll have time to post, but not necessarily to post ahead.

So, what's fairly quick to write, nice and timely, and will help me get ahead?

A holiday gift guide, of course!

Now these things won't necessarily be the new and trendy toys. For all the controversy, I have never encountered GoldiBlox in real life, nor do I personally know anyone who has, so I can't vouch for them either way. Instead, I'll be recommending the tried and true: stuff I like, stuff I have given that the recipient has liked.

Just a reminder: Any link that goes back to Amazon.com will provide me a small referral fee if you buy something.  Links that don't go to Amazon net me nothing.

So these posts will show up every couple of days until I lay in a buffer for the new year.  I hope you enjoy them!
Enhanced by Zemanta

Monday, December 2, 2013

No Plot? No Problem! Chapter 9

Cover of "No Plot? No Problem!: A Low-Str...
Cover via Amazon

No Plot? No Problem!

By Chris Baty

A Letter

Before Chapter 9 starts, Baty writes us a letter of congratulations. Whether we cracked 50,000 words or not, we wrote.  A lot.  In just a month.  Pretty cool, huh?

We get our metaphorical participation trophy when Baty explains that the fact that we even tried is impressive. We set ourselves up to fail, publicly, and then worked our butts off to succeed. That's ballsy (ovaries-y?).

Now, crack that bottle of champagne you bought last week.

Chapter 9: I Wrote a Novel. Now What?

So, did I win?

Well... I think the better question is, does my win come with an asterisk?

I went into the last day of the month with a bit over 40,000 words, and a good dose of optimism.
After all, November 30 promised a two-hour bus ride with wi-fi, followed by the Desperation Libation. Plenty of time in good settings.

What actually happened was a one-and-a-half-hour train ride followed by a "virtual" Desperation Libation, which basically meant me writing at home with a chat room dinging at me every few seconds.

But I wrote.  And wrote and wrote.  And took a 10-minute dinner break and then wrote some more.

And at the stroke of midnight, I submitted my manuscript... and was less than 130 words short.

Well, crap.

(What I actually said at the time was a lot more obscene than "Well, crap.")

Giving up halfway through sucks, but it's also a sign that this year, it's just not meant to be. That happened last year -- sometime in Week Two, I realized that the story was too dependent on research, and was not suited for NaNoWriMo. I am still writing the thing, and enjoying it, and I made the right call.  But to get that close and fall short? When 10 minutes at any point during the month would have put me over? When a single extra minute every day would have given me a comfortable cushion?  That just feels like personal failure.

(If you were in the same boat as me, note: I am most certainly not calling you a failure.  That's just how I felt, and I invite you to commiserate.)

But then Chris came out to see how I was doing, and when he saw that the answer was "not well," he took my laptop and peeked at my work.  And said, "Hey, there's no space between these words." He hit the space bar and remarked that I now had one more word. I grumbled that it was unlikely he'd find that 130 times.  

He accepted the challenge.

At some point in the wee hours of the morning, I validated my novel and was declared an official winner of NaNoWriMo with 50,070 words.

So, on the one hand, I did kind of need my husband to pull my ass out of the fire, so that seems a little asterisk-y to me.

On the other hand, I wrote enough words. And if my Internal Editor had let me, I would have seen and jumped on these typos. 

So I'm counting it.  I'm a little disappointed that I didn't get to participate in the enthusiastic congratulatory mess on Twitter or in the NaNoWriMo chat room. I wanted the backslaps and the cheers and the exhausted excitement of brothers- and sisters-in-arms. 

Instead, I got a (literal) gold star from my husband and went to bed.  Nothing to sneeze at, but not the first victory one hopes for.

And before you hit the "reply" button (sorry, folks reading on your phones.  I don't know why the comments don't work for you), I am not saying this to ask for congratulations! Cheering for someone who is bitching about not getting cheered is like saying, "Happy birthday," to someone who bemoans the lack of well-wishes, or saying, "Of course!" when a loved one asks if you're proud of them. It might be true and valid and enthusiastic and honest and well-meaning, but you're still only saying it because social niceties obligate you. For whatever reason, I didn't earn spontaneous celebration, so I don't deserve manufactured celebration.

But enough about my issues!  Did you break 50,000? How close did you get? Is there a gem of something awesome amidst the gravel of typos?

And can we get back to the read-along?

Baty warns us that now that our month of writing is over, we may well experience some doldrums (uh... see above, I suppose).  Despite this, take a break.  Back off from your novel. Take a month or so not thinking about it.  You have other obligations to reconnect with -- and it's the holiday season, after all.  You thought writing around Thanksgiving was hard? (Yes.  Yes it was.) Try it while decorating, writing out cards, wrapping gifts, attending and/or throwing parties most weekends, traveling, making candy/cookies/dinner, volunteering and/or giving to charity, shopping, reveling in the bazaars/light shows/etc., making sure the folks with December birthdays don't get screwed, and doing all the normal, everyday, non-holiday crap besides... and writing a novel. Actually, no, don't. I feel worn out just looking at my calendar for the next month.

But sometime in January or February, pull up that file and read through your novel. See if it's worth salvaging.  See if it's worth spending a year salvaging it. Maybe it's not.  Cool.  You still chipped away at your 10,000 hours towards excellence. Baty gives us a nice quote that I think I'm going to add to my rotation in the top banner:
.Love your experiments (as you would an ugly child). Exploit the liberty in casting your work as beautiful experiments, iterations, attempts, trials, and errors.  Take the long view and allow yourself the fun of failure every day
 And maybe your novel is worth moving on to the next step.

Which is rewriting.

Which is going to take a lot longer than a month. Sorry.

But you know what's going to help you?  That Inner Editor you locked away back on November 1.

You and your Inner Editor are going to take your novel chapter-by-chapter (if you have set chapters... I don't, yet) and make a note of the characters and actions in each. This will help you see how everything fits together.

Then, break each chapter down into scenes, which you will note on index cards or PowerPoint slides. Lay them out and see what you see. Pluck out any cards that are clearly filler. Toss aside redundant or superfluous characters. Add new cards to tie loose ends together.  And make sure everything has a nice balance.

Then, shuffle them around and see what you see.

Another round will involve tweaking your prose. Expand the descriptions and lose the cliches. Make sure the dialogue feels natural and keep an eye out for anachronisms. Do real research if you have to.

And don't despair if you don't think your book will sell.  Rewriting it is a hobby, just like knitting or yuppie basketball or book club. Low stakes fun, and if something comes out of it, that's a bonus.


Finally, I want to say congratulations.  If nothing else, you made it though my read-along of No Plot? No Problem!  And given some of my rants, I think that's an accomplishment in itself.  I recommend you go read the book yourself next year if you didn't this year.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go spend some time not typing anything.

Sidebars!

Aww, my last set of sidebars for this book!

In the first sidebar of the chapter, Baty gives advice on getting people to read your novel. Make sure they have similar taste to yours, and that they can give the criticism in a way you can handle hearing. Tell them exactly what you want them to look for, and then really listen when they give you their feedback.

Make a "blooper reel" where you plop everything you decide to cut from your novel. They could come in handy some day.

The third is another anecdote from a past winner. She was a successful, published author who was in a slump, and NaNoWriMo knocked her out of it.

Likewise the fourth. She wrote a novel for NaNoWriMo... and lucked into an awesome agent.

Sidebar the fifth warns that rewriting your novel takes about a year, give or take. You might get it done in less, especially if you put in the 50 hours of NaNoEdMo (National Novel Editing Month).

The sixth sidebar provides some advice from a literary agent: make sure your manuscript is polished before you submit it; research to make sure the agents you submit to are good fits;  query multiple agents simultaneously; package everything neatly and professionally; be patient. 


Enhanced by Zemanta

Monday, November 25, 2013

No Plot? No Problem! Chapter 8

Cover of "No Plot? No Problem!: A Low-Str...
Cover via Amazon

No Plot? No Problem!

By Chris Baty


Chapter 8: WEEK FOUR: Champagne and the Roar of the Crowd


Whew! We made it to Week 4! How is it going for you?  As of this writing, I am at 33,637 words, which puts me 8,029 words behind.  Sounds bad, but also consider: including today, I just need to write less than 2,800 words a day. Or, 3,000 words a day on five days, plus a day to wrap up.  Or, 3,500 words a day on four days, plus a day to wrap up.  Now, one of those days is Thanksgiving, and another is Black Friday, so I'm going to try to get 5,000 in today, which will put me in good shape to make it.

But that's my race to 50k. Let's get back to yours.

Baty wants us to go to the grocery store to buy a couple of bottles of champagne. (Sorry, folks in Pennsylvania. You can go to the state store, I guess.)

That done, take the part of you that says, "Well, I've already written a lot! Can't a finish later?" And shut it up, because you probably won't.

OK, back to making it about me for just a moment.  Last year, my NaNoWriMo project was way too research-intensive, so I gave up and made it a long-term project instead.  The good news is, I'm still chipping away at it, and enjoying it.  The bad news? It's a year later and I'm not even close to the halfway point.  This year's project will have a lot more completed -- and a lot of work to be done on it -- but I can leave it on my hard drive until the last project is done, and then dust it off and shine the parts worth saving. If I ever finish last year's project.  Big if. Learn from me, here.

And back to you!

Point is, we can do this! We're going to do this! (Uh, knock wood)


Supposedly, the noveling this goes easier once we hit 35,000 -- which I expect to blow past today. The end is in sight! If, like me, you're not there, join me in getting there before you go to bed tonight!


But then there's the holiday.  Especially this year, with Thanksgiving falling so late, I was hoping to finish by Wednesday. Yeah, go ahead and laugh. Baty recommends giving family the heads-up, but I don't see that helping a lot in my case. Ultimately, he wishes us luck.  Thanks, Baty.  We need it.


Once we hit the 50k mark (again, knock wood), we need to celebrate.  This isn't just Baty's advice, it's an invitation.  Most of you reading this know me in real life.  Finish your 50k? Call me.


Now that Baty has discussed (and not especially helped with) the challenges of this week, he offers some tips, as he does. First, be sure to stretch your muscles and rest your eyes. After this month, and especially this week, you'll need it.

Blanking? You made notes, right? Check them! Make sure you hit all the points you planned!

Hit 50k before deadline?  What the hell! Keep going!

Brag! Baty suggests finding a not-too-embarrassing page (like, say, the title page), pull up the word count display, hit print screen, paste the screen grab to Paint, save the file, then email like whoa.


But we have to get there first, so Baty recommends some writing exercises for this week.

If you have a wordcount cushion, consider crossing the finish line in longhand.

And if you go to a party, talk about being a novelist. I mean, someone is going to ask you, "What do  you do?"

...OK, these tips aren't going to help my wordcount. But they're still fun!


Sidebars!


Need padding? Describe the weather in your setting!

In the second sidebar, Baty offers some tricks for making your printout look like a real book.  They involve using your word processor's layout function the have it printed out in Landscape, two pages to a sheet (or four, if you print front and back).  I personally do this to save paper; looking cool is a fringe benefit.

And the third sidebar is anecdotes from past winners about how they crossed the finish line.  But you know what? I don't care how they did it.  I care how you did it.  So leave a note in the comments! (But not from your phone.  That doesn't work for some reason...)
Enhanced by Zemanta

Monday, November 18, 2013

No Plot? No Problem! Chapter 7

Cover of "No Plot? No Problem!: A Low-Str...
Cover via Amazon

No Plot? No Problem!

By Chris Baty


Chapter 7: WEEK THREE: Clearing Skies, Warmer Weather, and a Jetpack on Your BAck


Week Three is well under way. At press time my current wordcount is 21963, which puts me 8037 below par. How are you doing?

Baty kicks off Chapter 7 by assuring us that Week Three is a lot nicer than Week Two was.  I sure hope so.

Going into Week Three (which, we're well into Week Three, but let's do this stuff anyway), we should do the following:

  1. Lose any word debt you've accumulated. If you can't lose all of it, at least break 30,000 words by week's end.
  2. Let gravity be your guide. Your pace will likely pick up at this point.  Go with it.

What issues are we dealing with this week? We should have passed the halfway point, but did we? And independent of the wordcount, are we actually halfway through the story? Even if we hit the endpoints before we hit the wordcount, no problem, that's what prologues and epilogues are for (I have friends who might be reading this who hate prologues and epilogues, and to them I say: See! They do have a purpose!)

But if we're not at the halfway point in the story, well, we need to get there.  Even if we have to skip ahead. We can fill in the color later, when we've finished the story proper (see my previous paragraph). Make a note.  Those scenes can be written in the editing phase.  The actual plot really can't.

How are our support networks doing? I bet they're over it by now (parts of my network were over it by the end of Week One, which hasn't helped my word debt).


What tips does Baty offer for this week? Well, he suggests 6,000 word days.

Yes.  6,000 word days.

But he's not just dropping us into the deep end without a floatie. He explains how to do that :
  1. Pick a day when you'll have three two-hour chunks of free time available.
  2. Get up early and eat breakfast.
  3. Do three 30-minute writing sessions, with a 10-minute break after each.
  4. Do whatever until lunchtime.  Eat lunch. Repeat the 3/30/10 session.
  5. Do whatever until dinner.  Eat dinner.  Digest. Repeat the 3/30/10 session.
  6. Do a happy dance at your wordcount. Go to bed.
Do this both days of the weekend, and that ought to help that word debt. In fact, I'm writing this ahead of schedule (greetings, WriMos of the future!), and I'm seriously considering doing a day's worth to push me through Week Two.

Now, after all the writing you've been doing, you may still feel your Inner Editor sniffing around. Thumb your nose at it by doing something huge and reckless with one of your characters, "promising" yourself that you'll destroy your novel as soon as it's done (since no one will ever see it, it doesn't matter that it sucks!), or hyperfocus on details that don't actually matter to the plot.  In any event, keep writing!


Now, Baty suggests some exercises for Week Three.

Draw a map of everywhere that is relevant to your story, and color it.  In detail.  You're procrastinating, take advantage of it.  When it's done, it'll serve as both reference and inspiration.

Or, play the Person and Thing game.  Go to a place with good people-watching; bring a newspaper you haven't read yet. Close your eyes, count to 15, and then open them.  Write down a thorough description of the first person you see. Then, close your eyes again and flip through the paper.  Open to a random page and plop your finger onto a random spot.  Whatever your finger lands on -- hard-hitting news, personal ad, TV listings, doesn't matter -- is connected to the person. How? Figure it out. Once you do, stick the combination into your novel.  Play it with a friend!

Sidebars!

I'll just quote the first sidebar verbatim:
Can I Give Up Now? No.  You cannot give up now.

The next sidebar asks a question that I hope applies to you, but I bet you won't ever apply to me: What do I do if I hit 50,000 words early? Well, finish the story, and then if you have time to spare, go back and fill in those sections you skipped that we talked about earlier.

The third sidebar suggests that if you find yourself with writer's block, pick up the novel you're using as a reference, flip to a random page, and see what happens.  There are no new stories, so y ou're not stealing, just continuing the writerly tradition.
Enhanced by Zemanta