Post by Site Administrator on Oct 18, 2010 11:09:34 GMT
Announcement from David via the blog, which you should subscribe to at davidbrookes.wordpress.com!:
"Before I heard about NaNoWriMo [National Novel Writing Month - admin] from a friend last month, I had already tasked myself with a certain big challenge for November. It's been a few weeks since I finished the first draft of my latest novel, and some time to go before I'm free to begin another big project.
The space between novels yawns every time, stretching first into a mild discomfort, then an irritating itch that has you fidgeting as your mind wanders, and finally the twitchy, restless phase where ideas are like weights in your mind and you can't concentrate on anything else.
Usually I use this simultaneously restful and dreadful period to think up new ideas and bang out a few short stories to fill in the gaps on the publishing history. This time however I've committed myself to something much more ambitious, and actually faintly stupid.
Thirty short stories in thirty days.
It would be a little easier to say that between the 1st and the 30th I promise to have written thirty full short stories, each a minimum of 1,000 words. But instead, quite impetuously, I've already committed to writing one story a day for that entire month. So I won't even get a day off for good behaviour.
I once went on holiday for two weeks to Portugal, and had the first 40,000 words of a new novel done by the flight home. So I know it's possible.
… When you have an inspiring landscape ... And no job to go to ... And no responsibilities beyond taking regular toilet breaks.
But there it is. The gauntlet has been thrown down.
My own gauntlet. At myself. By myself.
And now I'm wondering what I've let myself in for.
Those of you interested in witnessing the train wreck as it happens can pop in from time to time - or daily, if you really want to keep my on my toes. I'll likely post the stories on the main website, www.spinninglizard.co.uk, for which a new page will be created shortly. Blog posts will keep you informed, and there is a subscription option on the site that will let you know when a new story is announced. The stories will be available for a minimum of thirty days - I'll take them all down for a thorough editing on December 30th and you'll likely never see them again unless they turn up in an e-zine somewhere.
Lend me your good fortune, for I shall need it.
--db"
"Before I heard about NaNoWriMo [National Novel Writing Month - admin] from a friend last month, I had already tasked myself with a certain big challenge for November. It's been a few weeks since I finished the first draft of my latest novel, and some time to go before I'm free to begin another big project.
The space between novels yawns every time, stretching first into a mild discomfort, then an irritating itch that has you fidgeting as your mind wanders, and finally the twitchy, restless phase where ideas are like weights in your mind and you can't concentrate on anything else.
Usually I use this simultaneously restful and dreadful period to think up new ideas and bang out a few short stories to fill in the gaps on the publishing history. This time however I've committed myself to something much more ambitious, and actually faintly stupid.
Thirty short stories in thirty days.
It would be a little easier to say that between the 1st and the 30th I promise to have written thirty full short stories, each a minimum of 1,000 words. But instead, quite impetuously, I've already committed to writing one story a day for that entire month. So I won't even get a day off for good behaviour.
I once went on holiday for two weeks to Portugal, and had the first 40,000 words of a new novel done by the flight home. So I know it's possible.
… When you have an inspiring landscape ... And no job to go to ... And no responsibilities beyond taking regular toilet breaks.
But there it is. The gauntlet has been thrown down.
My own gauntlet. At myself. By myself.
And now I'm wondering what I've let myself in for.
Those of you interested in witnessing the train wreck as it happens can pop in from time to time - or daily, if you really want to keep my on my toes. I'll likely post the stories on the main website, www.spinninglizard.co.uk, for which a new page will be created shortly. Blog posts will keep you informed, and there is a subscription option on the site that will let you know when a new story is announced. The stories will be available for a minimum of thirty days - I'll take them all down for a thorough editing on December 30th and you'll likely never see them again unless they turn up in an e-zine somewhere.
Lend me your good fortune, for I shall need it.
--db"