Time’s Ripe for a Short Story Month

OFFICIAL BADGE FOR IntShoWriMo 2014 (MODIFIED)

Isn’t it about time there was a Short Story Month? Why short stories, you ask. And at this late date? In the following paragraphs I’ll try to present valid whys and wherefores. You, Dear Reader, are free to accept or refute the idea; it would do little by way of changing my opinion, though.

IntShoWriMo was founded on the unpretentious principle that the short story cannot be allowed to go extinct. There has to be a new way to reinvent the craft, the art, and keep it fresh in the heart of the reader. Cast your minds back to a time you were much younger than you are; recall all those stories, fairy tales, you grew up with; Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs, Lil’ Red Riding Hood, and so forth. The stories we heard where animals assumed human qualities to teach us a moral lesson or two while we sat, innocent and rapt in awe, on Mama or Papa or even Granny’s bosom.

Many of those tales were spoken and (those we read in books) written in the short form of fiction. Our first taste of fiction came in the form of the short story; we can’t deny where we came from just as we must not deprive the next generation a stab at the treasures we inherited. For the short story is itself a peculiar variety of legacy. Facts through fantasy expressed in short, memorable lines of creative imagination which must not be conscripted to the paddy wagon of rut. That's the idea on which IntShoWriMo was created.

Keep your pens bleeding!

Akpan

2013: On One Canvas

Come April, I’d have been writing for the internet for five years. December would mark my fifth year running this blog you’re reading. I’ve had times I wanted to cut and run but I’m still here, though. And after all has been said and done that’s what really counts for anything.

At the beginning of 2013, I typed my three primary goals for that year on a sticky note pad and pasted it on the desktop of my computer where it would be readily available for daily review. Writing 30 poems in 30 days—NaPoWriMo—the first of the trio was simple enough; it was my pet genre. The second one up was a challenge I invented way back 2012—IntShoWriMo—to keep my story writing tools oiled and sharpened. I’d done a lot by way of raising awareness on social media but that didn’t make writing 30 short stories in 30 days a walkover. Although come the month of June, I churned out a word count of over 49,000 words.

I’ve had NaNoWriMo in my sights the past three years. It appears 2013 was my year. Cause by the time November blew out the back door, I had a 52,000 word manuscript smack down on my desk. Ain’t that a treat? 2013 apparently, was cut out to be a year to remember.

For 2014, these three are still my primary objectives for the year plus I gatto get my rough drafts polished up and sent out for publication.

Well folks, that’s 2013 on one canvas. And there’s the canvas at the top of this post. It’s a succinct interpretation of my luxuriant writing the past year in a frame.

Have a happy New Year and an intellectually productive 2014!

Keep your pen bleeding!

Akpan

Asimov's 3 Rules For Plotting Novel Outlines

Photo credit: Wikipedia

Isaac Asimov is without argument, one of the most prolific writers of all time. At the time of his passing in 1992, he'd penned way over five hundred (Wikipedia credits Asimov with 506) books and racked up virtually all of the awards a writer could hope to win.

While Asimov himself wasn't a big fan of writing outlines before commencement (or even towards the completion) of a book, he gave three invaluable pieces of advice that should settle every manner of issue within the individual writer.

When Asimov wrote his first novel, his publisher (Doubleday) had him write 70, 000 words. He managed to do it without an writing an outline. The time came around for him to do his second novel and he thought such an amazing coincidence (writing without an outline) was not likely to happen twice in a row, so he drew up an outline.

Asimov discovered two things:

One, an outline constricted him;

Two, he couldn't force his characters to adhere to the outline.

He never tried an outline again.

These 3 rules that follow are really going to help you make up your mind as far as outlines go. So do your best to keep them at your fingertips when you pick up your pen to write or when you pound on the keyboard of your computer.

I. If you are a structured and rigid person who likes everything under control, you will be uneasy without an outline.

II. If you are an undisciplined person with a tendency to wander all over the landscape, you will be better off with an outline even if you feel you wouldn't like one.

III. If you are quick-thinking and ingenious, but with a strong sense of the whole, you will be better off without an outline.

And Asimov explains something I feel would be on the edge of everyone reading these mind; "How would I know if an outline is right for me or not?"

To this question, Asimov replies:

"Well, try an outline, or try writing without one, and find out for yourself."

Always keep in mind that rules all have one thing in common; they can be broken. And this is especially so when it relates to the individual and his creativity.

And as Asimov said, "Stick to that which makes you comfortable."

That's the bottom line; let the guy on the inside decide.

Keep your pen bleeding.

Akpan

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NaNoWriMo: 5 Things to Keep in Mind

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

November is probably the busiest month of the year on the internet. It’s the time when the www witnesses its largest input of data.

All over the world, writers are getting their muses fired up. Today is the second day of November, NaNo kicked into full swing, yesterday. What follows are five reminders you ought to carry along with you on your journey to the 50,000 word mark.

1. It’s Not Too Late To Join In

That’s considering you can pull a 2,000-word-a-day stint. You can still meet that 50,000 word deadline by the end of November. If you’re just tuning in on this wavelength, nano’s still open to you!

2. Relax. It Is, After All, a Draft

One of the most encouraging facts for the writer to remember is this; nanowrimo is the fossil of your story. Just dug up but yet to be polished and rearranged to take on semblance of the structure of an identifiable dinosaur. It’s just drafts.

            Nano is an outlet to give vent to the inward groaning; the skeletal frame of your book. That’s one primary reason you can pick up your writing from the last chapter.

3. You Don’t Have to Post It Online

I did NaPoWriMo in April and ended up typing and posting over 10,000 words of poetry online. I acquired a little bit of information about my typing ability during the adventure. (Don’t misinterpret me, it was such fun.) Last June, I proceeded on another writing gig, which I called nashowrimo. Recognizing my typing limitations, I applied for annual leave where I worked (it’s some really grueling stint) because I wouldn’t dare pretend I could write and then type over 40,000 words in 30 days with my nose deep in something else.

            Annual leaves are taken only once a year (I can’t apply for sick leave, everybody knows I’m never sick). So, I’m nanoing offline. It’s the only way I see myself hitting the mark.

You can follow my example.

4. Get Your 50,000 Words

If you got all day to write then by all means, write all day! You might experience some really nasty case of dry spells along the way, these extras will fill in those uneventful moments.

The best thing is to have a word quota for each day and then when you got free time, fill them up with writing.

5. It’s Not Over Until It’s the 30th

Just keep going at it even when it seems you’re falling behind schedule. The muse is, so many times, unpredictable. You never know when a strong burst of inspiration will drive you into the land of unprecedented creativity.

It’s not over until November gives on December!

Happy nanoing!

Keep your pen bleeding!

Akpan

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Go! Go! Go For It!

2010.

It was a very good year. These 365’s been twelve months of prolific adventures for me.

I got in touch with lots of exciting stuff in my search for ideas for blog posts. I think I owe it all to my muse for recognizing the knock of opportunity, or I might quite possibly have run out of gas.

Making a comeback to blogging was like witnessing my own rebirth. Last year, 2009, I could afford to blog a little over four posts before I spluttered to a halt. This year offered prospects on a platter of gold yet, I wasn’t living up to it. It was not until the turn of October, September slash October actually, that I would give blogging another shot.

Faced with an intimidating feat of creating 50 poems to immortalize my country’s 50^th Independence Anniversary − to be up front with you about this, I almost caved in and got rid of the jibe – now opportunity wasn’t knocking on my door, it winged it all off the hinges. The initial plan was to post a poem a day, sort of like what I did with the twelve days of Christmas poetry sequence. A countdown to the D day. That wasn’t going to happen though, cause I blew the whole thing out the front door from the outset. I got myself buried under a heap of officious chores the first week I was to set it in motion and had to consider the possibility of doing my usual thing − wait until Independence Day (that’s October 1 in Nigeria) and post just one poem in honor of a great nation.

Something way down the basement of my mind wasn’t willing to go with the usual thing and just plunge into the flow. I mean, like you only get one chance at celebrating a Golden Anniversary, right? There are other interesting elements in Nigerian history that strengthened my resolve, the simple fact that for 50 some odd years, a nation of millions – of different tribes, dialects (over 300 of those), and peculiarities – has hanged on as one nation is a theme busting with enough proton particles to initiate a poetic odyssey.

So, I plugged into the charge. Every day, on my way home from work, riding the bus, I would pull out my journal and write. I thrust myself right back into my journal once I got home, writing into the still of night, many times falling asleep at my writing desk. The next day, on my way to work, I would write again. I went on and on until I hit the fiftieth verse. You ask, how did you feel after you blogged the poems? Like a Patriot. Yeah, I felt like I was part of something great and unique. Like I earned a deserved spot among the Heroes past who put this great nation on the world map!

Poetry has helped me out of unpleasant situations and it did one more time. I set out with a plan of posting two blogs a week which would place me at roughly twenty four articles by the end of December. I think I outdid myself with over forty of those. And if I have to count each poem in the Mission Impossible (the 50 poems I wrote for my country’s Independence Anniversary) sequence as individual posts, I would have hit the 100 mark. I’m not arrogant, just proud of what I achieved.

About 2011 and New Year Resolutions, I think I’ll cut myself some slack next year, cut back on the articles. I need more time to focus on my short stories plus I got an eye on NanoWrimo coming way up November. I got a lot of digging for information to do, so much research work.

I’m looking at thirty 2,000 word short stories by the end of 2011. That’s going to demand strict concentration but I think I’m up to it. The goals are meant to keep me on my toes, remind me of who I am. If I never achieve all I set out to accomplish, I would only be a few inches off the bull’s eye. And that’s alright by me.

For me, 2011 is abbreviated in two words – short stories.

Here’s mine. Where’s yours?

Have a Happy and Monstrously prolific 2011!

Let your pen keep bleeding!

Eneh

Your Story Needs You

Ever heard of NaNoWriMo?

Maybe? Maybe not? Well, just in case you haven't. Don't let the strange term bother you. NaNoWriMo stands for 'National Novel Writing Month'. NaNo's a special kind of exercise; a writing spree of sorts. Millions of writers from around the globe are challenged to write a 50,000 word novel in just 30 days! It's an exceptional privilege for writers of all skill levels to explore their particulars. And it comes up only once in a year from the 1^st of November to 30^th!

Am I saying it's going on right now? Of course, and you can log on to www.nanowrimo.org and treat yourself to a variety of genres and bestsellers-in-the-making. Then again, you would be right on top of it like a hat if you stopped by www.writing.com. You could even help these burgeoning authors by dropping a critique or two. Feedbacks are diamonds. Plus, you could be encouraging the next Stephen King or Maya Angelou!

No gig's as uplifting as a little push to spur us on in the upward pull to the peak.

Maybe, it's your first time of learning about NaNo. So you missed out on it this year. So, you feel you ain't totally up to it just yet. Wanna do a little something worthwhile in the meanwhile?

Get your writing tools out. You got the next 365 days to get your juices fired up and your senses engaged. You can charge yourself up and be all set for next year's NaNo by starting off with short stories. Write a story a week or every other week. A 2000 word story a week will earn you 100,000 words come November 2011!

2000 word stories a week may look a little ambitious for you and you may not be particularly prepared for such escapades. You might want to settle for a 200 – 500 word shorts. Look's like a plan. The point is to get yourself ablaze and burning for the greatest event on planet earth every budding writer looks forward to or should once he gets in on it.

Writing stories, especially on the scale we are talking about requires the aid of writing prompts. You may have websites where you fetch yours. If you don't, www.writing.com has a link pointing to www.writingprompts.com, tons of ideas to set up for beautiful plots. And then, there's www.writersdigest.com there's practically hundreds of prompts doled out every week and they also have spots where you could post stories created from these prompts and get immediate reviews from fellow writers.

The list goes on. Hundreds of sites are out there on the www, all offering tips and prompts that could spark good stories. All you have to do is google the words, 'writing prompts'. Relax, and let your search engine go to work. You'll be amazed at the results coughed up.

(Stephen) King's formula for learning to write well is: "Read and write four to six hours a day. If you cannot find the time for that, you can't expect to become a good writer." He sets out each day with a quota of 2000 words and will not stop writing until it is met. www.wikipedia.org

And now writer, as they say in NaNoWrimo, your story needs you.

Eneh