kerri buckley and nanowrimo 2005

Behind Every Story...

2005-11-24T01:43:00.000-08:00

Behind Every Story....

by Kerri Buckley

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Behind every story is a myth, a lesson, archetypes that ring bells and cause whistles to blow in the private spaces of our selves. Of course, Joseph Campbell is the master at this teaching, and he is the Professor of The Hero's Journey for writers, actors, therapists, artists, poets, and anyone else who cares about growth through examination of trials by fire. The hero's journey is a spiral sort of journey, and there is a great book about it for writers called The Writer's Journey, Second Edition: Mythic Structure for Writers by Christopher Vogler. Vogler's book explains much of the process of myth for writers, in stages, and acts. I found it really helpful for planning my acts and my scenes.

Kerri Buckley on Day Twenty of NaNoWriMo

2005-11-20T01:41:00.000-08:00

Writer Kerri Buckley blogs about National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo

I have to admit that I like writing more slowly. The frantic pace affects my brain chemistry. On the other hand, I now have the scene structure in place that I've been hoping for the last several years to put together. I'm very happy about that. I have been drawing on a number of books about writing a novel, and I have to admit that I like the Marshall Plan by Evan Marshall. I've adapted it to my own needs. I've divided the entire body of work into three parts (acts), and the first and third acts have approximately one-half the scenes that the middle act does. For my particular novel, I'm aiming for 20, 40, 20. That's about 90,000 words to 100,000. I know I won't be close in November to that word count, and I'm wondering if I will even hit 50,000 words (I now have 27,000 words), but I am so much further along in my novel, compared to October 31. What I am learning is that I should have been more organized, and only experience can really prepare you. I'm also really noticing my characters' quirks, and the landscape and background of it all. The landscape and background are not only symbolic in the novel, it is the same in my life at the moment.

Day Fifteen-One half Month Milepost

2005-11-15T23:47:00.000-08:00

Writer Kerri Buckley blogs about National Novel Writing Month

Week Three. I got a very nice email from Chris Baty today on how much easier it is during week three compared to week two. Eek!!! Week Two was stressful, but Week Three is, too, because I have more important outside commitments this week. I have decided to concentrate on scenes. I am writing this novel one scene at a time. It doesn't feel so overwhelming to me if I think in these terms. My daughter confessed to me that when I was gone, she opened up my files and read the whole thing. She also said to me "I didn't know you could write fiction". (She is 15, and has won four writing awards. Two of those awards were national awards in fiction).

My son is honoring this time so much. He hasn't asked me for anything this month. He's enjoying more time with his friend and his skateboard. NaNoWriMo could be called "NaNoWriMo Kids Free-For-All". It really is. Mine are old enough to cook, at least.

My lead character took on a new dimension today. With that whisper of knowledge, so did I. I can't explain it much better than that, except to say that I feel what my characters are feeling.

Chris Baty said not to worry about "pretty sentences", but not doing that is a problem. I have to find a balance somewhere. I interviewed a young woman from Austin about NaNoWriMo, and I'm going to soon post part of that interview. Also, look for Wayne Cain's article on the Heroic Journey. It's really, really good. Back to the novel. The blog is a nice diversion, but keeps me from the word count. Bye. Kerri

Day Thirteen of NaNoWriMo

2005-11-13T03:07:00.000-08:00

Writer Kerri Buckley blogs about National Novel Writing Month

It is day thirteen, and I think writing this novel is the most beautiful thing I've ever done, and one of the most difficult. I'm behind in my word count, partly because I like to rewrite a bit as I go, and partly because I'm a mother who has to sometimes stop and take her children to the places they need to be. I'll just be happy to get a 50,000 word rough draft completed by midnight on November 30. I did make a sort of chapbook-size logbook with all the things I want to include in the novel. I've included a scene outline within an act outline. I've also included a small calendar of November, a page with the title of my novel, a 15 word premise statement, a paragraph describing my novel, story promise, and plot line. On another page is the heroic journey. For more on this you could read The Writer's Journey by Christopher Vogler, or anything by Joseph Campbell. Then I follow the lead character and the other three whose point of views will be shown and outline their own heroic journey. Wayne Cain also sent me a paper he wrote about the heroic journey in literature, and I will try to post that, pending his permission. The little log I've created has room for the whole cast of characters, the main characters' backstories, and all the things I think are important details in writing a novel. I'm sure the list will grow, but I'm trying things such as :

*including at least one group scene

*including a document

*including a letter

*writing about what I do know

*writing about something I don't know

*including music somehow

*including rituals

* a chart of the novel

* a map of the novel

These are just a few things that I'm including. I want to blog about them, too, because I'm keeping a record of NaNoWriMo. I'm probably going to continue with some kind of follow up to NaNoWriMo, after it is over for 2005. Thanks for reading, and for stopping by. Kerri

Day Six of National Novel Writing Month

2005-11-07T00:51:00.000-08:00

Pacific Northwest writer Kerri Buckley's blog about National Novel Writing Month

Day Six of National Novel Writing Month. I thought I'd take a break from writing and plotting to blog. I'm blogging because another project I have is going to utilize this blog a little down the road. I'm still struggling, and thinking of trying to double up on word count next week, and also still examining differing scene dynamics. Are others just breezing through? I found some books helpful for this adventure. The first is NaNoWriMo founder Chris Baty's book No Plot? No Problem! It is a very happy and carefree approach to novel writing. I enjoy this book as much as I enjoy Snoopy's Guide to the Writing Life. There is a lot of great information in the book for thirty-day novelists, and his humor! It's great. I interviewed him last summer, and he is a born speaker. His enthusiasm for National Novel Writing Month is like a current that catches everyone in its rapids. He is very enthusiastic, and a blog spot specifically for that interview will be posted within this month. I love how his chapter sections have headings like Plot Happens, How to Get Rid of Your Children, and A Ticket to Novel Writing Land. He talks about food, coffee, coffee shops, a favorite pen, a writing totem, a book whose format you depend on to guide you (a favorite novel), and enlisting friends and family for help. He should get a lot of credit for his encouragement to just begin writing. He's very non-conventional and kind of grassroots. NaNoWriMo has also teamed up with a San Francisco non-profit called Room to Read which has to date supplied three libraries full of books for kids in Cambodia. You can donate online at the NaNoWriMo site, http://www.nanowrimo.org to this program that will provide whole libraries for kids in Cambodia and Laos. More on other books later. Kerri

NaNoWriMo-Day Four

2005-11-04T14:00:00.000-08:00

Pacific Northwest writer Kerri Buckley's writes a blog about National Novel Writing Month.

I am into day four of NaNoWriMo, and I have to admit that it is one of the hardest things I've ever done. Not wanting to overplan too much, I now think I didn't plan enough, so I'm regrouping. I am obsessed with writing this novel, so that's a good thing for me. It may not be the best thing for those who know me and who talk to me this month, as it will be all that I'll talk about. I woke up this morning and found this packet that was given to me a few months ago at the Willamette Writers meeting on novel writing. It made so much sense to me, and I was so happy.

"When forced to work within a strict framework, the imagination is taxed to its utmost - and will produce its richest ideas. Given total freedom the work is likely to sprawl." T.S. Elliot

Actually, this resonates within me, and I realize that my best work has always started with form. For some, this may not be a useful philosophy, but for me, it is what feels the best. I'm spending some time regrouping, and then I'll have to write like the wind, but once that decision was made, and a prayer spoken, the words began to flow into my consciousness freely.

Day One of NaNoWriMo 2005

2005-11-02T01:44:00.000-08:00

Writer Kerri Buckley blogs about National Novel Writing Month

Wow, the first day of NaNoWriMo was rough for me. I was too cerebral. I still want to analyze all the fine points of novel writing, and differing points of view. I want also to write about Chris Baty's book, No Plot? No Problem! It really is a companion book to NaNoWriMo.

Since I've been studying novel writing with such an obsession, I see after rereading Baty's book that he really know this stuff. At least he knows 30 day novel writing. His humor is great, too. It made me laugh, which was rare today. I missed the goal of 1, 667 words, and I struggled with the opening chapter. I know what I want to say, but I can't write it without working out the images in pen on paper first. I did do something that surprised me. I wrote the last page. It was racing through my head for such a long time, and I really did capture it, even if it does need cleaning up. These posts will be brief this month, but I'll continue to post. More about Chris Baty's book later.

The small things or items I feel are most important right now for this writing? Here is my current list:

1. Rain - check (I live in the Pacific Northwest)

2. A variety of music. These include Chopin, Diana Krall, Mozart, the soundtrack from the Little Princess, and the Beatles

3. A little coffee. For me, less is more, so it's decaf

4. Hot chocolate

5. My special kraft paper notebook and a gel pen

6. I have about 40 books from different sources for this occasion - more about those, too, later

7. Soup

8. Sympacho tea - it's the best!

9. Poems by Ilya Kaminsky and Jenny Factor

10. Support and conversations (however short) with my friend, Louisiana writer Wayne Cain

By the way, you can still sign up at www.nanowrimo.org. You can sign up most of the month.

More tomorrow. Kerri

Gearing Up

2005-10-29T03:28:00.000-07:00

Three days before the official start of National Novel Writing Month. I admit that I'm nervous. My bedroom, living room and dining room are covered in stacks of books about writing a novel, and my notebooks are out and ready to go. I have an old laptop that I love, coffee on hand, and hot chocolate packs stashed. According to the rules of NaNoWriMo, you cannot begin one word until midnight, November 1. No pre-event great beginnings, or profound endings. You can, however, gear up with outlines, notes, and cards.

One place that I found to help structure a novel is at Randy Ingermanson's website. His Snowflake Method of outlining sounds interesting, and I'm working that out this weekend. You can find the method at http://www.rsingermanson.com/html/the_snowflake.html. If you're feeling a bit overwhelmed like me, this may help a little, or a lot, depending on how much structure you need in order to feel sane. This Snowflake Method teaches you how to organize by spreadsheets. How interesting is that?

I'm also using the Marshall Plan. I don't want to organize too much, but I need to have a balance of free-flowing creativity and order. The Marshall Plan has a method, too, of organizing form according to novel length, points of view, and conflict and crisis criteria.
While it is very basic, it is a good thing to study.

Signing Up for NaNoWriMo

2005-10-21T03:48:00.000-07:00

I signed up for NaNoWriMo two days ago. It makes it feel official. It does make a difference. I am beginning to feel the energy sort of descend of the story I'm writing. I've been doing research for several years on my subject, which, for the record, will remain a mystery on this blog. Talking about it removes some of the magic for me, and the writing process of anything is always magic for me. I still have more research to do, though, and probably will for some time to come. I've tried to strike a balance between doing an outline, and not getting too caught up in strict planning. I'm feeling a bit nervous, too, that I'm not going to be ready with everything I need when midnight on November 1 rolls around. Signing up is easy, though. Just visit this link http://www.nanowrimo.org/register.php You'll enter some personal information about yourself, where you live, the name of your novel, the years, if any, that you've participated in NaNoWriMo, and choose a password. There is a forum on the site that I've so far just browsed. There are gatherings across the world. In my case, it would be the Portland area. Since I'm a girl who likes to write with Chopin in the background, I've never experienced getting together with a group of people and just writing like crazy, but I'm going to try it at least once. Ten more days until it begins.

On Creating Fiction Today

2005-10-17T19:52:00.000-07:00

Never save anything for your next book, because that possible creation may not be properly shaped to hold the thoughts you're working with today. In fiction especially, anything that could happen, should happen. Tam Mossman

Greatness

2005-10-17T19:45:00.000-07:00

Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great.

Mark Twain

Joining NaNoWriMo

2005-10-17T02:56:00.000-07:00

It's easy, really, to join NaNoWriMo. You can visit their website at www.nanowrimo.org and sign up to be an official participant and novelist. They have electronic stickers you can download, and to be a winner, you need only to write 50,000 words. That's about 1,666 a day, for thirty days. You begin at 12:00 am on November 1, and finish at 12:00 am on November 30. The website will tell you more about the whole event. There are gatherings around the world, maybe even in a city near you. When you finish, you send in your novel, which will be noted, and then deleted. You can then download a winner's certificate. The best part, though, will be what you learned about yourself during the whole process. How do you write a novel? There are so many great books on that subject, and this blog will mention some of those books. The only real way to learn, however, is to just write it.

A Novel in Thirty Days?

2005-10-17T02:34:00.000-07:00

I've been learning how to write a novel for several years. I've done research, taken notes, and finally feel ready to try my hand at becoming a novelist. I interviewed Seattle author Waverly Fitzgerald www.waverlyfitzgerald.com last spring for my radio show, The Literary Cafe, and she recommended that I write my novel during National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo, as it is affectionately called by the founder and veterans. This month-long event was started back in 1999 by Bay area journalist Chris Baty. That year 21 people signed up. It has grown since then, with participation from around the world, and the numbers in the thousands. If you've ever wanted to take the plunge and write a novel, this is the time to do it. Join thousands of others as they gear up with their laptops, thesaurus, special pens, and favorite energy drink. It will be a month of intense writing, thinking, letting go, experiencing, and discovery.