1000 New Words A Day

I’ve had a very successful week making writing the focus of my days, in spite of renovations and a twice-dead furnace.

But I’ve been totally one-upped by Art Slade. He’s going for 1000 new words every day. Including weekends, holidays, and, he claims, Christmas and his birthday. http://arthurslade.blogspot.ca/2012/05/1000-words-day-or-else.html

1000 new words every day? On top of editing and plotting and all the stuff that sucks away at a writer’s time?

But he’s right. That’s the way to do it – new words. Every day. And then editing. And then all that other stuff. I’m not sure it’s even possible. And that’s gonna nag at me.

Maureen

Storyboarding

At the Young Alberta Book Society meeting last Sunday (a great day all-round), Carolyn Fisher gave a talk on storyboarding. It was intended for writers of picture books, as she had noticed a lack of understanding of how the text needs to be structured to fit the format of a picture book.

I’d brought a picture book manuscript for the critiquing session, so I was particularly interested in the storyboard discussion. After, I sat down with my story and divided it into 15 segments, (picture books are usually 32 pages long, which breaks down into 15 illustrated spreads). I thought about how the page breaks add pauses to the story that can be used to build tension, and checked how much text would be on each page. Then I edited, searching for a good flow for the story. It was exciting to take a new look at the story – to see it with fresh eyes and find ways, I hope, to make it stronger.

Carolyn’s graphic for storyboarding can be found on her blog, http://www.carolynfisher.com/.

Maureen

Writing First

In a great commencement address Neil Gaiman gave (at The University of The Arts), he said, “There was a day when I looked up and realized that I had become someone who professionally replied to email, and who wrote as a hobby. I started answering fewer emails, and was relieved to find I was writing much more.”

I too have been doing too much other stuff, and losing track of the time I need to spend writing. So I’m turning my day upside down – actually returning it to what it used to be – writing first. Well, I’ll shower and dress and eat, meditate and do a little yoga. Then – I’ll write. No Facebook, no desk work, no whatever. Writing first. Push appointments to the afternoon, whenever possible. And write. Do other things when I need a break. And write.

Neil Gaiman said, “Make good art.” Whatever happens in your life, make good art. He says it much better, with absurd examples, but, basically, whatever life brings, make good art. For me, that means keep writing, through the endless interruptions. Keep writing.

I can’t claim to be making good art, as Neil Gaiman does, but I can try. I can write.

Maureen