BBC Radio Scotland Gets In On the Game

So I’m listening to Radio Scotland and I hear them promoting Write Here, Right Now.

How about spending the most boring month in the year, February, doing something crazy and creative?

Why not write a novel?
Radio Scotland challenges you to take part in ‘Write Here, Right Now’. You just commit to writing 1000 words a day for 28 days. We’re talking potential, not a polished novel, with that all-important deadline hurtling towards you.

Check it out — weekly newsletter, etc. I thought I understood them to say that there will also be a radio show that talks about it daily but don’t find mention of that on the website. So maybe I just made that up. That’s what writers do, you know. Make things up. And sometimes even get what’s made up and what’s not confused in their feeble little minds, or maybe it doesn’t matter, I forget which excuse James Frey used.

Less demanding than nanowrimo, National Novel Writing Month, which requires 50,000 words in November, yet more demanding than NILTOY, Novel In Less Than One Year, though there’s no reason you couldn’t do both.

And don’t forget that Louise Doughty has started a weekly column in the Telegraph encouraging wannabe novelists to just do it. Write a novel this year.

And don’t forget to run your title through the Lulu Title Scorer to see, well, how it scores. I wouldn’t change a great title just because Lulu doesn’t give it a high score. On the other hand, Margaret Mitchell thought Tomorrow Is Another Day was a great title. Luckily her editors changed her mind.

Go on. Write up a storm.

More storyboarding

Back before I was blogging, Diane and I talked about storyboard/outlining software, and how she had decided to go retro with index cards. She posted about it with a pic of her corkboard, and she tossed in a little 8-sequence USC story model, a little rock-throwing, a little MacBeth.

I’m glad Diane got her MFA at USC. I’ve learned some good stuff from her because of it.

And lucky for me, she doesn’t care about football so won’t mind if I suddenly segue into the funny thing that showed up in email a couple of days ago. You’ve probably already seen it, but if not…

Cheerleading, tumbling lessons and camps since age 3: $30,000

Annual cost of attending USC: $ 50,000

Annual cost for staying just the right shade of blonde: $10,000

Cheering when the other team scores: Priceless

Hook ‘em, baby.

Hoist One High

It’s a night for fine single malt, for haggis, for tartan, for kilt.

Tragic Fragment

All devil as I am-a damned wretch,
A hardened, stubborn, unrepenting villain,
Still my heart melts at human wretchedness;
And with sincere but unavailing sighs
I view the helpless children of distress:
With tears indignant I behold the oppressor
Rejoicing in the honest man’s destruction,
Whose unsubmitting heart was all his crime. -

Robert Burns
Scotland’s Son

Sisyphean Blackmail

As I’ve explained before, max first used the Greek boulder-rolling guy to describe me and my relationship with my desk.

Once the image got in my head, it stuck. Sisyphus, that’s me. Which also describes me in other ways, because I am a big sissy and I do fuss a lot.

My desk, my office, need to be excavated. And so I am blackmailing myself.

It all started when toni sent me an email with the subject header “separated at birth?” and told me that Jenny Crusie and I were the very same person, and it was really scary, and sent me a link to her January 1, 2006 blog entry. Unfortunately I can’t figure out how to link to that entry alone so am sending you to her archive. Scroll to the very bottom, the very first post, and you will see her office. Her desk.

Go on. I’ll wait for you.

click and scroll down, way down, don’t stop near the bottom when you see an office which isn’t hers, go to the very bottom, okay?

Now, understand this. I’m not saying my office is neater than hers. I’m not saying it isn’t. I’m just saying, I found myself looking long and hard trying to make up my mind whether it was or not ….

I have decided that the way to make myself dig in is to take a picture of it this morning. And every Monday morning. And the first Monday that it doesn’t look better than it did the previous week?

I am posting today’s “before” picture on the web for all to see.

Improvement each week. That should be doable.

Excuse me.

I have to go take a picture.

And just so you’ll have something pretty to look at today:

Abby, the Australian Cattle Dog, a.k.a. Blue Heeler

p.s. You know, I would challenge everybody to post a picture of their office to their blog because I think that would be really interesting to see, but since I’m not posting my own yet, I guess that wouldn’t be fair, would it?

Cat-Saving with the Moleskine

Where to begin?

Okay, first, what (some of you may be asking) is a Moleskine?

I mentioned it here (and Cynthia told me about the storyboard version in comments). Digger27 found me and linked to me because I wrote about Moleskines, and has more about them on his site. But hey, there are Moleskine sites all over the net. My fave is ninthwavedesigns — check out the art. Makes me feel almost guilty for filling mine with illegible scrawls and post-its.

Which brings me to the subject at hand!

I figured out a way to use the storyboard version here, and there was more discussion of refinements in comments….

And the idea of having a “real” board at home and the moleskine with me is the one that I like best.

And so, here is the revelation, the epiphany, if you will.

I always have ideas in my head. I’ve got stories that have been in my head for years, with certain details, certain elements. Not fully fleshed out by any means, but a few elements that intrigue. Perhaps a plot twist that pleases me. All waiting for the day when I decide “this one is next” and pick them up and run with them.

And what I figured out is, with two “cards” per page (Post-its, in this case) there is room for four sets.

So what the Moleskine is for me right now is a brainstormer. I have one particular idea that is on the front burner, but I also have room for those others that are simmering, so I can sprinkle in some spice or add a little extra salt if the mood strikes or a brainstorm hits. Instead of keeping it in my head, I have a system to actually — wait for it — WRITE STUFF DOWN.

I’ll give you a moment.

Okay, recovered? Good.

I have two sets in there for the two projects that are on my plate right now. I’m colorcoding, using different colors for each story for the majority of the cards, and the important beats in a contrasting color. If I can jot a few words down in the part of the plot where I think it will occur, and move the Post-it as needed.

In case you’re wondering, the main reason why index cards (or in my case here, Post-its) are better than just writing stuff down in text format on a page or computer screen is because of that flow. Because if you write a list of things that might happen, or worse, excessive notes on what might happen, as soon as it hits the page in a certain order your brain tries to keep it in that order. You suddenly have a story, whether it’s the best one or not.

Using cards, it’s painless to say, “What if she kills him in chapter one instead of chapter twelve?” And shuffle the cards and look at all the new possibilities. The visual and tactical aspect are liberating.

Plus, it’s all highly portable. Have an idea, a phrase, a line of dialogue, a gesture that you want to remember later? Jot it on a card (or Post-it) and keep going.

Right now I’m using yellow Post-its to mark the two different story sets, but will use the little post-it tags when I, um, find my little Post-it tags. They’re around here somewhere, I know they are, damn it.

With this story set, I’m using pink Post-its, and blue for the major beats. On this you see the opening — Opening image/scene in blue, then Scene, Scene, then the Catalyst scene, again in blue. Then several pages of pink until you get to the first turning point, etc.

So maybe it’s not earthshattering, but I really like this use of the Moleskine.

And just in case you need it: (Save the Cat )