symbolic 02: getting dressed
National Novel Writing Month is the brainchild of Chris Baty. It says something about the explosive nature of this concept that "National" is a misnomer now. Several years ago, Mr. Baty conned several of his friends into attempting to write a novel. Aspiring scribes dream (or have nightmares) about the first book and it is one of those landmarks that writers have to confront. Baty's idea was to quit waiting for it to happen on its own. Get the damn thing on paper, stick it in a drawer, and say, "Fine. Got that out of the way."
Baty and Company decided to give themselves a month to pour everything onto the page. 50,000 words was the goal -- a short novel, but a novel nonetheless. Quality wasn't an issue. Finishing was the only goal. They picked November as the thirty days of doom and got down to business. And when they were done, some had finished, some had flamed out, and some wished they had spent the thirty days waxing their car instead. But most of them came back for more a year later.
Year two saw 128 participants, and last year the number of eager flagellants numbered more than five thousand world-wide. The rules are simple: 50,000 words, thirty days, any word counts, and you can't start before the first of the month.
Fine. But the rules don't say anything about prep time. I'm starting now. Until the first of November, I'm going to be building the framework. I'm going to knock the characters out of the rough blocks; I'm going to build the movie trailer; I'm going to do the Hardy Boys Outline; I'm going to try out several hundred names until I find the right ones; I'm going to read Vogue magazine.
I've got the fall fashion issue on my desk right now. Eight hundred pages of the clothes no one can afford for the fall and winter seasons. I'm going shopping. The characters are going to have to wear something.
Men, let's be honest, wear boots and shoes. Women wear slingbacks, mules, flats, spike heels, boots, slides, mary janes, clogs, ankle boots (yes, I know, but they're not the same), flats, loafers and oxfords. Guys? Women like it when you know the difference.
writing
This is a reasonably comprehensive list of my published work, both virtual and physical.
THE MISFIT LIBRARY
I am Nine of Thirteen, one of the members of the Misfit Library, a writing collective which puts out a quarterly journal of our respective work. We are scattered across the globe and determined to change the face of the planet one story at a time. The link above will take you to Misfit Central where you can acquire copies of the journal as well as read exclusive online material.
SYMBOLIC
I wrote a column for OPi8.com's Transmit blogs: journals of the new dark underground. SYMBOLIC tracked the novel I was working on, referencing the process and the research materials which mad up the backbone of the work. In addition, SYMBOLIC busied itself with ruminations and considerations on the nature of language and communication. And a wee bit of mythology. The first 100 entries of SYMBOLIC can be found here on this site as well as at OPi8.com.
LITERARY REPRESENTATION
I am represented by Scribe Agency as my literary agents. Please contact these gentleman if you have any queries about my work.