tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1240858921074775709.post1452814941600086977..comments2024-02-05T00:49:02.719-08:00Comments on The Unprofessional Critic: NaNo: Oh No? Oh YES!miaohdeuxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11829709456145455233noreply@blogger.comBlogger17125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1240858921074775709.post-12696018888717167462010-11-05T19:45:12.743-07:002010-11-05T19:45:12.743-07:00ciarcullen, welcome! I love romance novels, and r...ciarcullen, welcome! I love romance novels, and recently discovered them this year (in fact, I did a post on it back in March).<br /><br />Please read and comment anytime.<br /><br />And you are AWESOME for taking up hip hop at 53! Age ain't nothin' but a number. ;)miaohdeuxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11829709456145455233noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1240858921074775709.post-1436113081200005022010-11-05T15:21:57.650-07:002010-11-05T15:21:57.650-07:00I'm not sure how I stumbled here as I'm a ...I'm not sure how I stumbled here as I'm a romance writer...anyway, I'm not doing Nano. Most of my friends are. I'm not doing it because I'm simply not wired that way. It doesn't take me years to write something, but I know myself, and I'm better off when I'm really motivated, when an idea sweeps me off my feet. That said, what the hell does it hurt? Going to miss an episode of Hellcats? Going to use your brain, find like-minded friends, explore your own issues, see the world in a different light because you've turned yours on? Yeah, what the hell? Some of us are deadline driven and some aren't. If you are, this is a fantastic way to spend a month. It's your life. Who cares if you decide to take up hip hop at 53? Oh wait, I just did that...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1240858921074775709.post-3312907555613729142010-11-05T10:38:54.805-07:002010-11-05T10:38:54.805-07:00Your friend not supporting NaNo because it takes h...Your friend not supporting NaNo because it takes her 3.5 years to write a novel is basing it on those people who write their novel in a month and immediately think it's complete and done. And actually, she's pretty much right. I wonder what percentage of NaNo writers do just that.Gilhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00264458972722412509noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1240858921074775709.post-47578090077268030232010-11-04T17:20:45.278-07:002010-11-04T17:20:45.278-07:00NW: thanks for the support. I also agree that rea...NW: thanks for the support. I also agree that readers are really important, and that writers MUST read. I've never understood people who call themselves writers, but say they don't like to read. It doesn't make sense to me.<br /><br />Gnatalby: thank you for the clarification. I got so riled up, I used the wrong terminology!<br /><br />I was talking with a friend today who is a published author and a writing teacher. She's not a big NaNo supporter, and told me that each of her novels took 3.5 years to write. And I think that's totally fine! Again, I'm still working on my project from last year, and may be doing so for some time before I'm comfortable submitting it. The NaNo writing method is definitely NOT for everybody. However, for me it works well, because while I love my current WIP, in the meantime I had this other idea, and I do want to crap out a first draft even if I end up never looking at it again.<br /><br />Plus, it's forcing me to sit down and write every day, after falling out of the habit for a couple of months.<br /><br />I don't have a problem with Ms. Miller saying it's not a method for everyone. I have a problem with her overwhelming negativity and what I perceive to be elitism. Like you said, gnatalby, no one's forcing HER to write this way. But if it works for some serious authors (like Sara Gruen, whose book Water for Elephants started as a NaNo project), and if it gives some not-so-serious writers the pleasure of creating, why all the hate, y'know?miaohdeuxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11829709456145455233noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1240858921074775709.post-71190754320124615942010-11-04T14:04:35.903-07:002010-11-04T14:04:35.903-07:00There is a nit I must pick:
You weren't being...There is a nit I must pick:<br /><br />You weren't being a devil's advocate to your friend; you were offering a dissenting opinion. A devil's advocate is arguing something they don't believe, hence, devil.<br /><br />But I agree with everything else you wrote! No one is going to force Laura Miller to write a book in a month, so why does she care?Gnatalbyhttp://theboozetube.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1240858921074775709.post-79379601850451043612010-11-03T22:21:34.280-07:002010-11-03T22:21:34.280-07:00I'm with you in terms of your reaction to this...I'm with you in terms of your reaction to this article. Yes, she's right in that readers are important, but so are writers. I don't think that one group is necessarily more important than the other. I do like that 10/10/10 idea, where people read new books in different genres. <br /> I also agree that writers will keep writing no matter what, because they're incapable of not writing. She described people who send in their Nanowrimo manuscript in December, but I think many of those people won't necessarily keep writing in the same way that writers who value writing (and revision) do. I think that for those writers who send in their mansucripts too soon, it's more about getting published than anything else. <br />And good for you for all that you've accomplished in your writing. I'm proud of you.Neurotic Workaholichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06775298184138766683noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1240858921074775709.post-54841010455198144032010-11-03T19:48:04.868-07:002010-11-03T19:48:04.868-07:00Hi again everyone! Here is a comment by Nikki of ...Hi again everyone! Here is a comment by Nikki of http://whatireadbackthen.blogspot.com, which I deleted because I am a moron:<br /><br />Well said Unpro, and if you don't mind, I'm going to link your rebuttal on my own Facebook. <br /><br />This is my second year as a nano participant. The first year was a failure, but I'm plugging away at it. You know what? I don't have delusions of being JK Rowling. Fuck, I don't even think I'm as good as Stephenie Meyer, and I think she sucks. <br /><br />But. I like to write, talent or no. And I have a child, am expecting another one in a few months, a husband who works 60+ hour weeks, my own part time job and a house to keep. You know what? This is my fucking time to sit down and do something I think is fun, which is write. I'm not writing for publication, I'm writing for myself just because I want to. In truth, my job is easy, parenting a four year old seems to consist of playing endless rounds of Cootie and learning more than I ever wanted to know about dinosaurs, and it's not like I find dishes and laundry all that stimulating. So yeah, maybe I need a little challenge every now and again. <br /><br />So screw Laura Miller and the horse she rode in on. (Oh man, I ended a sentence in a preposition. How non-writerly of me!)miaohdeuxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11829709456145455233noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1240858921074775709.post-86636809794810087272010-11-03T19:45:44.785-07:002010-11-03T19:45:44.785-07:00Meg, Desiree and EB: thanks for your comments! Hop...Meg, Desiree and EB: thanks for your comments! Hopefully you WILL get to read my (much more polished) novel someday. :)<br /><br />Nikki: link away! It's funny how I was intending to take a break from the blog to focus on NaNo, yet it's NaNo that got me back to the blog. And I'm really proud of you for taking some Nikki time and plugging away again this year. I'm not a parent, so take this next part for what it's worth, but I think focusing on your own interests makes one a BETTER mom/dad because you are a more well-rounded individual. So go you!miaohdeuxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11829709456145455233noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1240858921074775709.post-44785691465106734562010-11-03T19:44:19.419-07:002010-11-03T19:44:19.419-07:00This comment has been removed by the author.miaohdeuxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11829709456145455233noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1240858921074775709.post-34450519971325533662010-11-03T18:20:57.736-07:002010-11-03T18:20:57.736-07:00This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.nikkihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12137551380843110484noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1240858921074775709.post-13441494381106528042010-11-03T17:26:18.152-07:002010-11-03T17:26:18.152-07:00Wow, Ms. Miller completely missed the point. I am...Wow, Ms. Miller completely missed the point. I am amazed by anyone who completes a novel. (God knows I haven't.) Any true writer will revise, revise, revise. (Something I do even for my legal responses.) Every organization, profession, club, etc. has people who think that they are always the best. For example, people who think they don't need to revise after a first draft before submitting a novel. Good luck to you, and I hope to read this month's novel some day!Desiree Sierensnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1240858921074775709.post-34152668640334868632010-11-03T15:32:29.614-07:002010-11-03T15:32:29.614-07:00Ugh, seriously? That Salon writer is such a snooty...Ugh, seriously? That Salon writer is such a snooty bitch. NaNoWriMo isn't about writing an amazing novel that's going to become a bestseller. It's just about writing. So many people want to write a novel, and it's a good tool for getting that done, even if it never sees the light of day after that. Attacking people who are pursuing something creative is just ridiculous.<br /><br />Keep writing! I definitely want to read your novel once you're done!Meghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16410043337128188532noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1240858921074775709.post-85776634822438722392010-11-03T15:16:29.143-07:002010-11-03T15:16:29.143-07:00Elizabeth: Yeah, I thought of the Maura Kelly piec...Elizabeth: Yeah, I thought of the Maura Kelly piece too. It's comparable when it comes to elitist meanness.<br /><br />Gil: yes, yes and hell yes. Agents will ALWAYS have to read crap by delusional people. It might spike a bit after NaNo, but if it wasn't those people, it would be someone else.<br /><br />Most likely, my first two manuscripts will never see the light of day again. The first one would need major revamps, the second one is kind of all over the place and the heroine is really unlikable. However, a chapter from the second one is what got me my residency, and was a huge challenge to write (the character loses her virginity, and it's YA, so there's a lot of do's and don't's with writing that stuff). I'll always be really proud of it. And the first manuscript, well, that got me writing fiction in the first place. It's special that way, if not in any other way.<br /><br />Thanks for the comments, you guys!miaohdeuxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11829709456145455233noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1240858921074775709.post-73986217790497246822010-11-03T15:10:28.414-07:002010-11-03T15:10:28.414-07:00Yeah, Unpro! People who ding others for creative p...Yeah, Unpro! People who ding others for creative pursuits just don't get it. And, honestly, they're projecting their own feelings about themselves. <br /><br />Screw 'em and keep writing!Etiquette Bitchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15656611315466903464noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1240858921074775709.post-50560266752006562982010-11-03T14:58:39.471-07:002010-11-03T14:58:39.471-07:00Agreed. The idea of NaNoWriMo to me seems to be t...Agreed. The idea of NaNoWriMo to me seems to be two things:<br />1) To be a producer and not a consumer. To write the next book instead of watching the last TV show.<br />2) For writers to understand the concept of long-form works, and use the process to either weed themselves out or to rise to a better level.<br /><br />Elaboration/rant on #2: I've been pitched ideas with a "I have the greatest idea for a whatever, but I want you to write it, and we split the profit in half when it becomes huge, which it inevitably will". And then there are the people who go "I'm a writer, but haven't written anything, but have lots of ideas" (and I was/sometimes-still-am one). Two kinds of people who don't realize that it's not just about good ideas but also good execution, and that the ability to write a 100+ page thing is very different than writing a short story. Either you have it, or you don't. <br /><br />Or, you don't know if you have it. So you sit down and write a First Full Length Thing, and get to your editing afterwards. And you have the experience of what it's like to have written a Full Length Thing, which you take with you to your Next Project, which is invariably going to be a level better. Or you don't get to a next project, you submit your first draft to Agents, you get weeded out immediately, and you're done. <br /><br />I wrote a screenplay right out of college and never submitted it anywhere because after countless rewrites, it never got to a point I was happy with. I wouldn't have gone back and undone the countless hours I spent on it because even though I didn't even submit it, I used all of the experience to success on my first stage play. And had I in fact submitted it, the only people who would have had to read that crap would have been agents, who would have immediately discarded it.<br /><br />The point I'm making is, why is Laura Miller writing an article to sympathize with Agents? So Agents have to read crappy material. That's kind of their job.Gilhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00264458972722412509noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1240858921074775709.post-26587761842743782662010-11-03T14:49:24.821-07:002010-11-03T14:49:24.821-07:00To clarify, I meant the one you linked to, not you...To clarify, I meant the one you linked to, not your rebuttal.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1240858921074775709.post-60961494244000754502010-11-03T14:43:28.846-07:002010-11-03T14:43:28.846-07:00This article seems akin to those run by Marie Clai...This article seems akin to those run by Marie Claire lately with their only objective to drive traffic to their sites.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com