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nanowrimo2013

Still pantsing for the most part. I dont get an idea of where I’m going for each sitting until the day of or, at best, the day before. But even then every single sitting has resulted in some sort of drastic impromptu left turn. 12th day but only just broke 10K words so I’m <50% the current expected word count (at 1667 words per day). Even so, I'm still kinda proud of the progress. Gonna still aim for the 50K since each sitting is getting me a larger amount of words, generally speaking. I'll definitely be disappointed if I dont make 30K by Dec 1 anyway.

I've been playing the hell through Bon Iver's albums back to back to back to get into the zone (fantastic chill music to write to by the way). Which it takes me hours to get into, whilst I sit at the computer and stall with everything under the sun. I actually dont get anything done usually until like 3am-7am. I think I managed a non-insomniac session once (9pm-10pm?) and the first day was just after midnight and those are my earliest sessions. To my recollection I think I've only missed one day of writing.

I wonder if any of these bad writing habits will change as the month goes on. Might pop into town for an odd group session or two, see if that sort of environment makes a difference. And even if it doesnt, it might help give a little morale boost at this point. I have to wonder though if I'll get the dreaded Week Two later down the line since I'm not writing to target. Hm.

I think this was in Argentina? Definitely South America anyway, as is evident by some of the football chants nearer the beginning. Say what you will about Oasis, but as a Manchester boy I definitely cant help but be partial to them. Noel is great here, but it’s the crowd that make this seem so damn good. They’re with him the entire way. Song starts just before the 1:00 mark for those that want to skip in. Love the ending.

This woman gets it. Music. Sharing. Connection. Crowdsourcing.

On a relevant note, TEDxSalford 3.0 will be up for livestreaming on their site tomorrow I think. Last year I managed to get cheap full-day tickets on GroupOn, no such luck this time. Amazing experience, would’ve loved to have been there again. Lineup looks fantastic and more varied than ever: TEDxSalford.com/event/speakers

I write like
J. D. Salinger

I Write Like. Analyze your writing!

Not gonna lie, I’m pretty stoked by the result. Wasnt expecting to care at all so my response has kinda taken me aback lol. Try it for yourself. Maybe you wont care either until you do (ha). I ran through my Nanowrimo Day 1 writing (Allie POV).

EDIT:
Decided to run through my other character POVs to see what came out. Results:

Allie 1: JD Salinger
Raleigh 1: Cory Doctorow
Abbie 1: Neil Gaiman
Allie 2: JD Salinger
Jim 1: Mark Twain
Laura 1: Arthur Conan Doyle

Now obviously I dont for a second believe the results. But I do find it cool that my POVs are all distinctly different in some way. And that the two POVs that belong to the same character got the same result. Consistency for the win.

Link to analyse your style: iwl.me

Thought I’d mix it up a little bit and post some audio instead of a video of a performance. And a demo at that, as I understand it. To be honest, I’d rather it stay as it is.

Oxygen

BONUS:
Worldstop

Twitter: @TheRoyEnglish
Tumblr: royenglish.tumblr.com
Soundcloud: soundcloud.com/royenglish

Sorry, have to get a little hipster this time. I prefer his studio version of this song, but I also like the unadulterated style on his live performances too. Heard a few covers that were done nice, but in the end they always sound a little too polished and sanitised. Justin Vernon just sounds like his heart is bleeding out. Such a classic album. I’m still trying to get around to making time to hear the self-titled followup. Dont know why I havent heard it already to be honest.

Website: BonIver.org
Twitter: @BonIver

nanowrimo2013

That’s right. I’m going for it for the first time ever. Zero outline. Been pantsing it so far. Pretty funny what comes out when I get it going a little. My first sitting was about a character having her first Nanowrimo sitting and struggling to write about writing before finally getting off to a start. My second sitting was about another character unable to clear his thoughts. So meta (ha!).

I’ve managed almost 1500 words in a day (to achieve 50,000 words in within the month I need a 1667 word daily average) which is sort of impressive by my own standards. Maybe I’ll try to get a third character going in a bit so I can hit the daily average and not have to start completely cold tomorrow morning. Think I’ll keep adding fresh character POVs until I get into the swing of things and have a better idea of where I’m going with this. Dont have a plot/antagonist, just character exploration as yet and discovery writing. Just hope I can get the inner-editor off my back. Regardless of whether or succeed or fail with this, as long as I stick with it, I can only see this as being a positive experience for my writing.

I’ll shut up now.

I swear, this isnt supposed to turn into a blog strictly covering my favourite live acoustic/stripped down performances. But I imagine regardless of whatever it is supposed to be, it was always going to have a bunch of them scattered throughout. The actual song starts just after 2:17. Not particularly new, but an instant classic for me.

Website: cityandcolour.com
Twitter: @cityandcolour

Been awfully negligent of this place. This should more than make up for it. One of my newest finds, absolutely infatuated by the performance. Glad my youtube/wikipedia binge led to it lol. Turns out she was the runner-up contestant to the American music reality tv show The Voice (season 1?).

Honestly she’s bizarrely spot on as one of the characters I’d imagined in a story I’ve been slowly developing and meaning to write (ie. stalling on). Well, minus the accent, nationality, ethnicity, age and general success level. But I’m talking about the personality, actual looks, style and mannerisms I had in my head. Even them both being musicians. Even their first names are similar. Might have to change that because it irks me. Wish this song was available to buy in a studio version. Soon, hopefully.

(I like the amusing conversational lead-in but to jump straight to the meat, skip to around the 2:00 mark)

Twitter: @DiaFramps
Youtube: youtube.com/diaframpton

Hayao Miyazaki’s ‘The Wind Rises’, based on a novel of the same name by a Tatsuo Hori, gets a screening at the Toronto International Film Festival this year in September. It’s a non-fantasy fictionalised story set between the 1920s and ’30s, amidst the Great Depression and the Great Kanto Earthquake. Political commentary should be interesting.

Funny this came along. I’d been meaning to find an excuse to watch Studio Ghibli’s From Up On Poppy Hill (Goro Miyazaki) at the Cornerhouse cinema recently. Thought it’d make a nice choice as my first film viewing there.