NaNoWriMo Up

How did your National Novel Writing go? 50,000? 30,000? Notes for next year? Whatever you did, you were a winner if you wrote more than you would have on your own? This global initiative is proof that together writers can push each other to be more productive.

NaNoWriMo has all the elements of a good writing community - measurable goals, an enthusiastic group of supporters cheering each other on, and T-shirts to mark the occasion. According to the official site, more than 28,000 people recorded 50,000+ words each for a total of 2.6 billion words. That is something to celebrate.

I was lucky enough to spend the evening last night with a class of 29 very diverse authors who spent five Monday nights together fueled by cookies, agent visits and a shared sense of purpose. For three hours straight the type, type, typing built until half a dozen announced they had made the 50,000 word goal. Others beat their own personal goals and all came away with a sense of having done something they had only considered in a vague way before.

If you participated, take a moment to congratulate yourself and take a deep breath. You can always go back and edit and fine tune later. The important thing is that you captured your dream.

If you missed this year, now is the time to start collecting folders of ideas about scenes, characters, plot twists and titles so you will be ready come 11.1.11. It will be here before you know it.

Research Your Way to the Bestseller List

The first step in your 100-day book proposal challenge is to determine exactly what book you are pitching. That means researching to find the topic that fits your writing style like a glove. While the answer may seem obvious, be careful to collect all the data before drawing a conclusion. Only once you have taken the following three steps are you ready to write a compelling description that will get the eye of an agent and a publisher.

1. Start with some open ended brainstorming. Even if you have known since you were in third grade that you were going to write the Great American Novel about bacteria and fungi, start by writing all the terms that come to mind on the topic. Look for connections with recent headlines, controversial angles and eye-catching hooks. 

2. Now the research begins. Collect all the information you can on your topic. I don't just mean look it up on wikipedia or google search. Be creative. Who are the faces behind bacillus? What do they look, smell and taste like? How do the good and bad microorganisms live together? What do they have for breakfast?

3. As you follow the meandering information trail, monitor your internal awe-o-meter for what interests you. What makes you want to know more? What makes you sit up in your seat and put down your coffee cup? Chances are those are the topics that will stir enough passion in you to keep you interested during the long months it takes to write a book. That passion is also what will keep your readers interested enough to buy and finish your work of art.

4. Your research also has to include an exhaustive search of all books written on that topic. And don't say this is a completely new subject. Chances are someone has already delved into the sex life of Escherichia coli bacilli. And that is a good thing in the eye of your future publisher. It means that there is a  market for the topic. Now you just have to find your unique, timely, provocative take on the subject. 

5. Write down a few variations. "Aquificae for Fun and Profit", "Tenericutes: The Nitrospirae of a New World" Maybe "Gemmatimonadetes goes Wild". Say your bestselling titles out loud. Do they make you want to know more? Try your titles out on your MasterMind group. Keep trying until you hit on an idea that has legs.

6. Congratulate yourself.  This is important work. Plus, you are going to need all your strength for next week's project. Writing a description of your novella that has the potential to go viral.

Feel free to share.

Yours in Writing

Promtpmasters

Jennifer Sander

JT Long

How to Form a MasterMind Group (or how to add Kevin Bacon to your circle)

We talk a lot about the benefits of sharing, holding accountable and celebrating our writing success in a MasterMind Group forum. But I am often asked exactly how does a writer find a group of like-minded scribes?

The degrees of separation between you and your fellow writers are narrower than you might think. If, as the theory goes, there are only five degrees of separation between any given person and Kevin Bacon, then the separation between you and another motivated author are even smaller. 

Following are four ways to make the connection that could change your literary life.

1. Ask your friends. I know this sounds obvious, but sometimes we are shy about announcing our desire to be a published author. Proclaim your intention to the world. Talk about your desire to host a group of writers to facilitate mutual publication. The woman who sits in the cubicle next to you may be a closet GAN (Great American Novelist). Your Batista may pen poems on his breaks. Your neighbor may be a blogger of epic proportions. You never know if you don't ask. Plus, verbalizing your desire to start the group will keep you focused and accountable. When asked at the next office party how your group is going you will be able to report your success.

2. Look for Hubs. Where do writers congregate? Coffee shops? Libraries? College campuses? Think about the type of writing you want to do and the type of people who would work well with your group style. Hang out there. Post notices on bulletin boards. Start conversations. This is a great way to focus your group and meet new people.

3. Use technology. Writers today will find making connections with fellow authors much easier thanks to innovations such as Twitter, Facebook, Meetup and Craigslist. So no excuses. Get online and find your perfect group or post an invitation that lets them find you. Remember, you don't have to be confined by geography. MasterMind Groups can Skype, conference call and chat their way to success. You just miss out on the homemade cookies at some pot luck meetings.

4. Just do it. In the end, you have to stop talking and posting about your group and just start meeting. Even if it is you and one friend. Set a date and start reporting, nudging, announcing and celebrating. The word will get out and soon Kevin will be calling you to see if he can join.

Good luck and be sure to keep us updated on your progress.

Yours in Writing,

Promptmasters

Jennifer Sander

JT Long