I just read this article on MinnPost.com about how many local writers prefer to work at coffee shops, libraries, restaurants or bars, instead of at home. Some like the noise, some like the anonymity (amongst a crowd) and some just want the caffeine. As one writer put it, at home "you get bored with yourself." I can relate to this. Home has too many distractions, or the same-old scenery. When I was in college, I always preferred to study at Dunn Bros, then at home. Especially at a larger table at which I could spread out.
At the end of the article, the reporter gives a shout out to those local writers who participated in November's National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo):
"According to the National Novel Writing Month's Word Count Scoreboard, Twin Cities NaNoWriMo participants out-produced every region in the world except for the much larger Seattle and Maryland (D.C. area) communities. A total of 13,059,537 words were generated by Twin Cities writers participating in last month's great novel-writing marathon, with an average of 28,267 words per novelist. The goal was 50,000, which means most participants didn't 'win.'"
I've always known we have a strong writing community here - the list goes on and on of well-known, local, published writers - but I love to hear of more, especially new or amateur writers.
2 comments:
Gee, we REALLY don't have anything worthwhile to do hereabouts when the weather turns cooler, do we...? A month-long freewriting session at the end of which one brags up the fact that he or she has produced a 50,000-word mound of slop? What a waste of time...!
I have to respectfully disagree.
First, the contest extends throughout the entire country, so yes, those in sunny CA are spending the month of November trying to write 50,000 words, too.
Second, some writers need this type of motivation to get started on that book idea they have in their head. If this is what it takes to get it out of their head and on to the page, more power to them.
Third, any writer knows that even if you write 50,000 words of "slop," it's time well spent. It's for the practice of it, the discipline of writing every day, the satisfaction of seeing something take shape.
Fourth, plenty of NaNoWriMo competitors have gone on to publish their works over the years.
Fifth (and last, for now), closely knowing the general personalities of writers, I hardly believe these participants are bragging about their accomplishment - I bet most keep it to themselves and others do the bragging for them.
Thanks for the discussion!
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