Sunday Synergy: NaNo Prep and Blog Awards

(source: smarter collaboration)

Hello WriMo’s!

So I’ve had a very long and unusual weekend. It started off with buying a present for a friend, went onto getting as drunk as a skunk and ending up all over Facebook in all my glory… and then came some pretty great conversations, a new good friend, and saying goodbye to an old one.

Basically, I’m emotionally spent and ready to share this week’s NaNoWriMo related posts, which will hopefully make up for the fact that Saturday Synergy has suddenly become Sunday Synergy.

Oh well.

So here’s the NaNo compilation. Also, stick around for the BLOG AWARDS!

General

J.D.Mader shares how he climbed the Mt. Everest for writers.

@4KidLit: Which came first: plot or character?

@Kim_Wright_W reveals why she’s doing NaNoWriMo this year.

Joel Friedlander reveals how NaNoWriMo is a rite of passage for any aspiring writer.

@12books12months poses the decade long question: to NaNo or not to Nano.

@Amanda_Rudd gets to the bottom of it. We’re all masochists at heart.

Entertainment

THE NANOWRIMO SONG captures the essence of NaNo. Fun!

Daniel Swensen (@surlymuse) uses 80’s movies’ quotes to take on NaNo.

SarahKetley shares yet another deadly writing sin: re-reading your work.

There are so many holidays in November! By @HaraStrife.

Resources

NaNoWriMo’s young writer program provides free workbooks for the youngsters.

NaNo for the New and the Insane: FREE EBOOK BY Lazette Gifford (@LazetteG).

Nanowrimo cheat sheet via Alexandra Sokoloff.

Don’t miss out on these colorful NaNo desktops via @imaginepageant.

Awesomely amusing NaNo wallpaper by @surlymuse.

NaNo PREP!

Some basic NaNo prep before November by @indigospider.

JCRosen shares how she prepares for NaNoWriMo. (Excellent suggestions.)

@upandonmyway shares some useful links and tips.

Great resources for nano prep via @carolynecooper.

Writing Aids

Write or Die and 750 words: Great online writing tools. Try them out!

Alexandra Sokoloff’s NaNo workshop. Part 1: story.

An ingenious approach to plotting by using a Rubik’s cube.

Kate Brown gives advice on mind-mapping one’s plot. (via Vision: Resource for Writers)

@JAHite blogs a bunch of writing prompts if you ever get stuck on NaNo ideas.

Donations

Also, for those who’d like to give to the OLL, you can fundraise for donations!

NaNo links

More useful links.

Lisa_Bouchard’s upcoming posts and resources.

Carrie Mumford’s list of NaNo links and resources.

Some links and resources to consider before diving into NaNo via @easilyamused.

Some useful links from WriMo @elizabethscraig.

And finally, I’m happy to give out the first batch of WriMo’s FTW BLOG AWARDS. But first, here are the rules of the game…

1. Thank the award-giver and link back to them in your post.

2. Share three things about your NaNo story.

3. Pass the award along to five other NaNo bloggers.

4. Contact your chosen winners to let them know about the award.

And here are the five people I’ve chosen this week:

Lauren Scribe Harris

Sarah Ketley

Daniel Swensen

Eryn Kurowski

Lisa Bouchard

And here’s your award, NaNo bloggers extraordinaire!

Saturday Synergy: NaNoWriMo Resources!

(Source: Infovark)

It’s an exciting time, people! And not just because there are 23 days left until the Writing Rapture (called NaNoWriMo), but because now is the time to prep for NaNo and get all psyched up about it on twitter (#NaNoWriMo) and various blogs around the blog-o-sphere.

Side by side, newbies and veterans are making outlines, choosing stories, putting up polls, and sharing past experiences to inspire others and bask in the collective glow of NaNo. And since that’s the general idea of WriMos FTW as well, this calls for some kind of blog mash, no?

The little Calvin avatar you’re seeing constantly in the #NaNoWriMo channel (@wrimosftw) is me trying to collect some links and welcome people to the mad-wagon! The welcoming part I have down and now’s the time for sharing the links I found during the past week with those who need some extra resources to prepare!

So welcome to WriMos FTW’s first (of many) Saturday Synergy installment!

Below is a list of links to articles, videos, and blogs about NaNoWriMo. There are workshops, fan videos, discussion threads, and more! It’s basically an all-you-can-read buffet. ENJOY!

News:

NaNoWriMo made the BBC news! It got a lot of attention on Twitter and got some people thinking about joining. All round good day!

And you know WriteWay’s sponsoring NaNo this year, right? Well, their offer is fantastic: FREE USE OF THE SOFTWARE UNTIL DEC. 15!!! 

About NaNo:

A brilliant and witty overview of the NaNoWriMo experience by Chuck Wendig (@ChuckWendig).

Lemony Snicket’s pep-talk on the NaNoWriMo site.

Daniel Swensen (@surlymuse) shares his 8-years’ experience by listing 13 possible pitfalls of NaNoWriMo. 

For those of you who are doing NaNo for the first time, you might want to read this amusing guest-post by Grady Pruitt about the whole NaNo experience (via @luanatf). It definitely filled me with anticipation!

Denise Krebs (@mrsdkrebs) shares with us how her students managed their NaNogoals every year. Aww, I am so glad to hear they’re doing NaNo in schools! (Apparently I’ve been living in a cave.)

Tips and tricks:

Roz Morris (@dirtywhitecandy) is giving us some tips about preparing for NaNo.

Now this is what I’m talking about! It’s an article about the 10 types of writer’s block and how to battle them. It’s very simple and not at all generic. Huge hit on twitter!

Jamie Todd Rubin (@jamietr) gives excellent tips on how to win NaNo and how Scrivener can help you get there. (I should definitely try Scrivener out now!)

Dave Farmer (@DaveRFarmer) gives a list of excuses you might have written in your con column along with prompts to get those creative juices flowing. Truly wonderful post!

Sarah Ketley shares some of her Deadly Writing Sins. I dare you to find someone who can’t relate! (Seriously, you wanna check her site, it’s awesome.)

Christi Craig (@Christi_Craig)shares some tips and links from her previous years as a WriMo. 

Kia Zi (@Kia_Zi) shares some wordcount tricks and tells us about a writing software called yWriter. (I’m very limited in these things. I know about Scrivener and Liquid Story Binder, and that’s about it. I’m a Word fan all the way. Simplicity’s the bitch!)

Useful links:

Super useful list of links on getting ready for NaNo, courtesy of LindaJM on Squidoo.

Where the incredibly witty Chuck Wendig introduces his NaNoWriMo workshop and give us delicious links to help curb the insanity. Thanks, Chuck!

Rosy Moorhead (@RosyMoorhead) is running a NaNoWriMo series on The Daily Writer including tips and insights from fellow participants. The last one’s on preparation.

Head over to Elizabeth Craig’s blog (@elizabethscraig) where you’ll find relevant and useful links to everything you need to know about NaNo. 

Workshops:

Kristen Lamb (@KristenLambTX) is breaking down the novel and talks about how preparation saves you from the pile of crap later. We know NaNo’s not ALL about the words…

StoryFix by Larry Brooks (@storyfix) is definitely a site you should check out. Right now, there’s a special NaNo workshop running to help you prepare AND there’s lots of other great stuff that could help you out.

Cylee Blake’s (@cyleeblake) NaNo prepping series follows the process of outlining a novel. It’s a very useful insight into the creative process and contains some links to life-saving software. So far: Mindmapping, Characters, World-Building, and Storyboard.

Valerie Valdes (@valerievaldes) is giving us a quick and dirty guide on preparing for NaNo, including Character, Setting, and Plot considerations. You can also check out the extensive version here. 

L. Scribe Harris (@marksmaster) is running a NaNo prepping blog series, too. The first installment focuses on Characters. 

Funny:

Damian Rucci (@damianrucci) found a cool video of a teen talking about why you should join NaNo. It’s HILARIOUS! 

Projects:

Erica Wing’s Crapfiction project is launching in November. In her words, the site will be about us non-published folk and connecting with other writers and artists. Keep an eye on this one, my spider sense is tingling, saying it will be huge! 

MB Mulhall will be hosting guest-blogs and doing pep-talks (yay, we have another cheerleader in the house!) during October and November. Quick, run over there! 

Finally, don’t forget to check out the all-time favorite links on the right sidebar, under ‘follow the words’. They contain pretty much every link you’d need come November.

And remember the most important piece of advice: DON’T PANIC!!!

Do you have any useful links to add to the list? Did you find these helpful?