Wellington Ink Slingers

Springing out of National Novel Writing Month, a group that enjoys writing throughout the year! We hold regular meet ups in Wellington, New Zealand. All ages and abilities welcome!

[nanocalendars2014-blog]

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[lifeduringnano]

NaNo Prep

Happy October everyone.

[realrandomsam]

This is why I write. I not only write because I love to write, but because I have to. Writing is who I am. Writing is ingrained in my very soul. I write because I am a writer.

Me, part of Why I Love To Write assignment (via realrandomsam)

[wellingtonwriters]

Pre-NaNo Writing Boot Camp: Week Two

Week Two:

Come Up With A Basic Plot

It’s all well and good to get intense and detailed about these things (and yes, if you’re patient, Boot Camp will get there), but sometimes outlines can become so involved you forget about the big picture. Why would you read the book you’re about to write? What are the most important things about your story?

Work out what you love about your story and write a brief synopsis that would entice someone else to read it — the kind you’d find on the back cover.

Halfway through the month, when you’re feeling down about your novel, and NaNoWriMo seems insurmountable, come back to this. It should remind you why you started.

Develop Your Setting

Your characters’ world(s) should be more than their backdrop. Good settings are rich, diverse, and immersive.

Write a list of 10-20 facts about your setting, then come up with ways for these to affect your characters.

Read more about the importance of setting here.

It's Week Two! Time to think about plot and setting. Check out the exercises above, and tag your progress with #prenano2014

How did Week One go for everyone??

[wellingtonwriters]

Pre-NaNo Writing Boot Camp: New and Improved 2014 Edition!

Week One:

Outline your antagonist’s story.

You've probably heard that every villain is the hero of his own story, and while that’s true, there’s another, more important reason to start planning your novel by fleshing out your antagonist. Plot holes. If your antagonist doesn't make sense, your story won’t make sense either.

Use one of these worksheets to outline your novel from your antagonist’s point of view.

Develop Your Characters

Like people, characters are three dimensional, and like people, they’ll always find ways to surprise you, no matter how well think you have them pigeonholed. However, it’s still useful to have some idea who your characters are before you start writing.

Check out this list of character traits and pick three for each of your characters.

Next, you need to know what your characters want. Most characters are motivated by secrets, goals, or both. Conflict and tension arise when characters’ motivations are at odds with each other.

Come up with at least one secret and one goal for each of your characters.

Welcome to Week One of Pre-NaNo Writing Boot Camp! Above are the exercises for you to work on this week. Tag your progress with #prenano14 to join in the fun.

[bizendal]

Well, it’s been a year, and National Novel Writing Month is coming around again! That means it’s time for the batshit crazy and writerly inclined to gird our loins in preparation of writing 50,000 words in thirty days.

[bizendal]

October is here, which means it’s time to get those outlines into shape.

[wellingtonwriters]

Boot Camp is back! Tag your progress with #prenano14 :) There are a couple of exercises a week, and they're a great way to get ready for NaNoWriMo 2014.

[nimblesnotebook-blog]

Here are the results for the fantasy section of the survey.

[bigot-vernichter-blog]

I think I’m going to like the new generation of writers.

[sandandglass]

[thequeerwithoutfear-deactivated]

In my experience, writers tend to be really good at the inside of their own heads and imaginary people, and a lot less good at the stuff going on outside, which means that quite often if you flirt with us we will completely fail to notice, leaving everybody involved slightly uncomfortable and more than slightly unlaid. So I would suggest that any attempted seduction of a writer would probably go a great deal easier for all parties if you sent them a cheerful note saying “YOU ARE INVITED TO A SEDUCTION: Please come to dinner on Friday Night. Wear the kind of clothes you would like to be seduced in.” And alcohol may help, too. Or kissing. Many writers figure out that they’re being seduced or flirted with if someone is actually kissing them.

Neil Gaiman on flirting with / seducing writers (via illfightyourdemons)

Five points for honesty! … Though, the advantage of this is also one’s ability to tear creepers apart - mentally or verbally. 

[writingquotes-deactivated201509]

I met, not long ago, a young man who aspired to become a novelist. Knowing that I was in the profession, he asked me to tell him how he should set to work to realize his ambition. I did my best to explain. “The first thing,” I said, “is to buy quite a lot of paper, a bottle of ink, and a pen. After that you merely have to write.”

Aldous Huxley (via writingquotes)

[wrimowriters-deactivated2014110]

One of my favorite blogs made an ultimate nanowrimo post! Its awesome.

http://penandmuse.com/nanowrimo-resources/?utm_content=buffer88ef1&utm_source=buffer&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Buffer

[wellingtonwriters]

Things about NaNo.

[steinbecks]

writing a kiss, tips for everybody

whatever the hell you’re doing with tongue, stop

invade, fight for dominance, and wrestle are literally the worst descriptors ever in the whole entire world of talking about kissing

tongues do not roam and they do not go exploring they are like TIDES they come forward a little bit and then maybe recede a little bit EVEN IN FRENCHING

most kissing action actually happens with the lips GO FIGURE??

kissing is really awkward you get noses bumping everywhere and sometimes saliva all over your chin or theirs, please keep this in mind, only the chastest kisses are clean and neat

really aggressive tongue is really an acquired taste not gonna lie (L O L)

Avoid scientific clinical words like probe for the love of god

you’ve ever listened to a kiss you know it sounds really gross with all the sucking and smacking breathy moans and hums are the way to go

No one pays enough attention to the lips imho y’all are so damn focused on tongues

[helpfulharrie]

Source: AuroraCarina-Chan

[zannyblogging-deactivated201311]

[wellingtonwriters]

demetersgrace reblogged your post Words! and added:

well for starters I’m on tumblr; that should tell you everything you need to know.

haha good point! i procrastinate my writing, by blogging about writing *nods* it's legit.

[bizendal]

It’s important to read in the genre you write.

It’s not going to stifle your creativity. It’s not going to turn you into an accidental plagiarist. In fact, the more media you expose yourself to, the more your own imagination will grow.

I promise.

More accurately, it’s important to read critically in the genre you write.

If you plan to publish, you need to know the conventions of your genre. You don’t need to stick to them, but be aware: that stuff is selling for a reason. By reading critically in the genre you write, you can teach yourself what works. What doesn’t work. What you like and don’t like. 

"I don’t want to be influenced by other writers" is a shitty excuse for not educating yourself. Reading more won’t make your book sound generic. It will help you come up with ways to set yourself apart from the crowd.

Also read outside the genre you write! Analyse those books too. Find ways to incorporate erotica techniques into your action novel. Use world-building elements you’ve learned from fantasy to build a rich setting in your murder mystery.

If you want to write good books, you have to read them. Trust that you have a unique voice and constantly strive to find better ways to use it. 

[wellingtonwriters]

Good thoughts on reading and genre. Well, just about reading in general too. Basically, just fucking read everything, because it helps make people good, astute writers.

[perfectenglishmen]

[bizendal]

Words!

I didn’t write at all over the weekend because I was lazy.

So today, after 6 hours of sleep, I wrote 6,000 words, putting my WC up to about 8,200. It was a lot harder than it used to be, and it took a lot longer (seven hours), but I did it!

It gives me hope that by the end of the month I’ll be up to my old writing pace — 5-10k every day.

[wellingtonwriters]

Fantastic! Yay for writing, we like the words :)

How's everyone going for NaNo?