In honor of National Novel Writing Month, I'm having a little event on my blog for anyone one who needs an extra boost of motivation to get their current project rolling.If you don't know about Nanowrmo, National Novel Writing Month, this is a fun, seat-of-your-pants approach to novel writing. Participants begin writing November 1. The goal is to write a 175-page (50,000-word) novel by midnight, November 30. This is a kamakazie approach to writing, it's about quanity and not quality.
The Golden Coffee Cup is a different kind of motivational thingy. This soon-to-be coveted award (an awesome picture of a coffee cup emailed to you that you may display it with pride) will be given to the successful November goal setters.
This is my answer to that "interesting concept" (cough, cough) of requiring writers to churn out 50,000 incomprehensible words in one month.
I’d like to churn less with much more comprehension in my month. I ask you to join me. The 2006 Golden Coffee Cup will be awarded for a month of goal setting and achievement.
THE RULES:
1. Post your November creative goals here by Nov 1. That is the deadline, folks.
2. Come back weekly for general cheering and wild ruckus, celebrating your successes. We'll do some holy snappin'. For extra motivation, celebrity guests will be on hand to offer high fives for your achievements!
3. If you reach your goal by Nov 30, you will be eligible for a Golden Coffee Cup. There is no verification process, I believe you. Send in your email address to mollyblaisdell@verizon.net and your Golden Coffee Cup will be emailed to you. Display it proudly as wallpaper, post it on your blog, print it out and tack it on your bulletin board for year-long motivation.
GOAL GUIDELINES:
The Golden Coffee Cup is about making a goal and keeping it.
If you are a novel writer, you can write something new with a realistic word count goal, keeping your life in mind. Your goal might also be making your first novel submission (think Delacorte Contest) or a revision of a novel you've already written. You can do this!
If you are a picture book writer or artist, hey, picture books are harder to write than they look. I don't really care about the word count because if your project is over 500 words that might be a problem. Picture book artists tell stories too. You might be an artist making a dummy and a dummy is certainly as hard to create as a novel. This is about quality not quantity.
Win your very own Golden Coffee Cup.
Let's bring some excellence into that creation!!!!!
Need inspiration: Try the Motivational Coffee Cups.
EXTRA, EXTRA INCENTIVE!!!!!
I'm happy to report that Paula McDonald of P&G Speakeasy Cafe in Duvall has said that anyone coming into her establishment who can show her their Golden Coffee Cup award will be entitled to one free latte in honor of the occasion. Buy lunch while you're there. Paula loves artists.
3:18 AM
23 comments:
My personal goal for November:
Revise all 37 chapters of Plumber Girl and add the three missing scenes.
My goal--finish the three remaining chapters of TWS (I'll share the title if I meet my goal) and revise all 22 chapters and sent it to the editor who is interested (and pray she is still interested!)
Thanks for the motivation Molly!
Ghost Girl
Thanks for this boost--I'll need the coffee cup to keep going. I plan to revise my MG (after I finish it next week), start submitting, and work up a non-fiction book proposal. All this and plan for Thanksgiving, too. Will do my best!
My November goal: Write four times a week for at least an hour (we'll call it 16 hours for the month).
Great goals!!! I predict many Golden Coffee Cups!!!
My goal: start a new novel project. I've been so hung up in #1, I need some distance, but I just can't settle on a new story that will captivate me for a year or so.
My goal is to get to the midway point in the second draft of Rosa's Tomatoes. A second, related goal is to get together at least three times with a Mexican-American friend to fact check the same portion of the novel. With picture books - I want to have a serviceable (ready to share with my critique group) copy of my garden ABC book and my totally new stab at my binky book. All by November 31, with my family still liking me.
My goal for the Golden COffee Cup is to crank out 4 (500 WC)author bios and write 3 shorst stories.
Go Molly-Go Molly-Go Molly-Go MollyGo Molly-Go MollyGo Molly-Go MollyGo Molly-Go MollyGo Molly-Go MollyGo Molly-Go Molly
Your big sis, Lee Ann
Goal 1: finish the first draft of my work for hire novel about a girl detective.(currently on chapter 5 of about 15.)
Goal 2: submit samples of Mad Libs.
Goal 3: research and write an outline for the the childhood biography due next spring.
Goal 4: complete and submit at least two article from the mess of ideas and partially finished ones I have.
Can you use the Golden Cup for tea instead?
It's hours away! My goal is to finsih revising my current WIP. AND, start and finish my new YA. No word goal. Just finish when it's finished. Molly this is a great idea! Wish I thought of it! Hairaplenty
I hope I've made it in time...I just heard about "The Golden Coffee Cup" and I'm ready to set some goals...
1...Finish an early chapter book
2...Re-read and Re-work at least two of the three picture books that I wrote a few months back..
Lilfix
I'm a deadbeat. I didn't post on Nov 1st but I did tell Molly I would post before Nov 1at. She gave me a get-out-of-jail-free card.
My goal for November;
I will write 20 minutes a week. I will submit a story to Hightlights and/or Hopscotch.
In addition I will wear my glasses more often and use spell check.
I know, I know, I'm posting late, but responding via email has got to count for something (email is sooooo last year, I know - rolling eyes).
My goals: finish this draft of Brimstone Soup and write at least 100 words/day (more on official writing days, of course).
Holly
Okay, I didn't post yesterday, but I did sub Peggy King Anderson's writing class last night, does that get me out of jail free, too?
My goal (for my YA Novel, Bodacious Mystery Galpal Tells All) is 500 words per day, 5 days a week. Or 2500 words per week. Or 11,000 words by November 30. Today I'll have to do 1000 to make up for yesterday.
OK, I'm extending a "Get out of jail free card" just for today. It all because the more the merrier. There are seven more folks who emailed me directly. They are also all good. Any who! Seize the day folks. Somebody post a motivation tip!!!
Alright, I'm with Chris about the tea cup thing. I would definitely use my golden coffee cup for tea--decaf English Breakfast is a regular affair at my writing desk. Checking in on my goals for November...finished one chapter and am 5 pages into the next. Looks iffy as to whether I'll make the three I was hoping for, but I'm game! My MC is in deep danger...must get back to him! Good luck everyone and thanks again for the motivation and inspiration Molly!
Thanks for checking in Ghost Girl. I'm a fan of English Breakfast tea myself, but I would protest the loss of caf. Must have caf.
Deep danger for an mc!!!! Good, very good. Keep working.
Try the Bella Ball for a fortune telling: http://www.bellaonline.org/code/bellaball/index.asp.
Try this site for stick to it power: http://duittuit.com/sticktuit.htm
Keep writing!
Well, I'm on fire, now...despite the hacking coughs and inconsiderate appointments wandering through my schedule this week, I managed to finish chapter 20! So, on to the BIG climax and the MC's shining moment. I fear I won't make my final goal for this month, but I'm thrilled with the dribs and drabs of progress. And I'll savor a golden cup of tea on November 30th, no matter where my ms ends up...
You go, Ghost Girl!!!!! Do you your best! Shh, If your goal gets a little tweaked, uh, I probably would not notice. We are more about quality than quanity here at the Golden Coffee Cup. I hope you enjoy the journey of writing and that Big Climax at the end of your book is just brilliant!
Is it really the end of the month tomorrow? Nooooo! Why do we have to do this on a month with only 30 days, and a holiday?
As you can probably guess from this whining, I'm not finishing all of my goals. I might actually finish the first draft of the novel by Friday, but that's next month. I did submit Mad Libs . I haven't gotten any articles out, although I've written a rough draft of a new one. And I've taken some notes, but not written a complete outline of the biography. Alas.
Oh well, the point of setting goals is to inspire you to work harder, so I guess it worked for that. Now if I just buckle down for the next two days, I might be able to check off at least one more thing!
You go, Chris! Have a cup of tea and a block of chocolate (a big block of chocolate!) and tap away. I'm falling short of my goal, too. But I am over the moon right now because in the middle of all this busy, goal-setting month, I got an acceptance from Cricket Magazine for story I wrote last year. Yippee! so the last few days have been busy nailing down a few loose details for my editor, including a wonderful interview with the curator of the Eadweard Muybridge Collection at the Kingston Museum in the U.K.
So once again, the goal I set for my novel didn't quite make it, but it helped me inch closer to finishing it. Now...can I do it by Christmas?
Hi Chris! Thrilled to see you moving forward.
Congratulations, Ghost Girl! How exciting to sell something to Cricket!!!
I'm almost through with my rewrite. I have written the two scenes and a half and have revised 29 chapters. We have had an unfortuante snowstorm here in the wilds of Woodinville.
Not winter yet. Not winter yet.
The driving has been crazy. Today, I went down my hill sideways.
If you finish your goal (uh, revised goal) email me at molly.blaisdell@verizon.net and I will send your glorious Golden Coffee Cup. We are about quality not quantity!!!!
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