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I should probably start by pointing out that it's 3 days til November, and I'm considering doing the NaNoWriMo thing again this year.
Previous years' effort had been hindered by the fact that while I like to write, I want to write, and I enjoy the process of shaping thoughts onto paper, I can't make plots for jack. I mean, I'm really bad at it. I've been so bad it was non-existent, and recently improved to just "really terrible."
Unfortunately, all the resources I've previously perused on writing have talked about (a) the wonderfulness of being a writer, defined as being a person who gains great satisfaction from writing, and who feels a necessity to write; and (b) the way to become a published/successful/happy writer (goals varying, of course) which is to write a lot all the time as much as you can.
I don't dispute either of these things, but if I were interested in cooking (and I am) there are resources ranging from the aspirational "O! How lovely it is to make these things, admire my pictures" to the practical "here is proper knife grip, and the difference between diced, chopped, and julienned." Most writing resources I've found, though, are much closer to the first than anything else.
It's not that I expect that learning the rudiments of storywriting will magically transform me into someone who can make a career as a writer. I don't want a career as a writer, any more than I want a career as a cook or a prostitute (even though I like cooking and sex, too). I just believe that there's a middle ground between complete inability and professional-quality skills, and that's the skill level to be a happily productive amateur.
I had more to this, of course, but I'm swiftly running out of time if I want to draw out a plot outline between now and November 1st...
Previous years' effort had been hindered by the fact that while I like to write, I want to write, and I enjoy the process of shaping thoughts onto paper, I can't make plots for jack. I mean, I'm really bad at it. I've been so bad it was non-existent, and recently improved to just "really terrible."
Unfortunately, all the resources I've previously perused on writing have talked about (a) the wonderfulness of being a writer, defined as being a person who gains great satisfaction from writing, and who feels a necessity to write; and (b) the way to become a published/successful/happy writer (goals varying, of course) which is to write a lot all the time as much as you can.
I don't dispute either of these things, but if I were interested in cooking (and I am) there are resources ranging from the aspirational "O! How lovely it is to make these things, admire my pictures" to the practical "here is proper knife grip, and the difference between diced, chopped, and julienned." Most writing resources I've found, though, are much closer to the first than anything else.
It's not that I expect that learning the rudiments of storywriting will magically transform me into someone who can make a career as a writer. I don't want a career as a writer, any more than I want a career as a cook or a prostitute (even though I like cooking and sex, too). I just believe that there's a middle ground between complete inability and professional-quality skills, and that's the skill level to be a happily productive amateur.
I had more to this, of course, but I'm swiftly running out of time if I want to draw out a plot outline between now and November 1st...
