11.05.05
Posted in Writing at 5:33 am by Administrator
Ever heard of it? I had not either until last year, but apparently, this phenomenon has been occurring since 1999. Here are some amazing NaNoWriMo statistics:
1999: 21 participants and six winners
2000: 140 participants and 29 winners
2001: 5000 particpants and more than 700 winners
2002: 13,500 participants and around 2100 winners
2003: 25,500 participants and about 3500 winners
2004: 42,000 participants and just shy of 6000 winners
But WAIT!! What is it???? Oh, yes. You probably thinking, well those numbers are wonderful, if I knew what you were talking about.
NaNoWriMo is the National Novel Writing Month contest. It begins as the clock strikes 12:00 on November 1 and ends as the clock strikes 12 on November 30. The goal? Write a 50,000 word novel in 30 days.
This year, I am proud to be a participant. Everywhere I go, every writer’s forum I look into, everyone is talking about NaNoWriMo. One woman is even pregnant with a December 1 due date! And she’s committed to writing a novel in 30 days! Insanity! Well, that’s pretty much what it’s all about. Attempting something no sane person would dream of attempting, and in 30 days no less.
I looked at the FAQ for NaNoWriMO and found this hilarious, but appropriate, quote:
Can anyone participate in NaNoWriMo?
No. People who take their writing (and themselves) very seriously should probably go elsewhere. Everyone else, though, is warmly welcomed.
The rules are simple. You can outline the story to death, plan, make character cards, develop plot in graphs, charts, and any other number of applications. You simply cannot write word one until midnight on November 1st.
So this year, I joined the insanity. And it is with pride that I display this icon on my web page.
Look around…you may see others as you travel through the internet. And perhaps they will be detailing their experiences along the way. It’s quite exhilarating. So far my word count is up to 8769 words. Only 41,231 to go!
I can do it. I will do it. And if I don’t, my friend Rita will fly to Orlando from Dallas to personally whup my butt. That’s the strongest incentive of all!
Hopefully, when all is said and written, I will have the beginnings of a valuable manuscript to send to potential publishers or agents. And it’s been known to happen. A handful of authors every year have managed to sell the manuscripts that they wrote during the month of November.
So as you plod through the month of November, and if for some reason thoughts of me pop into your brain, say a quick prayer that I will have the fortitude to finish what I have begun. Oh, and that I don’t forget to feed, clothe and care for my family in the meantime.
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11.04.05
Posted in Writing at 10:15 am by Administrator
My brother has five children, ranging in age from 4-1/2 to 15-1/2. Four of them are biological and one is adopted. I’d like to think their adoption choice was made easier because of my own two precious adopted children. Adoption was no longer such an unknown or something other people did. And they traveled to Ukraine (my brother and his wife) to adopt child number 5.
Today, my brother sent me an article that was printed in the Washington Post on October 18, 2005. The Abortion Debate No One Wants to Have and it was written by Patrica Bauer. You should stop and read this article before going any further.
Now that you have read the article, I want you to read my brother’s posting. Oh, and did I mention that of those five children of my brother’s, two have Down Syndrome? One adopted and one biological. Here were my brother’s words regarding Ms. Bauer’s editorial.
Thank you for printing Patricia Bauer’s article “The Abortion Debate No One Wants to Have.” As a father of 2 children with Down Syndrome (1 biological and 1 adopted from Ukraine) I couldn’t agree more with her conclusions. Our two “Downy Babies” are precious, productive and loving parts of our family. I felt I had to add my voice to the debate. The responses from those disagreeing with Ms. Bauer seem to me to expose their own hidden desire to keep this discussion from the public forum. They castigate her for suggesting that women would chose to do such a thing as abort a less than perfect child and even if they did then that is their right to do so. It seems that there is an unwillingness in that camp to acknowledge that they know this to be the truth, people are that shallow and would take such a difficult and painful decision based on such superficial desires. It is scary to look at the debate in these terms because societal norms change. One day red hair may be so undesirable that we begin to eliminate those with that gene (which I have). Those that choose to disagree with Ms. Bauer do not want to acknowledge that this is a potential outcome of the “abortion for any reason” choice.
I would simply ask, what about the right of society to have these precious, loving, productive and yes, even challenging people involved its diverse mix? Sometimes there is an increased burden on the family as well as society, but that is a question that needs to be resolved not by eliminating the person but by providing the kind of support necessary to allow such diversity to exist. People with Down Syndrome bring to society in general a simple, trusting naiveté that is truly a breath of fresh air in this time of cynicism and mistrust. I, for one, feel that what we need is more people like this, not fewer. Their ability to blindly trust and love is not something the rest of us can do. Maybe it is they who are “normal” and we are the truly disabled.
Thank you dear brother and Ms. Bauer and all the rest of you who realize just how special these Downy Babies are. I already do.
Here are 3 of my nieces and nephews:
Mags, Nano and Bec
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