TECH: Nanowrimo Notes #29: We Ran Out?
Dec. 24th, 2009 01:09 pm![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
mbarker.livejournal.com posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
writercisesOriginal Posting 30 November 2009
Whoops. I'm not quite sure how that happened, but the collection of well-aged Nanowrimo Notes ended with number 28. And while February occasionally has 28 days, I'm pretty sure November has at least 30. Let's see, 30 days hath September, April May and November. All the rest have 31, except February. Or something like that. Even the computer calendar indicates that there are 30 days in November. So we need at least a couple more -- although now I'm running late, so maybe we'll make do with just one more.
Actually, I was thinking about the news. Even though you probably don't want to directly drop bits and pieces into your Nanowrimo story (or any other story you may be working on), you can still use it as a provocation -- something to push you a little bit. Just take a look at some of the top stories on your favorite news website, newspaper, or even the evening news. You might want to consider using the perception of the news to help reveal a little about your characters -- which are the news stories do they notice? Why? Or you might want to use them for setting. Some news stories provide almost instant notions of time and place -- 9/11, terrorist bombings, and so forth. Hurricanes sweeping across Florida. Floods, fires, and all the rest. But you can also use smaller news stories to hint at smaller places.
Or, you might want to borrow the conflicts from the news stories. Most news has some conflicts on the face of it, and even stories such as embezzlement of funds might suggest secondary impacts -- where does your character keep their retirement funds? Does the downturn in the economy mean that your character may be concerned about their job? Or perhaps your characters don't quite have the same appreciation for national politics, and they can have arguments about that?
Whether you want to simply have radio, TV, newspapers, magazines, or other media in the background, or you want to bring some of the news up front and personal with your characters talking or fighting over it, consider using today's news (or twisted versions of pieces of the news) as parts of your writing. It's a part of our lives, and adding it into the lives of your characters will help to make their world and your characters more well-rounded. Local, national, international -- we all experience a flood of news almost everywhere we turn. Working it into your story can help to fill in the edges with recognizable color.
Write?
Whoops. I'm not quite sure how that happened, but the collection of well-aged Nanowrimo Notes ended with number 28. And while February occasionally has 28 days, I'm pretty sure November has at least 30. Let's see, 30 days hath September, April May and November. All the rest have 31, except February. Or something like that. Even the computer calendar indicates that there are 30 days in November. So we need at least a couple more -- although now I'm running late, so maybe we'll make do with just one more.
Actually, I was thinking about the news. Even though you probably don't want to directly drop bits and pieces into your Nanowrimo story (or any other story you may be working on), you can still use it as a provocation -- something to push you a little bit. Just take a look at some of the top stories on your favorite news website, newspaper, or even the evening news. You might want to consider using the perception of the news to help reveal a little about your characters -- which are the news stories do they notice? Why? Or you might want to use them for setting. Some news stories provide almost instant notions of time and place -- 9/11, terrorist bombings, and so forth. Hurricanes sweeping across Florida. Floods, fires, and all the rest. But you can also use smaller news stories to hint at smaller places.
Or, you might want to borrow the conflicts from the news stories. Most news has some conflicts on the face of it, and even stories such as embezzlement of funds might suggest secondary impacts -- where does your character keep their retirement funds? Does the downturn in the economy mean that your character may be concerned about their job? Or perhaps your characters don't quite have the same appreciation for national politics, and they can have arguments about that?
Whether you want to simply have radio, TV, newspapers, magazines, or other media in the background, or you want to bring some of the news up front and personal with your characters talking or fighting over it, consider using today's news (or twisted versions of pieces of the news) as parts of your writing. It's a part of our lives, and adding it into the lives of your characters will help to make their world and your characters more well-rounded. Local, national, international -- we all experience a flood of news almost everywhere we turn. Working it into your story can help to fill in the edges with recognizable color.
Write?
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}