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Out of Office

January 8, 2014 0 Announcements Permalink 1

so-close-but-so-far

Dear Loyal ALoL Reader,

I hope this announcement finds you happy and in good health!

I am now on winter break, and I’m quickly approaching the 30,000-word mark for the first draft of my work-in-progress. I’m roughly 37% complete. In order to speed up the process, I will be taking a short break from blogging.

But I will return soon, reenergized, and with more new content. I have a lot of new ideas in the works, including a set of posts with my own suggested rules for writing.

In the meantime, while I am “out of the office,” all of my previous posts will remain undisturbed and available to you on this website. The easiest way to navigate them, by the way, is to search my past posts by category (located in the sidebar).

If you haven’t already, please click on the “+Follow” button on the lower righthand corner of the page and enter your email address to receive an email announcement when I have new content ready for you on ALoL, so you don’t miss a single post. And during this break, please feel free to still send me an email or drop me a line in the comments boxes.

Thank you for your patience and support during this very exciting time in my life.

And–as always–write your heart out!

Cheers,

Ryan

 

Photo credit: Brett Kiger / Foter.com / CC BY-NC-ND

ALoL’s 2013 Reader’s Choice Awards

December 25, 2013 2comments Announcements, General Advice No tags Permalink 0

With each of my posts, readers have been able to provide a rating of one to five gold stars. To celebrate the final post of 2013, I’ve created a slideshow to share with you my top ten, most popular, highest scoring posts of the year. Clicking on the slides will redirect you to their original posts.

Some of them may even surprise you!

Also, if you haven’t already and if you’ve enjoyed my content throughout the year, please show me some love by clicking on the “+Follow” button on the lower right-hand corner of the screen and type in your email address to receive a notification each week I have new posts ready. (You may easily unsubscribe at any time.)

Thank you for reading, and Merry Christmas, everybody!

 

No. 10
Close Your Email and Turn Off Your Notifications!
No. 9
The Opening to Alice Munro's 'Thanks for the Ride'
No. 8
Formatting Your Fiction Manuscript for Publication
No. 7
Don't Tell Your Characters' Feelings
No. 6
Judging Books by Their Titles
No. 5
Steve Almond's Rules for Writing Fiction
No. 4
Establish a Writing Routine
No. 3
Every Day Fiction Publishes 'In Flight'
No. 2
Almost Five Quarterly Publishes 'The Widower'
No. 1
El Camino, Here I Come!

 

My NaNoWriMo Results

December 4, 2013 2comments Announcements , , , Permalink 0

NaNoWriMoNow that National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) has officially ended and my life has transitioned back to a state of normalcy (as normal as it’s going to get with the stress of finals looming), I’ve had some time to reflect on my experiences as a first ever participant.

I have a couple disclaimers before I begin. (If you’d like to read how I ever decided to join NaNoWriMo in the first place, please click here.)

1. I edit. A lot. I could not completely divorce myself from my “Banger” ways. This past month was as “Swooper” as it gets for me. Before I began a new day, I read over my previous day’s words and revised and edited them. Whenever I finished a chapter, I spent a few days just revising and editing it. Though this put my overall word count in jeopardy, it renewed my confidence that I was headed in the right direction.

2. I also currently teach five days a week (for the first time ever in my teaching career), and it’s difficult find uninterrupted blocks of time to write while teaching, grading, and lesson planning, among my other responsibilities.

Prior to NaNoWriMo, my wife and I constructed a schedule for me to follow during the month of November that included at least three hours of writing per day, 24 writing hours per week. I wrote this on an index card and taped it to my computer as a daily reminder.

So was I able to adhere to this schedule?

Ehh… Kinda. There were days that I was unable to write due to work obligations and a peer evaluation (I’m acclimating to a new college), but my NaNoWriMo schedule forced me into a pretty regular routine, and I was a more productive writer this past month. Prior to NaNoWriMo, my best months featured about 5,000 words, or one short story.

In fact, I’m so pleased with my results that I’ve decided to create new writing schedules–new index cards–for myself whenever my schedule changes to keep up my routine. During winter break, for instance, I will follow a new routine, and during the Spring semester, I will follow another new schedule. My goal is to finish a first draft of my novel by this summer.

What did I learn?

To call yourself a writer, you have to write. NaNoWriMo encourages this through daily emails and forums and meet-ups. It essentially creates and promotes a culture of writing that is easy to adopt for the entire month. The trick is to let this momentum carry you into the rest of the year. For those of us in education, December and January should be good writing months.

Would I do it again?

Yes! Though I did not “win” by writing 50,000 words for the month, I bested my own personal record, and I’m that much closer to finishing the first draft of my novel. What more can you ask for?

 

Photo credit: Wired.com

NaNoWriMo Is Almost Here!

October 30, 2013 4comments Announcements , , , , Permalink 0

Press StartWhen people think of the month of November, they might envision turkey dinners and pumpkin pie. Family visits. Black Friday shopping.

I did. That is until Edwin Vega-Roman inspired me to accept the challenge of National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo).

As per their website, “NaNoWriMo is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that believes your story matters. We organize events where kids and adults find the inspiration, encouragement, and structure they need to reach their creative potential.”

For the first time ever, I’ve officially signed up this year as a participant. I will be joining a community of over 150,000 writers from all over the world, all of us with the same individual goal: to compose 50,000 words from November 1 to November 30. I think of it as a writing marathon.

Now let me preface this by saying just the thought of writing 50,000 words scares the crap out of me!

I’m teaching five days a week, so I don’t have a lot of free time, but as for fiction, I don’t think I’ve ever written more than 5,000 words in a month! I’m notorious for revising and editing while drafting. I actually can’t begin a new page unless I’m comfortable with the previous page. I’ve read of other writers, like Kurt Vonnegut, who used this approach. He referred to these writers and himself as “Bangers,” and he called writers who are able to suspend their inner-editor “Swoopers.” I know I’ll need to turn off my inner editor and intuit a Swooper mindset when writing if I’m ever going to be able to be a “NaNoWriMo Winner.”

At the very least, though, I’ll have more of my novel completed by the end of the month.

So if you’ve ever thought about writing a novel, why don’t you join me? Signing up is free, and depending on your location, there will be several local events available for you to attend to help you maintain your focus and determination. Also, there are online forums available if you can’t attend any of the coffee shop meet-ups or workshops.

For more information on NaNoWriMo, or to sign up, please click here.

Wish me luck, y’all! Write your heart out.

 

 

 

 

Photo credit: NaNoWriMo.org

LiveWire Reading Tonight

September 18, 2013 0 Announcements , , , , Permalink 0

1275935434Have you never been to a reading?

From 7 to 9 p.m. tonight in room 224 on Fullerton College campus, several poets and prose writers, including myself, will read from the first issue of LiveWire, Fullerton College’s literary magazine.

LiveWire is student run, and I’m excited to have them accept a short story of mine that I wrote ten years ago, “Water.”

Copies of the magazine will be available for purchase for $5.

This reading is part of a long list of events to celebrate FCC’s centennial. As such, local art will also be displayed, and there will be catered food and drinks. It is free to get in. Doors open at 6:30 p.m.

Come and show some love to a few local artists!

 

Photo credit: C.W. Driver

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