Europe :: Luxembourg

Done & depressed

tunturista — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 14:05:33 -0800

Post-partum depression or just a little apprehensive at the giant heap of crap I have produced this month? I think I need another NaNo straight up, starting tomorrow. Its aim: a pretty, nice-smelling stack of manuscript pages to place under the Christmas tree, with a red ribbon around it and a tag that says "Eminently readable first draft."

I don't know about the rest of you but somehow NaNo felt tough this year; like the delivery of a baby we thought would be a breeze and instead it turned out to be a major struggle; delivery by tractor, the baby a total mess and blood and gore still wet on the delivery room floor.

Faith is the word. Faith that this bloody mess will one day dry up and look like a novel (and read like one, too).

First draft in 24 days. The Christmas Chronicles, Part 1. Anyone is welcome to join.

A part ça, a heartfelt "well done!" to all of you, no matter how many words you wrote.
Oh & Wendeeeeee: you're almost there! You can still do it! And will!

Good night and à demain!
The writing madness continues!

Cecile

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"Pssst... Don't stare. Inspiration just entered the room."
[All STARE discourteously.]

Europe :: Luxembourg

Da Word War

tunturista — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 12:30:00 -0800

Hello Sam!

Ready to add 30 minutes of flat out, mad-grasshopper typing for 30 uninterrupted minutes?

5 minutes to don your pirate hat, load up on strawberry&cream Chupa Chups, a glass of red, the bottle and a box of tissues (eh?)

for Luxembourg's WORD WAR I is starting at 9:30!

Synchronisons nos montres! And report back here at 10. Okay? Get set: gooooooooooooooooooo!

(cs rushes back to word doc and starts typing rat tat tat tat tat!)

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"Pssst... Don't stare. Inspiration just entered the room."
[All STARE discourteously.]

Europe :: Luxembourg

OK, we can still do this!

SamG — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 12:00:00 -0800

Thanks Cecile for your inspirational email on Sunday! Yesterday evening I dusted off my laptop and decided that it's never too late to start!

How's everyone else doing? Any plans to try and meet up this year?

Cecile, do you still hang out occasionally at the Spaghetti Factory?

Sam
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Europe :: Luxembourg

I am so far behind!

SamG — Fri, 7 Nov 2008 06:10:53 -0800

Arghhhh! Go started on the 1st OK, and from really only having the idea for the start, I think I have a good idea of where the story is going.

But then I had to come back to the UK for a family funeral, and I have written nothing! Arghhhhh!

Help!!!!
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Europe :: Luxembourg

In dire need of posting and A Party

tunturista — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 05:33:30 -0700

Hello the Writing Posse!

Please accept my apologies for not posting as much as I should have been, but please believe me when I say NaNo this year is going to be unbelievable.

We have NEWBIES! em-tilt! welcome! you are lonely no longer!

We have accomplished PLAYWRIGHTS & hot new writers on our team - who are NOT SCARED of taking up the challenge of churning out 50 000 words by November 30th.

And so: we need to kick off this glorious NaNo 2008 adventure with A PARTY.

I suggest SATURDAY, November the First at 5 p.m. at the Brasserie of the Nouveau Théatre (the place where people have pre & post-performance drinks. It's suitably dark (mwuahaha), the staff are friendly, the wine's brilliant and if nobody shows up, I'll just look like a writer starting the weekend with a glass of red and a Moleskine notebook.

SO: If you feel like celebrating the first day of NaNo (or if you feel like kicking something because that first day reeeally sucked), then please join me for writerly drinks

BRASSERIE of the Nouveau Théatre, cocktail hour (5 p.m.) until oh... who knows? Sleep is the wordcount killer, but if you want to leave at 7 to write some more words, I totally understand :-)

Hope to see you then! Look out for my NaNo table tent and black & orange Moleskine notebook.

KICK OFF on Saturday! YAY!

Until then, happy plotting and don't forget to stock up on .... anything you need to stock up on.

Bye bye & a kiss for those who wouldn't mind one,
Tunturista of the Yard

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"Pssst... Don't stare. Inspiration just entered the room."
[All STARE discourteously.]

Europe :: Luxembourg

Break a pencil!

tunturista — Sat, 1 Nov 2008 01:54:51 -0700

(the 'Break a leg' equivalent for writors)

On this first day of NaNo (100 words written so far, which I admit is pathetic but enough to allow a little break so I can send you all) my best wishes and hopes for a WONDERFUL WRITING MONTH!

Last night I was given a newspaper (nrc*text - a publication by Dutch quality newspaper NRC Handelsblad) and it had an illustration on the front of a pale green t-shirt with NaNoWriMo on it, above the caption 'Write a book (in a month)' & 'Tonight ten thousands of people will join a collossal underground writing event: National Novel Writing Month.'

Wow! Inside a two-page article explained the details (god is in the details and Chris Baty is god - at least for this writing month of November) and it provided some suggestions: "do not, at any stage of the process, think that this is fun. It isn't. It's slogging, it's grueling, although it can be satisfying."

I think the most important thing you ought to tell yourself this morning and all the days that will follow is: it's only a first draft. And there are wonderful books out there on how to turn a shitty first draft into a brilliant novel. But more about that later. For now, I wish you all fingers that type like the wind, words that are better than fingers, ideas that words can describe better than a thousand pictures, and - contrary to the article in the nrc - heaps of fun.

Please also feel free to post, start new topics, rant, rave and generally let us hear about all you wonderful members of the Luxembourg Writing Posse - there's 32 of you! WOW!

So GOOD LUCK! And don't forget the WORD WARS - if you're stuck, they are the best things to blast your dead novel back to life with minute-long rounds of verbal ammunition. I'm going to do one at 12. Here. Join me if you want.

Let's have some fun.

From the Wellenstein Word Factory,
e schéine Bonjour & happy writing!

Cecile
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"Pssst... Don't stare. Inspiration just entered the room."
[All STARE discourteously.]

Europe :: Luxembourg

Rounding Up The Usual Suspects...

tunturista — Wed, 8 Oct 2008 13:44:57 -0700

Hello the Luxembourg Writing Posse!

It's October 8th, 20 000 people have so far signed up for NaNo and here in Luxembourg I am plotting the resurrection of our glorious posse.

So if you're out there, stretching your writing muscles, lurking in the wings ;-) or wondering when I would post the first post and proclaim the writing games open ('Lëtz Nano!'), come over here and say 'Count me in!'

Wendy, Sandal, Sam, Prince, Roderick, Duncan, David, Struan... & dogwalkerI I hope to see you & hear from you - SOON!

Lëtz write!

Plot & plan, stock up on ramen noodles & chocotoffs, pray that Auchan will have 1000 gram Nutella jars again (dip your nibs in THAT!) and drop by on these here forums!

I am totally excited about it this year - et pour cause. I have a plot, ideas for a beginning, middle and end and a brand-new MacBook & Dana (whoo-hoo, thank you again, dogwalker!). So I am ready to roque.

I will send out individual reminders to all of you and hope to see you soon!

Dying with anticipation (and hoping my t-shirt gets here on time)
I am
municipally yours

Writerly kiss
Cecile

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"Pssst... Don't stare. Inspiration just entered the room."
[All STARE discourteously.]