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It’s going to happen someday. You’re going to open your inbox, and it’s not going to be the headline that makes your eyes leap to that one email. Your blood pressure’s going to rise, and it’s going to seem like Chrome slows down in opening that email that’s going to change your life.
It’s almost time for NaNoWriMo. Many affectionately call it “NaNo,” for short. “Nano” is also short for “mind-numbingly short” as in nanosecond, and “really, really, ridiculously small,” as in nanoparticles.
In the spirit of all things nano, I’ve got a challenge for you. It’s the Non-NaNoWriMo Writing Challenge (try typing that ten times at top speed…).
Write for one hour, uninterrupted.
What does it mean to be a prolific writer? In non-dictionary terms, it basically means you write a lot and publish a lot of work. If you’re trying to be prolific, where do you start?
Well, maybe you don’t, but I do.
I don’t think it’s impossible to write when you’re busy. It’s easy to make excuses about why you don’t have time to be a writer. I don’t want to create more obstacles for you. You should write, whether you have space or not.
But if you’re like me, you’re too busy. You’re checking your email too often. You’re committed to too many projects and groups and even people. You need more space.
Are you participating in NaNoWriMo this year? I am! I’ve participated in NaNoWriMo for five years now (I started when I was nine). For me, NaNoWriMo is on par with Christmas, and my brother has been known to say that it’s better than Thanksgiving (I completely agree). NaNoWriMo is fun, challenging, and hectic.
NaNoWriMo can also be extremely difficult.
I have been a book author and artist for close to twenty years. I have paid for my mortgage, groceries, vacations and braces with my self-generated income. I have sold a blessed two million copies of my words and pictures.
And yet, until about five years ago, I stumbled through an introduction of my work and my abilities. It may have sounded something like this…
There are a few characters that we’re all familiar with in television and literature. Most lawyers are terrible people, the black guy who lightens the mood in a horror movie will die first, the high school head cheerleader will be catty (unless she’s the main character), and any pair of cops will have one who goes by the book and one wild card.
These character archetypes, when they’re not main or central characters, can tell the reader a lot about what type of story to expect. They’re referred to as stock characters.
Flash fiction has been the most widely growing fiction phenomenon in the 21st century, with its roots and great popularization in Canada and the US. The reason for the popularization of shorts is straightforward enough: people want fast bites in these dynamic and time-restrictive times.
What’s more important to pinpoint, though, is the superior nature of writing flash fiction. It’s condensed meaning in the shortest possible prose form. Microfiction is about lyrical writing. Just like in poetry, every word should have appropriate weight; bring that ‘magical’ element to the story.
Nothing adds depth and meaning to a story like symbolism. It acts as webbing between theme and story. Themes alone can sound preachy, and stories alone can sound shallow. Symbolism weaves the two together.
What better way is there to avoid “telling” and instead “show” your story? A symbol conveys complex ideas with few words. Symbolism can also achieve the same results as several sentences of explicit imagery. How’s that on your Show-And-Tell Meter? If a picture is worth a thousand words, a symbol is worth ten-thousand.
The most critical reason I use symbols for me is inspiration. I may have to do upfront research, often spending a few hours collecting a list of symbols for each story, but, like an investment, I get a continual creative flare from it.
I’m not ready. I’m not good enough. That’s not my book to write. That book’s already been written. What if they hate it? I’m scared.