Nanowrimo- National Novel Writing Month

It’s November and you know what that means. It’s National Novel Writing Month. It’s a challenge for authors everywhere to write a novel in 30 days that is 50,000 words in length. That is roughly 1,666 words every day, which doesn’t seem to be that daunting when you break it down.

Would you be able to persevere through something like this? It would take a lot of time and hard work, lots of coffee and stress, but the end result would definitely make you proud of yourself.

I won’t be participating this year, but I am going to be challenging myself next year.

What I will attempt to do is start to write a post a day, which I know will be difficult as well. I know that some bloggers can post several times in a day, but right now I am not there yet.  With hard work, I know that I can write a post a day.

 

Question to my readers: Anyone out there participating in Nanowrimo? Has anyone ever done it in the past? What was your experience?

 

Random House and Penguin- a merger match?

Photo from Digital Book World

I recently found out about the possible merger between Random House and Penguin. It is still in the talks but it saddens me because it seems that as time goes by, there are less and less publishing houses. It breaks my heart to see bookstores close down due to financial hardships, publishing houses going bankrupt (i.e. Barnes and Nobles) and the book industry changing so much. I understand that each industry needs to adapt to the current trends, whether it is digital technology or print books, but it’s still a shocker.

I have seen what happens when news media and television companies merge and become one. The content becomes very similar and there is usually not enough voice/ opinion on what we are seeing or reading in the newspapers. There needs to be a good mixture of sources in order to have the true story heard. I get that in today’s world, everything is a lot more expensive and a lot of company’s want to do things cheaper and quicker, but in doing that, the quality is lost.

Here’s to hoping that this merger won’t do too much damage and leave the industry intact with its distinct yet small community. Readers will continue to read, however, if the quality starts to suffer or there is not enough that is differentiated between books, there will be dissatisfaction.

We’ll know all the details in two weeks according to the news sources. Lets see whether they will come up with a new name or just hyphenate it.

 

Music Wednesday- Rise Up by Yves LaRock

Rise Up by LaRock

My dream is to fly
Over the rainbow so high
My dream is to fly
Over the rainbow so high
My dream is to fly
Over the rainbow so high
My dream is to fly
Over the rainbow so high

Rise Up
don’t falling down again
Rise Up
long time I broke Its chains.
I try to fly a while so high
direction sky
I try to fly a while so high
direction sky

Today’s song is an inspirational song, at least it is for me. The lyrics encourage you to keep on trying and even if you fall down, to get back up and try again. The beat and the rhythm make is great to listen to, and gives you energy. The beat gives you that extra energy to push yourself further, whether it’s running, doing different exercises or just roller blading. It just makes you want to get up and dance or run away. 🙂

There are days when I need cheering up, or to be pushed or just to enjoy the moment. This song is a great one for those kinds of things. There is no way that you can be sad once you are done listening to it. This song reminds me of the things I have worked for so hard in the past and when I accomplished them, it was like a new beginning. I felt empowered to do anything no matter how small or big. I am also reminded every time that there are still a lot of things that I have not yet accomplished due to lack of time, money or some other reason. I will persevere and try to get them done sooner rather than later. It might take  me a few days or weeks, but the important thing is to complete them. The knowledge of having your dreams realized is a powerful thing. It will keep knocking on your door (within your subconscious) and reminding you to get it done.

We all have dreams that have not yet been realized or put to the side due to circumstances. Take them out and get started!

Here is a sample:

Word on the Street

The bad weather didn’t stop people from attending.
Photo courtesy of Word on the Street

It was a blistery, cold and miserable day this past Sunday, but that didn’t stop me from heading out to enjoy Word on the Street, the book and magazine festival at Queen’s Park in Toronto.

This year I took it up a notch and not only did I attend, but I was also a volunteer for the festival. I helped out the hosts and authors at the Scribendi.com Workshop Marquee tent where I was stationed at. I was also able to listen in and take in the sessions as well. A lot of the sessions were very beneficial for me since I am an aspiring writer.

The sessions ranged from how not to get published, getting a book to become a best seller, critiquing the audiences pieces of work and many more. Depending on what the session was about, the authors held the audience’s attention with a tight fist. Some sessions had a few people listening and attending, while others were packed with no seating left over and the tent surrounded.

The next best thing was the rows and rows of books that were on display, awaiting their new owners. It was like they were screaming ‘pick me, pick me’ 🙂 Ahh it just made me smile seeing so many books out. As a book lover, this is one of my favorite festivals to attend. There is just so much to do and see, and there is never enough time. I wish they would extend it to make it a two day event, but they have been doing this for the past 20+ years, so I doubt they will change it. I guess I should find a way to clone myself once or twice over so that I can see all the sessions I want, go to all the booths I want and just enjoy the festival 🙂 hehe.

Another great thing was seeing familiar faces. I saw so many industry professionals that I know, former classmates that I went to school with and who now work in the industry and professors who taught me. The book publishing industry is a small industry so once you know a few people, you meet a few more and you eventually know a lot of people. It made me feel all warm and fuzzy seeing everyone again.

Great success Word on the Street! I can’t wait until next year’s event.