Visual Mood Boards @ Novel Ideas

 

@ Novel Ideas

I’m delighted to have been invited to present my workshop on Visual Mood Boards for the emerging Second Life® writers’ group Novel Ideas at their writing home. The session will take place tomorrow, Sunday, 23 November, at noon SLT (8 p.m. UK/PT). I’m very much looking forward to it!

Thank you to Songbird Swords and Brycie Punkinspicey (brycie.strange).

Workshop @ Milk Wood

Milk Wood

November 8

8am SLT

Join us.

Track On!

The NaNoWriMo page offered a very useful feature. We could add our word count and visualize how well we were doing by using a bar or line graphic. If the squiggly line was not moving much, we had to push forward and work harder!

With NaNoWriMo gone, we, at the Virtual Writers, started using TrackBear. 

This page allows us to track our progress in words, chapters, pages, scenes, lines, or time. If we need to switch from words to time, we can do it.

We can set goals and dates, and see if we are keeping up, even if we are working on several projects at the same time.

It will help us track out writing habits.

We can keep up with our writer friends by using the Leaderboard feature .

There are a few other nifty features like adding a cover to your project, a description, and the phase (planning, outlining, editing, on hold, finished or abandoned).

And, as its creator states, "TrackBear is designed with privacy in mind and will always be free to use [bold in the original]. TrackBear isn't a social network, a chat platform, or AI-powered, and there is no premium tier or pay-to-play. There are no ads, no third-party tracking, and no data harvesting. It's just a place for you to track your writing."

Finally, we can import all our projects from the NaNoWriMo website (no timeframe was given, but NaNoWriMo stated that it will be shut down soon).

The option to import your projects from the NaNoWriMo website is not available anymore.

Notes: All images, except the last, were taken from the TrackBear's homepage. Also, I am not affiliated with TrackBear. I'm sharing this information because, after using this website for several months, I find it to be useful.

NaNoWriMo...

 

And it's the end...

NaNoWriMo did not survive the flood of scandals, disorganization and financial struggles.

On April 1 (yes, I know, what a day to send this out...), subscribers to their mailing list received the following (transcribed in full):


"To Our NaNoWriMo Community:

We come to you today with sad news. After six years of struggling to sustain itself financially, NaNoWriMo (the nonprofit) will begin the process of shutting down.

Explaining how we got here is both simple and complex. The funding woes that have threatened so many nonprofits in recent years are an unextraordinary trend. Many beloved organizations announced their closure last year. Many more are fighting for their lives. Media coverage of financial crisis within the sector—especially among arts nonprofits—has been widespread.

Yet, there are ways in which NaNoWriMo is extraordinary—and reasons why we had hoped we could buck that trend. The sheer size of our community, its global reach and its longevity, held at impressive levels, even during a tumultuous year. There is no shortage of writers who want to participate in NaNoWriMo. Yet, building a community and being able to sustain it are two different matters. 2024 was a revelatory year.

In order to fully understand how we reached this decision, and why we view it as the only alternative, we encourage you to watch this video about the State of NaNoWriMo. The video also contains some important acknowledgments and information about the logistics of our next steps. Most importantly, the video shares real data and information that the organization has not discussed previously. The plot is thicker than you might think.

We recognize that the closure of NaNoWriMo represents a huge loss to the writing community, and that grief over this outcome will be exacerbated by the challenges of the past sixteen months. This is not the ending that anybody wanted or planned. And—believe us—if we could hit the delete button and rewrite this last chapter, we would. But we do have hope for the epilogue.

What’s next for NaNoWriMo, the indebted nonprofit, is much different from what's next for actual Wrimos. We hold no belief that people will stop writing 50,000 words in November (and April, and July) or stop seeking support for the journey they’re on. Many alternatives to NaNoWriMo popped up this year, and people did find each other. In so many ways, it’s easier than it was when NaNoWriMo began in 1999 to find your writing tribe online.

Our greatest hope at this moment is that you do two things: support arts nonprofits you love (they really, truly need you) and keep writing words. Your stories matter.

Thank you for all you have done for the organization, and especially for each other, over all these years.

Sincerely,

The NaNoWriMo Team



A Few Additional Notes:

We anticipate that some people might want to log on and capture information that is meaningful to them, like their lifetime word count or stats from previous seasons or challenges. We also anticipate that some folks on the Young Writers Program website may not have backed up work that they wrote directly into our system, and may wish to do so at this time. If there is something you feel you need to retrieve, you are welcome to try. However, our site tends to crash a lot when overrun with too much traffic (chronic technology underinvestment is mentioned in the video). We apologize for any inconvenience if the site gets crashy.

If you are a recurring donor, thank you for your ongoing support of the organization (truly). We have cancelled all recurring donations on our end in order to ensure that you will not be charged as we transition into our next phase.
If you want anything from the NaNoWriMo store, please don't delay. We will shut that down soon as well.

 
Finally, we have observed that, at times of change, many members of our community are in want of spaces to process these new developments, and that, historically, we have hosted many all-community online spaces. Unfortunately, we have very limited resources to reply individually to comments or to moderate our social spaces at this time. We will do our best but make no guarantees."

The first time I wrote a full novel was during NaNoWriMo back in 2013. Since then, I have participated every year either in the NaNoWriMo or Camp NaNoWriMo. I have written several other novels and experimented with genres I never thought I would even consider. NaNoWriMo and Camp NaNoWriMo became the synthesis of the research, learning and writing done during the rest of the year.

After what happened, the Virtual Writers moved on and we started our own writing events, Moxie Madness, generously reported about at Inara Pey's post.

It is, nevertheless, with sadness that I see NaNoWriMo disappear. It was a great idea. It was a great event. The creative energy from people all over the world was unmatched. And it was an amazing way to just... write.

As many have said before, it is definitely the end of an era.

Moxie Madness November

 

As a community, the Virtual Writers moved on from the writing event we sponsored for so many years and started our own Moxie Madness.

I'm proud to say that we've kept the same enthusiasm and perseverance. We've managed to achieve our goals, and those of us who didn't are now much closer. We met daily to work hard on our work in progress at our in-world home, Milk Wood, in Second Life. Harri, our fearless leader, once again, organized an amazing series of workshops to keep us motivated. It worked! And there was even a pep talk *cough cough* posted in the Virtual Writers blog.

See you in April for more Moxie Madness!

Moxie Madness Checklist!

 

See you at Milk Wood!

Moxie Madness Workshops

 

Milk Wood

All scheduled events take place at the Forest Coffee Bar (unless otherwise stated) or in the writing room at Book Island (Sundays at 12 noon PT). Please be aware that the clocks go back in the US on the 3rd November and on the 27th October in the UK, and we go by Pacific Time (PT), also known as SLT in Second Life®.

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*Write What Haunts You - Hosted by Robinette Waterson

Friday 1st November, 2024

8am PT / 11am ET / 4pm GMT

People have themes that fascinate them, which they come back to again and again. These themes influence what books they read, movies they watch, topics of conversations with friends, the kinds of vacations they take, the artwork they are drawn to, their daydreams, and their nightmares. In this workshop, Robinette will show you how you can access these ideas so you stay excited and motivated for 30 days and 50,000 words.

About Robinette: Robinette Waterson is a writer of Victorian steampunk erotica, historical novels, and assorted ephemera. In Second Life®, Robinette role plays in historical sims, generally playing a strong-minded woman with a zest for life.

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*Memoir: Interrogating the Past - Hosted by Keykey Underwood

Tuesday 5th November, 2024

8am PT / 11am ET / 4pm GMT

Although memoir tells stories in the first person through the lens of the author’s personal experience, it’s not really about the writer. Find out what memoir is really about. This workshop will discuss types of memoir, why we write memoir, character and time in memoir, and perhaps, some legal and ethical considerations.

About Keykey - Keykey, a native Clevelander, is the former director of The Chautauqua Writers Center in Chautauqua, New York. Her debut novel, Painting Bridges, (Bottom Dog Press, 2013) was praised by Michelle Ross, book critic for the Cleveland Plain Dealer, as “an introspective, intelligent and moving novel.” Her second novel, Resurrecting Rain (Golden Antelope Press, 2020) won a Royal Palm Literary Award from the Florida Writers Association and was a semi-finalist for a Tucson Festival of Books Literary Award under the title New Moon Rising. Her poetry chapbook, Missing Persons, (Ward Wood Publishing, 2013) won the London based Lumen/Camden prize and was cited by Times of London Literary Supplement (November, 2014) as one of the best small collections of the year.

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*Do I know you? - Hosted by Wolfie Wolfgang

Thursday 7th November, 2024

8am PT / 11am ET / 4pm GMT

Do I know you? Do I really?

Join novelist Colin Bell as he leads a creative workshop encouraging writers to experiment and play with characterisation. During the session he will consider some of the characters in his own work. Would he recognise them at a party, down a dark alley, or as a stranger on a train? We will also do some writing exercises to see how these ideas could work for us. Whatever your level, you can improve how you present your characters. If I know you then I might remember you too!

About Wolfie - Television producer-director Colin Bell’s poetry collection, Remembering Blue (2019) and his novels, Stephen Dearsley’s Summer of Love (2013) and Blue Notes, Still Frames (2016) are published by Ward Wood Publishing. His third novel, Over the Hills is a Long Way Off, will also be published by Ward Wood. His poetry has been published by Acumen, Cinnamon Press, Frogmore Press, Shot Glass Journal, Soaring Penguin Press, The Fib Review, and a number of anthologies in the US and UK. Several of his fibs have been set to music as the song cycle, Fibonacci Poems (2017) for tenor voice and piano by American composer Tim Risher. In 2020 he was made Musepie Press’ Featured International Poet and his Fibonacci poetry has been twice nominated for the Pushcart Prize. A Producer-director of arts documentaries and then Executive Producer, Music and Arts, he has made arts programmes for ITV, BBC, Channel Four, and for broadcasters in the USA (WNET and Disney), in Japan (NHK) and Germany (WDR). Colin Bell’s website: https://wolfiewolfgang.com/

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*Finding Your Historical Fiction Voice - Hosted by Finn Bookmite

Friday 8th November, 2024

8am PT / 11am ET / 4pm GMT

Finding your historical fiction voice

• Are you a “wouldst thou” or a “would you”?

• Do you feel that writing the fourteenth century in modern vernacular is justifiable?

• Should someone have told Shakespeare that Ancient Rome didn’t have striking clocks?

• Is it important that the reader finds out the complete process of making a toga from shearing the sheep to the exact type of seashell needed to make the dye?

In this not-totally-serious talk, we shall look at what readers want from a good historical novel, and what jars their senses. We shall examine things like vocabulary pitfalls and the eternal conundrum of pleasing the history buff while not overloading the story with our research!

We shall do this in a spirit of kindness – especially towards me – and collaboration by looking at all the things I got wrong! Our one aim is to open up a way forward for anyone who wants to write historical fiction.

About Finn - Finn has loved the ancient world since reading her first Greek myth, Theseus and the Minotaur. After reading Classics at Oxford, she taught at a British boys’ school for twenty-five years, but then her family moved to Qatar. There wasn’t much call for Latin teachers, so she became a prison visitor, animal rescuer and writer of historical novels and poetry. Now she is back in the UK, and a full-time author.

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*Discovering Your Characters - Hosted by Ercila Robbins

Saturday 23rd November, 2024

8am PT / 11am ET / 4pm GMT

Did you ever want to start your novel with a full description of your character? Where did he come from? What does he look like? What is motivating him? What is his goal? What are his strengths and weaknesses? How does he treat his mother? Well, don’t. Don’t ever begin a novel that way. Writing a character should be like meeting someone on a street corner and then working up to becoming friends. Developing a character takes time, pages, and chapters. Let’s talk about character building, from the ground up, one scene at a time. You don’t know anything about this person until they tell you or you watch them engage with others. Neither should your reader.

About Ercila - Retired criminal attorney and author of six crime novels – and more in the works. Ercila is also a former journalist and newspaper editor, and a published poet. She is a mother, grandmother, and veteran.

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*POSTPONED

Maintaining a #WritersLife like a boss, even when life takes a detour - Hosted by Emz Maizie

Sunday 24th November, 2024

8am PT / 11am ET / 4pm GMT

Keeping your writer’s life active even when your personal life spins out of control. How to maintain a healthy work-life-writing balance without burning out.

About Emz - Author, artist, voice actress, and editor, Emerian Rich is best known for being the Horror Hostess of HorrorAddicts.net, an internationally acclaimed podcast, now in its 19th season. She runs HorrorAddicts.net Press and has major roles in two non-fiction magazines. She is the author of the Night’s Knights vampire series, has been published in over 40 fiction anthologies, has 90+ nonfiction credits, and writes romance under the name Emmy Z. Madrigal. Find out more at http://emzbox.com.

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See you at Milk Wood!

Moxie Madness in November!

 

Moxie Madness is a month of extra inspiration & effort at Milk Wood, the Virtual Writers home. And this is our new challenge!

Due to the recent controversy over the use of AI and last year's child safeguarding issue, we felt we could no longer (in all conscience) continue to promote NaNoWriMo, their forums, or website.

So, this will start a new event called Moxie Madness where we'll attempt to write a novel in 30 days. 

We've been running these events for over fifteen years and know how challenging they can be, but over the years we've developed a supportive and fun program to help get you over the hurdle. It won't be easy, but you won't regret it; we'll be right beside you, offering support and encouragement to help you reach the finish line. 

The challenge begins on 1st November and ends at midnight on 30th November.  Our Second Life® Moxie word meter will be up and working on the 1st at our virtual writing area. You will need to join the Virtual Writers, Inc. group in order to use our participant titler. This allows you to keep track of your word count through the meter.

So, how does this work?

1. Join our Virtual Writers, Inc. group (found in search), and our Discord server: https://discord.com/invite/6hzEBJw4NR. As mentioned, we're working on creating our own forum especially for the challenge. We'll let you know when it's ready to be launched via our site. Make sure to subscribe: http://www.virtualwriters.org

2. Then, grab our gift box (the wooden one on top of the shelving unit) at the Forest Coffee Bar (and at our Camp Moxie information hut). It’s packed full of resources and special goodies for writers. Plus, you’ll find our all-important event schedule. Be sure to add the write-in dates and workshops to your calendar so you don’t miss anything.

3. Next, sign up for the TrackBear app https://trackbear.app/ and join our Moxie Madness Leaderboard (sign up code is: 2b85a6dc-e424-4868-a904-988bc0e06def).

4. Next, wear our Moxie titler (found in the gift box), activate the Virtual Writers, Inc. group so you are also wearing the group tag, touch the word meter (the old school computer), wait for the instructions then type your new word count into the chat box. Remember to update your word count daily.

5. If you're a Plotter (vs a Pantser), open up the box containing the Prep Worksheets and look for the plot storyboard, and character development notecards. Moxie Madness is a demanding challenge and preparedness is key. Use your time wisely and join us for our daily write-ins as we get ready for the challenge. If you need some inspiration, click on one of our plot bunnies (they're scattered about the sim). Or, try our prompt dice game. You'll find it on the counter at the Forest Coffee Bar.

6. On 1st November you can begin the challenge proper. Try to write at least 1,667 words every day. If you'd prefer to create your own writing goal, then that's perfectly fine. Being a Moxie Maverick is okay with us. This is your challenge. Just keep a note of your goal so we can cheer you on like the others. You might want to try the spreadsheets on the resource list, in addition to TrackBear. They're a great way to keep track and they're rather handsome looking, too. Lastly, remember to update your daily word count at our meter in Milk Wood as well as on the TrackBear leaderboard, this is important for the group, so we can see how well we're doing as a whole. For regular pep talks and advice, check out our website http://www.virtualwriters.org. 

Milk Wood meeting place and Our Word Meter.

We have hot chocolate and muffins, laptops, notebooks, pencils, and some of the most supportive writers in Second Life®!