{"id":118,"date":"2008-11-14T12:06:44","date_gmt":"2008-11-14T19:06:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/melinakantor.com\/?p=118"},"modified":"2008-11-14T12:34:53","modified_gmt":"2008-11-14T19:34:53","slug":"nanowrimo-basic-survival-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/melinakantor.com\/?p=118","title":{"rendered":"NaNoWriMo: Basic Survival"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<h2><span style=\"color: #000080;\"><em><span style=\"color: #000080;\">Part 2 &#8212; Books, Books, and More Books!<\/span><\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft\" style=\"float: left; border: 0;\" src=\"https:\/\/melinakantor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/06\/greekkey31.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"545\" height=\"15\" \/><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft\" style=\"float: left; border: 0; margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 10px; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;\" src=\"https:\/\/melinakantor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/11\/nanomug.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">So here we are at Day 14 of <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nanowrimo.org\/\">NaNo<\/a>. How&#8217;d that happen? The bad news is that I&#8217;m behind by a few thousand words, which I&#8217;m blaming on a seventh grader induced headache and the walking bundles of germs otherwise known as second graders. The good news is that it&#8217;s the last day of the notoriously awful week two. \u00a0<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.nanowrimo.org\/eng\/user\/301\" target=\"_blank\">Chris Baty<\/a> has been promising that Week 3 will be all warm and fuzzy. Let&#8217;s hope so!<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">But I digress. \u00a0I am here to offer Part 2 of Melina&#8217;s Survival Guide to NaNo. On the syllabus for today: Books, Books, and More Books!<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">As many of you know, I am a victim of very serious writer&#8217;s block. Without a map, I am incapable of writing anything more complicated than my first name. When this happens, I turn to the Mt. Everest sized pile of books next to my computer.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">I&#8217;ve divided these books into two categories &#8211; books on craft and reference books.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><strong><em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Books on Craft<\/span><span style=\"font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; \"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright\" style=\"float: right; border: 0; margin: 10px;\" src=\"https:\/\/melinakantor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/11\/craft.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"175\" \/><\/span><\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/No-Plot-Problem-Novel-Writing-Kit\/dp\/0811854833\/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&amp;s=books&amp;qid=1226690086&amp;sr=1-2\">No Plot, No Problem<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/No-Plot-Problem-Novel-Writing-Kit\/dp\/0811854833\/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&amp;s=books&amp;qid=1226690086&amp;sr=1-2\">The NaNoWriMo Noveling Kit<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Writing-Romance-Dummies-Leslie-Wainger\/dp\/0764525549\/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;s=books&amp;qid=1226690049&amp;sr=1-1\">Romance Novels For Dummies <\/a>(hey, why not?)<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Will-Write-Shoes-Chick-Novel\/dp\/B0017HWZM6\/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&amp;s=books&amp;qid=1226690003&amp;sr=8-1\" target=\"_blank\">Will Write For Shoes<\/a> (which came in much more handy last year when I was writing Chick Lit)<\/li>\n<li>My Idea Notebook\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>My Conference Journal from <a href=\"http:\/\/www.rwanational.org\/\" target=\"_blank\">RWA Nationals<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright\" style=\"float: right; border: 0; margin: 10px;\" src=\"https:\/\/melinakantor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/11\/craft.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"175\" height=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>These books help with the initial set up of my plot. \u00a0I use them when something isn&#8217;t working and needs to be fixed. Not always that exciting, to be honest. \u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Except for the NaNo themed books. Those, I turn to for laughs, advice, and inspiration.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left; \"><em><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Reference Books<\/span><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright\" style=\"margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 10px; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; float: right; border: 0;\" src=\"https:\/\/melinakantor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/11\/research.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"175\" \/><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/The-Joys-of-Yiddish\/dp\/0671785052\/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&amp;s=books&amp;qid=1226690155&amp;sr=1-4\">The Joys of Yiddish<\/a> (The best gift I ever got from Uncle Steve, the most avuncular of uncles. He&#8217;s been trying to get me to &#8220;tawk&#8221; right since I was a baby.)<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Culture-Shock-Greece-Customs-Etiquette\/dp\/1558686185\/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;s=books&amp;qid=1226690192&amp;sr=1-1\" target=\"_blank\">Culture Shock Greece<\/a> (Even though I already know most of the content, it sometimes helps to have it spelled out)<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/s\/ref=nb_ss_b?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&amp;field-keywords=music+horror+stories&amp;x=0&amp;y=0\" target=\"_blank\">Music Horror Stories<\/a> (Because my heroine is a singer)<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Linda-Goodmans-Sun-Signs-Goodman\/dp\/0553278827\/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;s=books&amp;qid=1226690225&amp;sr=1-1\" target=\"_blank\">Sun Signs<\/a> (I don&#8217;t know jack about astrology, but <a href=\"http:\/\/www.tflac.com\/\" target=\"_blank\">Cherry Adair<\/a> says she swears by it when she&#8217;s creating characters, and since she&#8217;s a noveling rock star, I checked it out from the library.)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">These are the books that really spark the ideas. For example, without the Joys of Yiddish, how could I have written the following (warning &#8211; language alert):<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><!--StartFragment--><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><em>\u201cHave at it, Daphna.\u00a0<\/em><em>What are you going to call me this time?<\/em><span><em>\u00a0<\/em><\/span><em>Noodnik?<\/em><span><em>\u00a0<\/em><\/span><em>Schmendrick?\u201d<\/em><span><em>\u00a0<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span><em><\/em><\/span><em>He didn\u2019t think he\u2019d screwed up badly enough for schmuck.<\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><em>\u201cActually, I was going to go with schnorer.<\/em><span><em>\u00a0<\/em><\/span><em>What the hell were you thinking, spewing all that, that. . .\u201d<\/em><span><em>\u00a0<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span><em>\u201cNarrishkeit?\u201d<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p><!--EndFragment--><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">Anyway. That might not make it through even the first stage of revisions. The point is that those words helped me think of a conflict that sparked a scene, which made my word count and my muses (&#8220;The Divas In the Basement&#8221;) very happy.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">Another example. Thanks to Sun Signs and Culture Shock Greece, I figured out that my villain is a scorpio who likes darkness, fire, and worry beads. I also figured out that scorpios are known for beak shaped noses and reddish black arm hair, which makes my villain extra creepy. \u00a0<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><em>Bwah ha ha. . .<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">So there you have it. Writers, what are your most useful books?\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Next up, assuming that my brain is still in tact after this noveling marathon: Comfort Items and Good Luck Charms.<\/p>\n<p>Now. You people have kept me away from my WIP long enough. My word count has been flatlining long enough.<\/p>\n<p>See ya!<\/p>\n<p>P.S. In November, &#8220;noveling&#8221; is a valid word. <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nanowrimo.org\/eng\/user\/301\" target=\"_blank\">Chris Baty<\/a> says so.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/melinakantor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/07\/blackolive_small.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"50\" height=\"32\" \/><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Part 2 &#8212; Books, Books, and More Books! \u00a0 So here we are at Day 14 of NaNo. How&#8217;d that happen? The bad news is that I&#8217;m behind by a few thousand words, which I&#8217;m blaming on a seventh grader induced headache and the walking bundles of germs otherwise known as second graders. The good [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20,7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-118","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-nanowrimo","category-writing-life"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/melinakantor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/118","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/melinakantor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/melinakantor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/melinakantor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/melinakantor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=118"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/melinakantor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/118\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/melinakantor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=118"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/melinakantor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=118"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/melinakantor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=118"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}