On Friday night we went to farewell a friend of ours before he went into a voluntary three-day exile. Paul is taking part in the annual international three day novel writing contest. (Paul is also Gummo Trotsky - an extremely popular and widely read blog.)
The deal is that you write a novel from after midnight Saturday until midnight on Monday. It works on the honesty system - the experience is everything, after all. The winner is published and receives $500 but most of the contestants do it for the masochistic joy of pushing themselves beyond the limit for 72 hours and emerging, rough draft in hand, at the other end.
I'm doing it next year. I felt frankly jealous that Paul was doing and I wasn't. Next year, I'm on! Keith likens it to speed dating, but hey - the worst that can happen is that family life melts down for 72 hours and I emerge at the end with the rough draft of something like a novel. Sounds good to me. Any other takers? Come on Ewan, Robert, Maureen - we can do it! Check it out.
On the knitting front, I'm knitting Elizabeth Zimmerman's Pi Shawl - at least I think that's what I'm doing. It's from Silk Noro, so it won't be a lacey little number but something far more substantial. I'm thinking of having it as a back up wrap for whatever I decide to wear to the wedding. That's right THE wedding. It's all happening - we saw the civil celebrant last Wednesday. We've organised music, kind of, a poem, naturally and now I just have to write the ceremony.
We're really excited about it!
If you can take any more news about New Orleans, try here. Do you think this could be the end of Bush? I tell you what, it makes having my car squished by a falling tree earlier this year seem very small bananas.
A blog where I talk about the reading, writing, post the Tuesday Poem and, sometimes, show some knitting.
1 comment:
Hello Catherine! I just found your Blog while searching for "72 hour novel." Count me in next year too!
One of my book club members (click the link) made a post on our forums about her husband participating this year. So I went and researched the contest and think it is a brilliant way to get the ball rolling with writing a first book. Writers block keeps so many people from making substantial progress, or even simply starting a book, so a 3-day contest that has completion as the main goal is so valuable.
I figure once you've successfully completed one of these yearly novel projects you're that much more confident in your ability to write a real book. Good luck next year!
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