Here is an excerpt from Chris Baty’s book: No Plot? No Problem!
“By the seven-day mark the initial excitement had worn off, and it revealed a sad ugly truth: Our novels were bad. Maybe even horrible. As Week One slipped away, the intoxicating speed of the escapade ground to a halt, and we began poking at our novels with the dismay of a third-grader whose slice of cake had been swapped for a plate of vegetables.
Starting had been easy. Continuing had been hard.”
I think I can,
I Think I can.
I Think I Can.
I THINK I Can.
I THINK I CAN.
I CAN!
The more you practice the luckier you become
NaNoWriMo Thought Of The Day:
“I have not failed.
I have just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.”
Thomas Edison
Howdy Writers! It’s Day 2 into NaNoWriMo. If you haven’t started writing your 50,000 word novel, then it’s not too late.
Need a bit of inspiration? Look what our friends at Riffle Recommend as Books Writers Should Read.
It’s Day 1 of NaNoWriMo and what better way to start off than thinking about why we want to write. Sure, there’s the personal fulfillment bit, blah, blah, blah…but when it comes right down to it, we think that Chris Baty (founder of National Novel Writing Month) puts the question right into perspective in his new book No Plot? No Problem!
Novelists were clearly a different branch of Homo sapiens, an enlightened subspecies endowed with an over developed understanding of the human condition and their supernatural ability to spell words properly.
Novelists, we knew, had made it. They got fawned over in bookstores, and were forever being pestered for insights on their genius. They had a license to dress horribly, wear decades-out-of-date hairstyles, and had their shortcomings interpreted as charming quirks and idiosyncrasies rather than social dysfunctions.
Best of all, novel writing was, for them, a lifetime sport – one of the few branches of the entertainment industry where you are allowed to have a career long after you’ve stopped looking good in hot pants.
When you put it that way, who wouldn’t want to be a writer? But when it comes to putting pen to paper, of finger to keypad, it’s a different story. We can come up with a million excuses. But the fact of the matter is that if we want to write, there’s no better time than National Novel Writing Month.
We all have to start somewhere and now’s the perfect excuse. Join thousands of other budding novelists as they attempt to tackle their story from November 1st to 30th. NaNoWriMo starts with a promise, or accomplishing something in one month. It doesn’t have to be the masterpiece that you have always dreamed of. And, it won’t be. But it’s an opportunity to get started, and push aside all the other obstacles in your way. Think of it as a sense of possibility, one in which you start with nothing and end up with a book you’ve written. This November write down a path that’s unexplored and leave a trail that you will be proud of forever. That’s the ThinkBlink philosophy.
So, stop procrastinating and get started now. After all, it’s NaNoWriMo!
Good Luck!
See you tomorrow for more ThinkBlink writing-inspired ramblings!
ThinkBLink by Shilpa Raikar.
For those who are unfamiliar to NaNoWriMo, let me explain. NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month. You probably know where I’m going next. This is an annual (November) novel writing project that brings together professional and amateur writers from all over the world. The goal is to write an entire novel in one month.
Motivation is key. For over a month, I’ve been reading the book that resulted from this whole cult phenomenon, and loving the inspiration. No Plot? No Problem! by Chris Baty, founder of NaNoWriMo. If you want some serious motivation, you need to pick up this book. I’ll be sharing tidbits from this book in the month of November.
As the light bulb went on in my head, another idea occurred to me. Why don’t I devote an entire whole month to not just writing but also inspiring others? After all, Think Blink is about sparking creative inspirations.
So join Think Blink for the month of November for inspirations and insights for writers everywhere. My aim is to post as much as possible, but forgive me if there are a few days I draw a blank. After all, I’m also attempting to write my novel and earn a living.
ThinkBLink by Shilpa Raikar.
NO Plot! No Problem! is published by Chronicle Books, and distributed in Canada by Raincoast Books.
“If you want to make art, find time for it.” Arian Behzadi
“Have you heard that people who study psychology are often trying to work through creative issues of their own?”
It’s perhaps the reason that Danielle Krysa, author of the art blog, The Jealous Curator, decided to write a book about Creative Block.
“What matters is that you enjoy the process of making. There is pure joy in it.”
Her aim was to create something beautiful – a contemporary art book filled not only with stunning images, but also inspiring words, advice and tips to help amateurs and professionals alike find their way through those days when the ideas won’t come.
What do you do when you want inspiration? Go out and get advice from some of the greatest minds in the creative stratosphere. Which is why in her book Creative Block, Danielle Krysa documents her conversations with different artists around the world to find out how they face their own hurdles.
“It’s easy to critique something, but to critique something and provide a better alternative shows that you’re good at it.” Arian Behzadi
On the ThinkBlink blog, we’ve discussed creative blog on several occasions. USE A PINK PENCIL focuses on routine, and how it starts to bog down our thinking. Our solution: use a pink pencil to help you get out of a rut. Read more about why ThinkPink works, and why we really need to avoid this robotic state where our ideas become linear.
“I adjust to block by accepting it as a normal part of the creative process, so that it becomes more of a hurdle than a wall.” Dolan Geiman (Collage/Mixed Media, USA)
Another favourite ThinkBlink inspiration from our blog: True writers, write anywhere!
Artists don’t usually have the luxury of not finishing up or giving up on a project. In the world of advertising, you have to deliver. There are deadlines to newspapers, campaigns that have to be delivered on time, and having an “off” day just won’t cut it. Can you imagine telling a client that?
Creative Block, is a book we’ll dust off the bookshelf again and again. It may be fair to say that it actually won’t sit on the bookshelf long enough to collect dust. There’s so much inspiration to be gleaned from it.
Discover golden tips on how to stay motivated, slough off criticism and self-doubt, and keep ideas flowing. Each artist offers a project to push you and keep you moving forward. Creative Block is a survey of cutting-edge contemporary artists and a creative toolkit all in one. It’s your ticket to the next creative breakthrough.
ThinkBLink by Shilpa Raikar.
Creative Unblock by Danielle Krysa, is published by Chronicle Books, and distributed in Canada by Raincoast Books.
PURCHASE THE BOOK
amazon.ca
When I first heard that Janet Kestin and Nancy Vonk were writing a book, enthusiasm quelled in me. Finally, a book that not only appealed to the creative advertiser in me, but the fact that it was written by two highly respected women, was the cherry on top.
While I worked at Ogilvy, stories were always surfacing via the grapevines of the illustrious duo who had built a career around a world that was primarily dubbed as a man’s world.
Here are a few things for long-term success:
This was the duo who hatched the famous Dove’s Campaign For Real Beauty. Using their smart emotional prowess, they tapped into the mind of the consumer. And, for that they had gained a lot of respect in the industry and perhaps may have earned the reputation as one of the pioneers responsible for opening the advertising world to other creatives; myself included. For that I cannot thank them enough, for it is a career that has been rewarding.
Advertising is still primarily a sexist industry. During my career I found very few women who worked on beer accounts, simply because they weren’t given the chance. Some of that stigma is definitely dissipating. I personally have had the chance to work on Guinness and Smirnoff, in addition to tech clients Cisco and IBM. The industry is shedding its stereotypes and in some ways these women helped open that door to acceptance.
But, I did find that a lot more time in the book was devoted to the experience of a women in a man’s world. While I enjoy hearing about women’s success, I easily tune off when it all starts sounding the same. Recently there has been an insurgent of books out there that tackle the issue of women in a man’s world. I’m not disputing the relevance of these books, especially for women eagerly seeking guidance and advice; but for me it feels redundant (perhaps because I’ve already read my share of them). Now, I’d rather get down to the crux of the creative problem solving process, and be inspired by new inventive ways of tackling problems. It’s no wonder I’m inspired by new paradigms in business creativity with books like Thinking in New Boxes by Luc De Brabandere and Alan Iny, as well as one of my faves The Back Of a Napkin by Dan Roam.
But you should judge for yourself. After all, what works for one person doesn’t necessarily work for another. And, being open to ideas is the first step in making progress. The book is published by Harper Collins Canada and available in bookstores and online.
Do let us know your thoughts when you do pick it up.
