Write on! Wednesday- Nano and the NB Forums

Welcome to the first edition of Write on! Wednesdays (Wo!W).

I've been poking around a lot of other blogs on a myriad of themes. And I've noticed that many of them have a day of the week where they always do the same thing. I've seen Flashback Friday, This week in Publishing, and Saturday Sketch, just to name a few. So I've decided to start my own.

Since I'm an aspiring writer, I bring you Write on! Wednesday. Each Wednesday, I will present a post which relates to writing in some form or fashion.

Nano

Nanowrimo was last month. I once again participated, and like last time, procrastinated half the month away, and had to bash out several thousand (10 this time) words on the final day to win. I feel very confident about this year's nano novel. I want to add a few chapters, and then I'm going to let a friend read it and have him tell me what he thinks.

This year's project was called Fire Bearer. It turns out that it's only the Book 1 of a two part series, but I kind of expected that, since it's a fantasy/quest and they tend to run in sagas. Firebearer is a story of a people who are discriminated against for their race and their religion and how they rise up to fight it. Originally the book was supposed to follow only the firebearer, Breight Sarchu, but due to my recent obsession with the movies Crash and Snatch, it turned into an ensemble cast. An ensemble cast is one where there are several protagonists. The most famous example I can think of is the TV show Friends.

I really want to edit this book and print it. Nanowrimo offers a goodie bag to winners and it includes a bound copy of your manuscript. You can only claim the prize until June however and last year, I didn't do one ounce of editing before that date. This year, I am going to edit either Fire Bearer or last year's novel, Urban Legend, to claim the prize. That way, even if I am never published, I will have a copy of my novel sitting on my shelf.

Nathan Bransford's forums

Nathan Bransford, a professional editor and first time author recently revamped the look of his award winning blog. He also added forums. The forums focus on writing, books, securing an agent, publishing, and for the real specialists, he's even including a forum for procrastinating! :)

I want to thank Nathan for all the wonderful things he does for the industry. The forums are pure brilliance. It's a great place to take your questions to get responses from fellow writers and industry experts. Way to go NB!