The Month that was July 2013: Part 2 Camp NaNoWriMo

2 blog posts on CampNaNoWriMo
20000 words CampNaNoWriMo novella
37 posts
31 PADE Entries
~7200 words Blogged
~ 4200 PADE words

This month July 2013 would be remembered forever :) So much happened in last one month that I ~~will have to publish~~ am publishing it in a 2 posts series – PADE and CampNaNoWriMo.

Part2: Camp NaNoWriMo

What is Camp NaNoWriMo

A sister-event to NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month), Camp NaNoWriMo is a virtual camping event where writers can attempt a novel or novella in a month with a bunch of writers (7-8) in a Cabin. That way they not only support each other but also get motivated to write and write! (Wiki)

My Attempt to Camp NaNoWriMo

It started just like that. While getting ready for PADE, I came to know about Ritu and that she is participating in the upcoming Camp NaNoWriMo. Motivated, though foreseeing a real tight schedule ahead, I committed for a 20,000 novella. Though it was an easy target (especially when you put it on comparison with regular 50,000 attempts) and I achieved it ultimately, I too had to struggle to achieve it. So, what I learnt?

Structure Your Novel/Novella first

I had a story in my mind, a rough sketch of characters, their cities, background etc. But, I didn’t put it down anywhere. As the story started unfolding with each new page, I started to struggle remembering the names (shy, I am too bad with names) and a lot of other webs that were to connect and bind them with the protagonist. In fact, at a point I meshed up the backgrounds of the two lead characters so much that I started thinking to go back to the previous instances and edit/re-edit it. Fortunately I didn’t plough that idea too much and chose to move on with the meshed up plot and give it a retouch after Camp.

Suggestions: Do spare a few first pages of Novel to characters, their interlinks and anything and everything that characterizes your character from their cities to colleges, boots to mustaches! Just everything!

Have a Short Story ready-written for the Novel

I had a story, already baked in my mind, which I was trying to jot down. But as I approached the ending, I had to introduce another character to ----- (it would be spoiler). This made me realize that if I had a short story written before the complete one, it would have certainly helped me writing and reshaping it. I also realized that the story I am writing is not worth just 20,000 words. I have already crossed the 20,000 words thing, and I am still not sure how much more would be needed to complete the story. Climax is yet to be started!

Take your time, but write!

The objective of NaNoWriMo is to bring a budding writer dive in to passion of daily writing. So, dive in to it! Stop criticising your own work, at least, for a period of month and write your heart out, let the ides shape in to words!

And after that take a nap!

For that nap thing, I had already had a plan to Andamans. So, now what I aspire is to relax and then get back to it, complete it. Take another short nap, read and proof read it, edit the silly errors and correct the links.

I read it somewhere long ago, you would be able to find the errors and criticise it honestly only if you revisit your art after a while. So, to pursue to publish it or not will be decided later. And, the kind of procrastinator I am, I am for sure seeing a 3-6months of pipeline phase. Added to it, the kind of self-critic I am (in addition to a bragger), I am skeptical about a lot many things.

To read an excerpt of what I am working on, click here.

To participate in NaNoWriMo - November 2013 is still a Million Dollar question :)

Banned Indian Books

Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high; Where knowledge is free; Where the world has not been broken up into fragments by narrow domestic walls; Where words come out from the depth of truth... Few days back when I came to know about a book on an Indian Business Barron on the Banned Indian Books’ List, the first thing that came in my mind were the lines from Tagore . What an irony, we live in a country, whose forefathers have dreamt about a nation without fear, about a nation with right to speech, right to knowledge; and where the Government enjoys the “privilege” to “freely” ban the books, censor what it feels offensive! Wikipedia describes Banned books as the books whose free access is not permitted. Further it says that the practice of banning books is just another form of censorship, and often has political, religious or moral motivations. In our country, banning books have got its history since the British rule days. In fact, few of the Books ...

Natarang (नटरंग): My First Marathi Movie

Last Sunday was day booked for movies. First on the slot was Natarang (नटरंग). Natarang was my first Marathi movie and perhaps the second Regional Language movie after the classic Nadiya Ke Paar (नदिया के पार ) . Except for a few words, I don’t understand Marathi , and thus watched the subtitle version. But, I was so engrossed in movie that for the times was feeling the movie and not reading it. May be, as said by Paulo Coelho in The Alchemist , the characters were speaking World’s Unified language . The best side of the movie was its ability to keep the viewer enthralled throughout. Story line was about a body-builder farmer taking the risk of opening a theatre company, putting all his emotions on stakes; finally dares to take the role of a eunuch-character on stage. For the purpose, the hunk villager, played by Atul Kulkarni , shaved off his thick manly moustaches and had to lose his muscles. He learns the ways a woman walks talks and plays with different gestures. In the course, h...

Trekking Ghansoli Gawli Dev (Parsik) Hill

It’s been there for geological ages, we have been looking at it for last about 4years and I have been planning to trek it since a long time. Finally, few weeks back, we trekked the Ghansoli Hill. Ghansoli Hill is located at the eastern boundary of Ghansoli town, behind our office complex at RCP. The hill or better hillock is a part of small range that separates Kalyan and Navi Mumbai towns. A search on Google Map returns with a name Parsik Hill for it, though there is one more rather famous Parsik Hill in Navi Mumbai. We also found a NewsArticle , that talks about NMMC plans to develop Nature Awareness Centre at this hills and calls it Gawli Dev Hill. Here, we would be calling it Ghansoli Hill . I asked my colleague about it and he readily agreed. The very next Sunday we did it with another friend. We weren't aware of the route. All we knew is that a Central Road runs along the western edge of the hill and can be reached through the Vashi-Mhape road. We later found that t...

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