NaNoWriMo 2015

Ok, it's over. I did it and I'm glad.

2015 has been a very bad year for my writing. It has kicked me in the square pocket side of my pants. It has eaten my proverbial lunch (and then my snack to make things worse). I started the year with a pure goal: write four full-length novels.

Somewhere I lost sight of that goal. In fact, it fell completely off the earth. So, I went into self-flagellation mode and got nothing done. Then, October rolled in and my mind kept turning to the craptastic nothingness that I managed to achieve. Part of this difficulty I understood. I was extremely distracted. I tried to do too many things at once which just meant that in the end I might as well have done nothing at all. Mission accomplished.

I had too many novels floating to the top of my head every day. Too much indecision about which novel to write, whether to add another Kindle World novella, or to write under a pen name, to write a devotional book, or a romance, or to abandon all of it. Part of this was fueled by lack of sales, a profusion of bad reviews, and a sense that I was perhaps a failure. I struggled with not wanting to do all the publishing. I wanted to maybe just write and put it out there for wolves to tear me apart slowly (traditional publishing for those of you perhaps unfamiliar with the monster).

Finally, I made a decision. I am a finisher. I hate quitting. I quit football my senior year in high school and regretted it because I quit for a stupid reason: the new position coach didn't know my name (it was on a sticker on the front of my helmet, yet he couldn't remember it--or read, evidently). All those summer workouts, all those runs up heartbreak hill, all those thousands of pounds of iron pushed for nothing. Instead of fighting for my position on the depth chart I allowed a green position coach to determine the outcome of my senior year. That stuck with me. I've fought for a lot of things in my life since then. My family. My marriage. My career. I wasn't going to let one stubborn manuscript get me down.

That was at the core. The manuscript I didn't want to write. The one I never expected to write. The one that haunted me (and still does because it's not finished). Lonely Creatures. I decided to kick its butt. The jury is still deliberating that part, but once I decided that I was going to compete in NaNoWriMo this year, it was the point of no return.

I started at midnight of November 1 and started the story where I had left off in May.

There is a back story here. Maybe I should back up and tell it first.

In 2009 I finished my first NaNoWriMo from a book that began as a book cover blurb in my mind. It was more or less a fifty word summary of a book I hadn't written, one that was frankly inspired by the cover of THE SHACK. One that was predicated on a single image in my mind: if I came upon a shack like that in the middle of the woods (and I have before), what would be the creepiest thing I could find there?

That spawned DARK MOUNTAIN, my first complete novel. I finished the rough draft almost a year later and was working on my second novel, CRY ME A RIVER. I was peddling my first novel to editors and agents while I worked and re-worked the first three chapters, hoping that I could get an agent's attention. It was a horror novel of sorts, but I really wanted it to be a suspense novel. It wasn't until I started to get feedback from others that I realized I was categorizing it wrong. Not only that, I needed to do some heavy-duty editing.

Also, if you know me, and I mean on a deep spiritual level (or you are just generally observant, I guess), you would know that I lack patience. I could not stand waiting on one agent to say "No thanks," for four to six weeks just so that I could send it to another overwrought, overworked agent that would do the same thing. I realized that even if I had managed to attract an agent to represent me, I would have a minimum of three years ahead of me to get that one book into print!

I did some studying about independent publishing. So, I got about my business and two years later, in April 2012, I published it myself on Amazon, and in paperback through CreateSpace.

It was a wild ride. I sold enough copies to pay for my initial investments. It got lots of great reviews. Family and friends loved it. Complete strangers even liked it! And then I started to get three main points of feedback: 1) it felt like a movie, 2) people gravitated to the character of Luke, but were disappointed that he never went anywhere, and 3) I needed to write a sequel.

Now, fast-forward to 2015. I have already designed a cover for the sequel, come up with a clever and thematically relevant series title, re-branded the first book and changed its cover almost a dozen times, and also created an outline of the final two books in the trilogy.

I began writing the rough draft in May in just fits and starts, anguishing over the chapter outlines as I did, fussing with re-writing the first scene, the third chapter, and then it fell silent in my head. I didn't lose the muse. I shoved her out of a moving vehicle doing ninety on a narrow stretch of desert road in the middle of the night.

In October, I had a "come to Robert" meeting with myself. I'm good at that whole self-flagellation thing. I decided to not give up on the manuscript. I decided that I would have a reunion of sorts. I finished the first draft of Dark Mountain in 2009, and I would finish the rough draft of its sequel in 2015!

And, that's what I did. I even finished a day early--mostly out of spite.

I have a lot further to go. I need to add another 15,000 to 25,000 words. And, I realize that I have a bunch of editing to do. Not just the garden variety of catching grammatical mistakes and starting sentences with "and" or "but," either. Some heavy lifting that will require entire scene re-writes, the expulsion of major plot elements, and some really difficult alone time with some of my favorite characters just to get it all right. Because I'm not settling. I'm not putting out inferior stuff just for the sake of hitting some imaginary and arbitrary publishing deadline.

I'm proud and excited to have completed the challenge. I want to thank all the good and wonderful folks over at the NaNoWriMo headquarters who push writers to do the unthinkable. Even though I'm an old hand at this now and 50,000 words in 30 days doesn't seem daunting to me anymore, I appreciate the kick in the rear. I respect the offer of a good challenge.

I encourage you if you think you might have a novel somewhere in that pumpkin of yours, don't wait for next November. Sit down and just do it. Don't edit while you write. Do it later. Just get the words out on paper. Write an outline if you want. Write from the seat of your pants if it feels right. Just do it. Plant your hinder parts in a chair, place your digits at the keyboard and cut a vein and watch yourself bleed words all over the terminal. It is cathartic. It is therapeutic. It is beautiful and inspiring, uplifting and rewarding. Its also really hard. Don't let me fool you with all the other romantic stuff. Sometimes you do it with your teeth gritting as if each word you type is a fingernail scraping slowly along a chalkboard (do they even make those anymore, btw?).

But, when you finish--and you will--you will have something you will love. Something you created. It makes you appreciate God, the ultimate creator, the grand author. If you have it in you, get it out. Trust me, it will just fester inside of you pointing its ugly finger at you telling you that you should have done it years ago. But, once you get the thing out, it is no longer the boss of you, no longer has one shred of guilt with which to hold you hostage.

That's my pep talk and I'm sticking to it.

NANO YOUR WRIMO!

Where to Go From Here

 

I am at a crossroads in my writing. I have tons of ideas and limited time to write. I have even less time to promote, market, and directly sell my books. I have practically no presence on social media. My current books are languishing in the basement of the Amazon store. Even sales of new releases are non-existent.

I am confident that my novels are fit for public consumption. I just have not found my audience yet. When I do, I would like to have a large amount of product from which they can choose (or buy it all--I won't mind).  To that end, I am compelled to write more. Some would say that having eight titles (3 novellas, a collection of novellas, 2 full length novels, a short story and a collection of shorts) out in just over 18 months is prolific writing. Considering that I am writing part time, perhaps it is. My goal for production is much more aggressive, though. I simply have not found the time or the rhythm to meet that rate.

My secondary concern is that in search of my audience and in order to build my brand, I would like to prioritize what I am writing. I have struggled with deciding what to write next. I have a two-month hole (Sept-Oct) which represents about 7 weeks now that the first week of September is gone. In 7 weeks, I can write approximately 50,000 to 60,000 words. This would be equivalent to two novellas. Or a short novel (perhaps in the thriller genre). It could also be a novella and three short stories. Or perhaps two devotional books (non-fiction, religious).

What happens in November? you ask. Well, November is NaNoWriMo, or National Novel Writing Month. It is a month in which I will partake in the challenge of writing 50,000 words in 30 days. Actually, I am aiming at about 60,000 words and 30,000 more in December. I will write the next three novellas in the Jake Monday Chronicles. Then, I will spend January, and February editing the fourth book in the series, release it in March, rinse and repeat (so releases in March, April, and May).

So, my writing schedule is typically constant. In spurts. For example, I finished a fantasy novella Sunday. I edited it on Monday, Labor Day. I have not written since. Except for this blog. However, my writing is always more productive if I have a plan.

So, I want you to help me make my plan. Tell me what you want to see. Here are my novel ideas (pardon the pun):

1)Built in a Day--Re-telling of Roman history. Grand tale that focuses on the Romulus and Remus story and uses it as a device to fictionalize history. Imagine: Tudors meets Game of Thrones.

This one requires some intense research of history. I want to make it series, perhaps 3 full-length novels over three years or 9 novellas, with three installments each year, packaged as a set of 3 in each for Christmas.


2) All Roads Lead Here--a short story (about 10,000 words) set in a Kindle World: Wayward Pines by Blake Crouch. Kindle Worlds are a separate store on Amazon where authors can download what essentially is "fan fiction." I want to write this story and perhaps 2 more. I want to do it more for the exposure and fan reach than actual sales. Priced at 99 cents, I will probably never make a lot from this one, but Blake has a medium-sized following and a new release coming out this month that perhaps I can ride the momentum. That was my philosophy, anyway.

3)Transforming Souls: Diamond, Steel, Clay & Glass--a devotional book. It will be organized to be used as a book for Adult Bible classes. I plan on writing a sequel to it for teens as well at some point. It can also be a good personal devotional book. I have an outline for it and some great ideas. This is the one I am tempted to start this week. My soul is sort of calling for it.

4)Almost Heaven--a "Love Story" in the vein of Nicolas Sparks. It is about a lawyer from West Virginia who decides to represent a young woman who has been given custody of her autistic niece when her sister dies. The biological father (who had never before seen the child or supported her) is suing for custody and the rights to the inheritance. I plan on writing this one in a pen name. I already have 18,000 words written and it is almost half finished (the goal is 40,000 to 45,000 words, or about 200 pages--a short novel, like the old Harlequin romances from the 70s). I plan for it to be the first book in a series with a connected narrator. The second book in the series is the next one.

5)The Nightengale Effect--a "Love Story" in the vein of Nicolas Sparks. It is about a male nurse who falls in love with a patient. She is a famous local newscaster whose family is involved in politics. She is also addicted to drugs, which is why she is in the hospital. The novel is about how powerful love is, even in the face of addictions and betrayal. This is supposed to be the 2nd in my series (I am thinking of calling them American Heart or something like that) with the connected narrator. It will be 40,000 to 45,000 words (short novel) and written in a pen name.

6)Grey Guards of Avignon--this is a series. I have just finished the rough draft and first edit. It is in the hands of 10 Beta readers and the editor. I hope to publish it next week. However, I plan on writing four novellas in this series. It is a fantasy story about an elite group of body guards (think 3 Musketeers or US Secret Service) who find themselves compromised in a kingdom that is totally corrupt. It is about making moral choices when none exist. Epic fantasy. The first novella was 38,000 words or so (about 170 pages).  Although I really enjoyed writing the first installment, I have some reservations about continuing this one too soon.

7)The Man Under the Mountain--another short story set in Wayward Pines. I want to wait until I purchase the 2nd book in the series and read it before I write this one. It could go down in October, if all goes right. As far as marketing and competition goes, I anticipate that Blake Crouch's friends will be writing several books in this world: JA Konrath, Crouch's brother, Scott Nicholson, and even Barry Eisler. Maybe even Ann Voss Peterson. This could be good or it could be devastating.

8)Bald Knobbers--working title. A novel (sort of a western) about the vigilante group in Missouri who were a cross between the KKK and Sons of Anarchy. Their bikes were horses and their moral compass was questionable. They sought justice at the expense of bigotry and corruption. I want to focus on a single character who is working within the group but seeks to disband them. It is a thriller/western feel. About 40,000 to 50,000 words (think a short Max Brand book or Louis L'Amour). This idea was given to me by a young friend, Reese Crawford.

9)The Lonely Ziggurat--a fantasy novel with steam-punk (or "gaslamp") tendencies. I am interested in fusing genres. I like the idea of incorporating some devices of steam punk (think of the game Bioshock or Dishonored) into the setting of fantasy (swords, demons, magic, and dragons). I want to also bring back some of the concepts of my favorite comics growing up--Xmen and Fantastic Four. I think it would be cool to have an "Underground City" ala The Underdark in Forgotten Realms but more like the Morlocks. It is a common theme running through steam punk but I want to insert it into fantasy in a cool and impactful way. I have about three pages of notes on this concept but no real direction for the plot. Just world-building. World building is fun, but it isn't words on paper production. That is what I need right now.

10) My Hand on the Hammer--a short devotional book about our responsibility in the death of our Savior. It will be about 20,000 to 30,000 words (about 100 pages). It was an idea that germinated from Mark Lee's Lord's Supper Thoughts one Sunday. The idea is very dear to my heart and I think there is a place for it as an uplifting reminder to God's people and maybe even a book that an unchurched person might find inspiring and come to know Jesus.

11)Worth More Than Sparrows--Short devotional book about understanding how special we are. It is about developing self-esteem, purpose, and direction in our lives. It is about accepting our roles as servants in God's Kingdom as Ambassadors, Conquerors, and Children. Again, about 20,000 to 30,000 words (about 100 pages). 

12) Walk in the Park--A full-length thriller novel about a young man with a unique power. Without warning, on occasion, he is given a message that predicts the death of a particular person within 48 hours. This "gift" has haunted him since he was a teen. His justification has always been that these were people he did not know. What could he possibly do to save these strangers? Why was he responsible?

Sometimes he will see the message in the newspaper. Sometimes in a text. For years he has ignored the messages. When he gets a message about a former friend who lives about an hour away, he decides to (for the first time) intervene. He discovers that this power comes with great responsibility. 

This book has elements of science fiction melded with a fast-paced story. It is essentially a novel that explores our tendency to be selfish and wrap ourselves in concern for only ourselves. It is a social novel (and a spiritual one, although God is not mentioned, He is there). I have about 4,000 words or so of this one started. I actually had written about 12,000 words, but lost them in a bad hard drive on an old laptop. Needless to say, I was disheartened and put it away.

13) Children of the Mountain--Sequel to Dark Mountain. My original plan was to write this one in the Spring of 2014 and spend a bit of time on it. It is a horror novel that follows two characters from Dark Mountain. I only have it sketched out a bit. No outline yet or list of characters in the novel or anything. Have not even totally settled on a setting. Debating West Texas with Northern Arizona or Southern Colorado. Having problems deciding. Needs to be somewhere scary. Probably Colorado. I hate to compete with Blake Crouch, but I need to stay in the mountains. :) This book has been requested over a dozen times. I am dragging my feet. I do not know why. Dark Mountain is still my best selling book to date.

14)Monday Bloody Monday--the final installment of the Jake Monday Chronicles. With it, I will also produce two more titles: The Monday Collection Volume 2, and The Monday Chronicles Complete Collection, Collector's Edition. This one I cannot write until I finish the other three (which I will write this winter). So, although it is in this list, I will not write it yet.

 So, which book suits you best? Or which story? I am aware that I am genre-hopping. Is that a problem for anyone? I know that it waters down my brand. The thing is, I want to write in all these genres. I read all these genres, including the devotionals.  Let me know what you think. Give me some feedback. I may just be able to be swayed.

Production is King

As I watch the success of fellow self-publishers, I try to maintain a sense of calm.  I have one book, Dark Mountain, published so far and have had a mediocre first two months. I have learned a ton.  Perhaps the biggest thing that I have learned so far is to be patient. 

Failure tends to demand that reaction, doesn't it?  The Colts have a miserable season with Manning in the stands and the ownership flips the entire organization on its tail.  Be patient.  The economy is in the toilet, unemployment is rampant, drug use on the rise, housing prices plummeting, foreclosures skyrocketing.  Be patient.

So, the only remedy I can truly see is more production.  Write.  Write some more.  I wrote recently about a difficult scene in my current work-in-progress, Cry Me a River.  What a bunch of whiny dreck.  I just wrote it.  Powered through it and ate up 15,000 words in three days.  Finished with a 8,000 word flourish. 

The remedy, you see, is to get behind a keyboard and do what you do best.  So, with another productive week ahead (20,000 words should get me to the end of the book), I will get the next book out before November.  And, soon after that, I plan on having the first of a series of adventure/suspense novels, my Jake Monday series, ready for editing.

The more novels you have, the more legitimate you seem as a writer.  It is then easier to cross-market, to brand, to develop a fan base that no longer just reads your books in obscurity but recommends them to friends and family, tweet about them, adds them on Goodreads, and buys the merchandise.

This is truly a wonderful time to be a writer.  We can never lose sight of that.  But, in this new world of publishing, production is king.  Do you find an author with a "long tail" (multiple books published, big back-list) to have more legitimacy, or does this even factor in when looking for that new book for your Kindle/Nook/Kobo/Ipad?

Self-Publishing Basics Part 2: Creating A Cover

Books are judged by their covers.  This is one truism (or "truthiness") that seems to always apply.  If you have decided to self-publish, let me recommend that you take some time to study book covers.  Look at covers that have caught your eye and covers that are appropriate for your genre.  By this I mean BEST SELLING covers for novels in your genre.  Some covers out there, especially among self-pubbed books, are very amateurish.

I chose to go a little outside my genre (thrillers), and incorporate some imagery and cover format that had worked to draw my eye.  I have always been partial to a solid block of color behind the author's name/title of the book.  Some cover artists can blend the type into a dark spot of the cover art, or a place where there is a solid color.  This allows the title to "pop" and also allows the reader to delineate between the image and the title.  The two should connect, by the way.  The image should reflect in some way either the title or the theme of the book.   Unless there is a murder at the picnic, a bucolic scene with a field of flowers, a bench with a family around it laughing does not a mystery cover make.

Covers are art.  That is the way you must see it.  This art can be as simple as type face over a solid color, photo images and type or illustration/painting with type, or any variation of those.  The point of the art, the point of the cover, is to draw potential readers to pick up the book, to click on it and read more.

Now, I by no means am an expert at this, but I have a good eye.  I have read thousands of books and have perused libraries and bookstores for three decades.  I know what stands out.  I have watched the trends.  I notice when a book cover for a particular novel (i.e. Game of Thrones or The Stand) changes.  I notice when a cover I find appealing, but is outside of my reading circle--romance, for example--catches my eye and then becomes popular.  For sure, the popularity of novels is not dependent upon their covers, but on their contents.  Some books succeed IN SPITE of their covers.  The Stand was one of them, Stieg Larsson's Girl series is another.

The practical side of the cover is the design of it in preparation for print.  Many of the Print-On-Demand publishers like Create Space and Lulu provide tools to make this task easier.  But, just like many other areas of self-publishing, you must don another hat, develop another skill.  If you don't have proficiency with Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe InDesign or some other design studio software, I recommend that this task is one that you hire out to someone that does.  A good graphic artist, a cover designer, or even a graphic design student can provide the PDF document or JPEG image you will need to provide your cover.

Another practical consideration you must keep in mind is the art/photography.  I am not a photographer.  I used to be a fair illustrator but have not honed those skills in decades.  Find a photographer you like or subscribe to iStock photos or eShutter or some other online stock photo marketplace.  You can get pictures there royalty free for less than a dollar.  Or, if you like the personal touch, digital photography is an art form in itself.  If you would like to marry that talent with your talent for writing, then that could be your best option.

The beauty of self-publishing is that YOU have the control.  YOU make the decisions.  However, it is also the burden you bear because, in the end, the success or failure is on you as well.  You have to have good content, a good story told with craftmanship.  You have to have an attractive cover that draws in readers.  You also have to have a good marketing plan that puts your title, your name and your brand in front of as many people as possible.


NEXT UP:  EDITING

Self-Publishing Basics Part 1--Formatting

You can easily find a ton of help out there for self-publishing, if that is your goal.  I am new at this, but I have followed self-publishing for almost a decade.  I want to impart some of what I have discovered and chronicle my journey into self publication.  My first book, Dark Mountain, was just released.  I am making it availabe in both print and electronic versions, because I believe that both mediums are important.  Some will laud one over the other and there is much debate over print vs. ebooks as well as traditional publishing vs. indie publishing.  I believe that there is an audience for both print and electronic books.  I also believe that authors should be able to enjoy the benefits of both traditional publishing and self-publishing.  Neither has to be mutually exclusive of the other. 

Formatting Your Book For Print

The biggest hurdle in self-publishing a book is that you need to incur some extra-writerly talents and skill sets.  One of the first skills you must use, once you decide how you are going to market your book, is to format it for publication.  Obviously, this step takes place after you have written the book and edited it thoroughly. 

You will probably be formatting for several formats (Kindle=html; CreateSpace = PDF or .doc; Smashwords = .doc, etc.), so remember to always have a clean copy or two of your original manuscript.  I kept five:  one for editing (clean manuscript with bookmarks at chapters so I could easily navigate when fact-checking); one to submit to agents (that didn't pan out); one for print publication (page numbers, headings, cover pages, etc.); and two for the electronic version--one in .doc or normal MS Word, and one in .htm format. 

This can get confusing, but if you name them to remember, it makes it easier.  You can also put them in separate files, to keep it straight.  The point is, be prepared to do formatting more than once, especially if you are publishing it in multiple formats.

First, I recommend highly that you stick to MS Word.  It is the easiest to use and has the most widely recognized format.  In fact, to publish to Smashwords, it is almost impossible to get your manuscript accepted without it.  Each version (2003,2007, 2010) each has its benefits and inconsistencies, but they are all generally the same. 

Second, get your manuscript edited.  I will cover this in another post, but it is still an important step you cannot ignore.  It will cost money, but it is worth it.

If  you are seeking to have your book published in print (via Lulu or Createspace or others), I recommend that you download a template for the size of book you are seeking to publish.  This can be everything from a mass market paperback size to a common 6" x 9" trade paperback.  Once you do that, it can be as simple as copying and pasting your book into the template.  You can alternately study the template design (page widths, margins, gutters, sections, headers and footers, etc.) and apply those to your manuscript.  Don't forget to save the document under a different name (instead of "Title.doc," save it as "Title 6x9.doc" or something similar). 

This step can be daunting.  Some publishing service providers offer a service that does the formatting for you for a charge.  In fact, at any one step, Lulu, CreateSpace and other print-on-demand (POD) publishers offer services for a fee.  Often, they are great bargains.  Mostly, if you have the technical savvy, patience, and time, you can do them yourself for free.  I did them myself and saved over $500 total. 

Formatting Your Book for Electronic Distribution

If you are seeking to digitally publish your book, then start with your clean, original manuscript in MS Word.  Select "All" and then "Clear Formatting."  You should see a pretty plain document, with all the fonts removed.  This is the best way to start your formatting for Kindle or Smashwords.  Save the document as a different title--"Title Clear.doc" or "Title Digital.doc" will suffice.  Then, you can go in and create bookmarks, paragraphing, etc.  Re-save the document and then "Save As" html, formatted.  This is the format that Kindle demands in order for it to be published in its newest format.  It can also be converted this way to Epub and Mobi formats (Apple, B & N, etc.) as well.

I could go deeper, give more information, but these are the basics.  To provide more information, this would be a very long post.  I can, however, recommend heavy research.  Each provider (CreateSpace, Kindle Direct Publishing, Lulu, Smashwords, B & N direct publishing) offers TONS of help, links, and information on how to publish.  In addition, there are ebooks online as well as other blogs that offer more in-depth information about formatting.

NEXT UP:  COVER DESIGN

Biggest Loser

I am back now after several days of self-induced Modern Warfare 2 trauma.  My NaNoWriMo has suffered, my children's schooling has suffered and I am still not over my addiction.  Oh well.  I will achieve the goal of 50,000 plus words in November (more, if you count this blog and comments I leave on other blogs).  Also, I have a bone to pick (or a thousand) with the New York Times.  I will limit myself today, however.  Just in time for Thanksgiving.  This post is timely, I guess.

I have watched two seasons of the Biggest Loser.  I enjoyed it, mostly.  I wish the show would get a new editor, but the stories of these people changing their lives really resonates with millions of Americans.  Even the skinny ones.  We need to take care of our bodies.  Or bodies are God's temple.  It's not a vanity thing.  It's not a body-worship thing.  It is a survival thing--a longer, healthier, happier thing.  It is an obedient, God-centered thing. 

I read this article (http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/25/business/media/25loser.html?_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss&src=ig) by the NY Times and felt compelled to put my two cents in.  This type of writing is what is systemic of our society as a whole.  Media is probably the largest contributor to this obsession with finding holes in every grand story.  They deny the divinity of Christ, they question the ethics of philanthropists, they smear the names of athletes and movie stars.  They tear apart the marriages of celebrity "reality" couples.  I realize many of these stories are brought to light by the same media and that is why I wonder.  It reminds me of the Chinese symbol of the dragon swallowing its own tail. 

But, I am casting my net too wide.  I could go on with this for hours and I would probably lose you, Dear Reader.  I want to specifically address this article and the show which it criticizes.  The show, if you are living under a rock, is about overweight people who compete to lose the most weight.  That is the simple version.  Of course, since it is a competition and people have proven they will do anything to get a competitive edge (Press Your Luck, Survivor, Twenty One, Major League Baseball, Olympics, et al), in this, too it seems, contestants have pushed the boundaries of sensibility to win.  As the article states, some contestants have resorted to dehydration to lose weight for the challenges.  The article, however, directs much of its criticism toward the show, as if it is to blame.
 
It would not be unusual for a media event to turn upon itself, or put participants in harm's way.  But, this isn't a Stephen King novella.  The emphasis of the show is to appeal to the popular American desire to lose weight. It points out principles that are already obvious to all of us who are aware that we eat poorly, excercise infrequently and have a poor mental attitude about eating.  It has become an obsession.  We have replaced sustaining our bodies with the needed energy to sustain our activities with eating to solve our problems/heal our hurts/comfort our souls or simply to indulge our love for the flavors.  We lack the proper perspective.  We sit more, do less, and subsequently store more of what we eat.  Pretty simple.

More to the point about my criticism of the article, I submit that to pit one doctor's advice about safe weight loss against another's is a weak argument.  The reader then is drawn naturally to the advice of the more conservative figure because then we can point a finger of blame.  But, wait.  If everyone lost weight at the same rate, where would be the contest?   Where would be the challenge?  Where would be the victory and the inspirational stories of NORMAL, everyday people overcoming the obstacle of obesity? 

And on what data do these doctors base their claims of safe weight loss?  For the doctor working for the show, certainly what these contestants do to their bodies is not normal.  He cannot claim that Joe Normal works out 6 hours each day or restricts caloric intake.  And the doctor from U of M?  Does he market some diet drug or run a weight loss clinic?  His answer can just as easily be linked to gain or profit as the doctor for the show. 

So we are left with what do the contestants say.  We have now five years' worth of contestants, some losing astronomical amounts of weight in a short amount of time.  Some have regressed.  Were we surprised?  Some have maintained.  Are we cynical?  If half of the contestants succeed, then that rate of success is considerably better than the rest of us.  And don't forget, thes contestants WANTED to compete.

Where this article gets my ire mostly is in its unmitigated rally to the poor winner from year one who was denied an appearance on an upcoming show due to his admission to dehydrating himself.  His admission casts little accusation at the show, but the reporter does not let that point escape.  I find this victim mentality abhorrent.  Not that victims do not exist, it is just in the search for a good "story," reporters and other media talking heads work so hard to manufacture the victim often not for the victim's sake but merely to cast aspersions upon some entity.  Of late, the targets of this vilification has been within the media itself, even culminating in books by Jayson Blair (Burning Down My Master's House) and Stephen Glass (The Fabulist) which in their self-pity lash out at their former employees to some extent.  Somehow, the self-vilification of media is reaching new heights. 

In the end, freedom of speech has its downsides, I guess.   And that is why I can express my thoughts in this blog.  Right?  What do you think?  I would be interested to know.  And, not to be outdone by the thousands of bloggers asking this most obvious of holiday questions:  for what are you thankful?

NaNoWriMo

Just stumbled upon NaNoWriMo. That weird acronym stands for National Novel Writing Month. The goal is to write a FIRST DRAFT of a 50,000 word novel. Sounds obscene, but I have determined to do it. My thought is that it is one way to prove that I can actually accomplish pushing out a full-length draft in 30 days.

Contest participants from all over the world enter--last year they logged 1.6 BILLION words! Each author can enter regions they want to represent and choose a "home" region. They enter the # of words they have written periodically, and when they finish the novel, they submit it for verification. Pretty awesome.

If you are interested in neglecting all you hold dear in November, think about joining in. I entered today and am working on an outline and some research to get the thing going. I am actually considering two books--Dark Mountain Mean, a thriller/suspense set in Arkansas and Vengeance Sisters, a fantasy novel. I am leaning toward Dark Mountain Mean, but we will see how the outline goes. I can't actually write the novel until November 1, but am looking forward to getting started.

If I really commit to this, then I guess I will have to put off finishing Corruption in Colombia until January--I had a goal of finishing the first draft by Christmas. Maybe this exercise will embolden me. Then, when I am finished polishing off Corruption in Colombia, I can work the NaNoWriMo novel into something publishable and I'll have TWO books to take to agents with another idea or two up my sleeve.

I am praying now and need more prayers daily to help me do these things and be successful.