On Writing: A Novel in One Day

Yours truly is taking part in the first ever “24-Hour Novel Project,” organized by new media raconteur John Herman.

The event, which takes place Saturday, May 28, is an exercise in collaborative noveling. Herman has lined up 20-odd writers — some of them fancy like Hugo/Nebula winner James Patrick Kelley and Bram Stoker nominee Benjamin Kane Ethridge, others wannabes like me and my Dandy Scotch Brawlers pal Dan Brian. 

Over the past couple of weeks, these folks and more have been submitting ideas to Herman: characters, settings, plot lines, etc. At midnight Friday, Herman will unveil the outline he's concocted using those ideas, assign chapters and let the key pounding ensue. Each writer is responsible for about seven pages. Midnight Saturday, the project ends and a new novel is born unto the world.

The novel will be offered as a free e-book on a Creative Commons license on Sunday, May 30.

Down in Highland Park, N.J., those curious about the project can watch it happen virtually courtesy of a new-media art installation at Nighthawk Books' NewMediator Art Show. Folks who don't want to travel to New Jersey can watch the story unfold on their own computers courtesy of a live link to the Google document we'll all be thrashing on. Most of the action will be happening midday, so checking it out around noon might give you the most bang for your Internet connection. The cover of the book will be designed as the book is underway, and you can watch that, too.

I'm happy to be a part of the project for the challenge, the chance to work with a talented group of folks, and the potential for exposure. It's a bit nerve-racking at the moment. I don't know the genre of the thing, much less the plot. I don't know if I'll be writing a chapter from the middle or filling in the spaces among “happily ever after.” Maybe I'll be writing action. It's completely possible I'll have to work out sex scene between a stamp collector and his maiden aunt's antique hatrack. Only Herman knows for sure, and he isn't telling for another 19 hours. 

If you are interested in following the project or downloading the e-book, you can find the links here. Drop us a line to wish us luck and/or tune in to watch us work; it could be fun.

Folks taking part include: 
M.F. Bloxam - M.F. lives in Portsmouth, NH. She is the author of THE NIGHT BATTLES (The Permanent Press, 2008). Learn more about her work at TheNightBattles.com.

Kathy Boss - The author of two children's books, Kathy, was born in Australia, raised in Canada and now lives in New England. She is currently working on a novel about a "love child" born in the 1970s who, as soon as she is old enough, flees her parents liberal, nomadic lifestyle. She turns mainstream and ends up so buried in the safety of suburbia that she yearns for the freedom of her youth, but cannot forget its price.

Dan Brian - Dan is a former music journalist and current fiction writer. He regularly fortifies his apocalyptic-scenario escape routes and consumes more Taco Bell than healthy. He reviews whiskey on the Dandy Scotch Brawlers podcast and exorcises writing demons on his blog.

Kathleen Cavalaro - Although screenplay writing is her area of comfort, Kathleen has also dabbled in lyrics, short stories and poetry. Her first play, “At My Window,” is set to open the 20th season at the Players' Ring theater in Portsmouth, NH in September 2011 (starring the person below me). 

E. Christopher Clark - Chris is an author, educator, and all-around geek who is passionate about storytelling in all its forms. The founder of the pop culture blog Geek Force Five, his work has also been published in Commonthought, Device, The Bradford ReView, and in Literary Matters, the newsletter of the Association of Literary Scholars, Critics, and Writers.

Deanna L. Cooley - Deanna, 24, graduated from Thomas College in Waterville Maine in 2009 with a Bachelors Degree in Communications - English. She is currently working on completing her first novel.

Benjamin Kane Ethridge - Ben is author of the novel BLACK & ORANGE, recently nominated for a Bram Stoker Award in Superior Achievement in a First Novel. His official website presence is BKEthridge.com. Purchase BLACK & ORANGE, trade paperback or on Kindle via Amazon.

Chuck Galle - Chuck authored STORIES I NEVER TOLD MY DAUGHTER, a memoir of a raucous life before, during, as well after the so-called Sixties. He is currently working on a “cozy” mystery story with an itinerant actor sticking his nose into murders among his cast members. Chuck also acts on stage and screen and has been seen in fifteen TV commercials over the past three years. His website is ChuckGalle.com.

Jasmine Giacomo - Jasmine writes in the fantasy and mystery genres from Washington State, where she lives with her husband and two small children. She also enjoys geocaching, history, science and puzzles, holds a black belt in Danzan Ryu Jujitsu, and particularly enjoys reading and writing fight scenes. Check out her blog at Worlds of Jasmine for free short fiction or purchase books (ebook and print) from Amazon.

Matthew Gold - Matt is a writer of speculative fiction and lover of robots the world over. His last book THE WONDERS AT YOUR FEET deals with themes of murder, fame, and infamy alike and can be purchased through Amazon and other online retailers. Check out his blog, where he writes about technology, politics, and mental illness.

R.W.W. Greene - Rob is a former journalist turned high-school writing teacher now pursuing his MFA in fiction writing at Southern New Hampshire University. He writes fiction and records podcasts (See: DandyScotchBrawlers.com). Peek inside his pulsing brain at his blog.

John Herman - 24 Hour Novel Project creator John is an artist, writer, and web adventurer. His projects often explore the crossroads of society and technology. He is also working on his first (solo) novel. His website is JohnHerman.org. Follow him on Twitter: @johnherman 

Jasmin Hunter - Jasmin is a freelance writer and photographer with a weekly article in the Seacoast Scene. She has also contributed stories and photos to Experience Magazine, The Portsmouth Herald, Fosters, The Wire and Portland Phoenix. Other credits include the monologue Sundance recently performed at The Players' Ring Theatre in Portsmouth, NH.

Steve Johnson - Steve is a writer, actor, radio DJ for WSCA 106.1 FM and producer of charity storytelling event A Winter’s Tale. He is currently pursuing a side career as an amateur perfumer and fragrance writer. 

James Patrick Kelly - Jim has written novels, short stories, essays, reviews, poetry, plays and planetarium shows. His short novel BURN won the Science Fiction Writers of America's Nebula Award in 2007 and he has won the World Science Fiction Society’s Hugo Award twice: in 1996, for his novelette “Think Like A Dinosaur” and in 2000, for his novelette, “Ten to the Sixteenth to One.” His website is JimKelly.net.

Christopher Klemmer - Christopher Klemmer is a sketch comedy writer for Portsketch and lives in Portsmouth, NH. Whether it be alarming fellow middle school peers with disturbing stories in creative writing classes or writing press releases as a sports information director in college, writing has been a constant thread in his life. His favorite book is THE STAND by Stephen King but he feels his life is more like "The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson.

Margaret McAleese - Margaret’s full-length play, There's a Girl in Boston, was commissioned by Yellow Taxi Productions in Nashua, NH (considered for the American Theatre Critics Association's New Play Award). Her ten-minute play, Captured, was selected for New Hampshire Theatre Project's New Works Festival, and her short play, Seven Sisters, appeared in An Evening of Steampunk and Robot Theatre at The Players' Ring in Portsmouth, NH. Margaret's essay, From Haystacks to Handbrakes, was the first-place winner of the "My Brooklyn" annual writing festival at the Brooklyn Public Library in 2007.

Joe Stanganelli - Joe is a Boston-based writer, communications consultant, and attorney. In addition to writing scripts, songs, and stories, Joe writes about business and technology topics for United Business Media and other outlets. Follow him on Twitter: @JoeStanganelli.

Laura Thomas - Laura lives in beautiful Portsmouth, NH with her boyfriend and their two spoiled dogs. This is her first time working on a novel; usually when she tries to sit down to write she is distracted by the sudden need to do laundry, drinking more coffee, and wondering if she could survive alone in Jurassic Park. Laura is passionate about improv and sketch comedy; find out more about her group Portsketch.

On Writing: This is My Brain on Whiteboard

 

     My big project du jour is a novel, set in a near-future dystopia. The novel has three main characters, each coping with the end of their world in different ways. The chapters alternate from character to character, showing their respective journeys. 

    The novel has its roots in a short story I wrote that features only one of the characters.  Like any piece of writing, the story has changed a lot in the months since I started it. For the first five months I wrote sequentially, chapter 2 after chapter 3, etc. In recent months, I took the novel apart and started working each arc separately. When I finish all three arcs, I'll braid it all together again and should have a 66-chapter, 300-odd-page draft.

      To help me keep things straight, I put a color-coded chapter list on the Whiteboard above my desk, with a one- or two-word reminder of important events in each chapter.

      If nothing else, it reminds me that I've come a long way — and still have a fair hike ahead.

Teaching: Ain't No Fleas on Me

There’s an old adage that, “if you lie down with dogs, you get up with fleas.” Your Dad probably used it, or something like it, when he caught you hanging out with the so-called wrong crowd. Friedrich Nietzsche’s Dad probably used the line on him and Nietzsche prettied it into “When you stare into the abyss, the abyss stares back into you.”

In 33 days I’ll watch a class of high school seniors claim their diplomas and head out into whatever awaits them. At least one of these guys is going to M.I.T. Another is headed to my alma mater, Wheaton College in Massachusetts. One young woman is headed to Tufts; another is bound for the Marines.

More than a few will be grabbing their diplomas and running as far away from organized education as they can get. Some will come back, others will tell anyone who asks that they hated school and all it made them do.

Most of these students don’t get enough sleep at night. They spend too much time on Facebook or playing video games. Few of them read for fun. Some of them play guitar. They’re selfish, ignorant jerks. Many of them have never changed a tire or washed a dish. A couple of them have saved lives. They’re lazy. They build houses for the less fortunate. More than a few drink and smoke pot. A bunch of them have had sex. One girl started an origami club. Several score think deep thoughts and worry about the future. A small percentage is half convinced world will really end in 2012. I’d say half of them are convinced life is worth living and the other half are still waiting to see. Maybe 1 out of 50 can name all nine Supreme Court justices.

They’re enlightened angels. They can’t spell. Two of them got together to start a poetry blog. A few of them have thought about killing themselves; some of them have tried. Some want to change the world; many have let the world change them. They’ve never lived without the Internet and can’t separate themselves from their cell phones. A lot of them have no grasp of the “Protestant work ethic”; they let Mommy and Daddy pave the way for them. One of them dropped by the other day to show me a Shakespearean sonnet he’d spent weeks working on. One guy has set up a nonprofit to make sure people in Third-World countries get fresh water. Some of them believe in God and want to spread the word. Others don’t believe in anything and don’t give a fuck who knows.

This is my abyss; these are my dogs. I’ve spent the last five years with adolescents crawling through my brain, impressing me, disappointing me, testing me, teaching me, bugging the hell out of me and leaving me stunned.

And I am a better man, a better person, for it. I spend every work day with them, a slowly calcifying stone in the company of clouds of pure, untapped potential, spinning storms of Could-Be. They could be parents. They could be doctors. They could be criminals. They could be heroes. They could be the generation that gets it right. They could be the last generation that had a chance of pulling us back. They could be the generation that blows it.

Work with them. Learn from them. Be open to them. Engage them and offer them your best. Make friends with them and help them see their worth.

Odds are, they’ll turn out just like us. But maybe they’ll shake off the fleas they caught in our company, and be better.

The Blues: Ghost of Poems Past

     I wrote this poem in 1988, when I was a junior in high school. Ronald Reagan was in office in those days, and I was fairly sure our world would end, not with a whimper, but with a bang. I use this poem in my creative writing class as a sacrificial lamb, showing my students how to critique an adolescent's poetry courtesy of the Rob Who Used to Be. The poetry unit started May 2, so I dug the poem up, dusted it off again, and made copies. Re-reading it, I find I'm still not sanguine about our chances.

Our Finest Hour

This is mankind's finest hour,

a chance to show our greatest power.

One push of the button and the show begins,

a debut that goes on until the world ends.

Floating through the air with the greatest of ease,

here come the trained missiles, eager to please.

They hit their marks with timing precise,

and explode in a fury, a killing device.

The light and the smoke make a fatal celebration,

as the mushroom clouds spread joyous radiation.

A glad cry is silenced by the brilliant white heat,

not a sound in the place as the nuke does its feat.

A parade of the dead marches 'round center ring,

as the Ringmaster laughs at this glorious thing.

The life of mankind is an extinguished flame,

and there is no villain, no one thing to blame.

The performers, all clowns, lie dead on the floor.

The Ringmaster whispers, “That's it folks, no more.”

He staggers, he stumbles, he drops to his knee,

his whole body shakes as he cackles with glee.

Gone is the progress we thought we had made.

Our mark on the Earth has started to fade.

The farce is now over, the end is a fact.

The curtain is closing, we've ended our act.