Wednesday, November 05, 2014

The Insecure Writer's Support Group and Fat Gary

It’s time for another edition of The Insecure Writer’s Support Group, founded by Ninja Captain, Alex J. Cavanaugh.
 
Many are knee-deep in NaNoWriMo this month. Every year, I’ve thought about participating, and every year, I am way too busy in October to prepare. Even with my current writing project, I have not outlined the final story in enough depth to write it. It’s not like I couldn’t write 50,000 words in one month. I wrote 205,000 in less than 6 months once, so 50,000 in one month is something I could accomplish.

To encourage those of you who have taken the plunge, or maybe you’re just writing on your own, here are some writing quotes:

Substitute ‘damn’ every time you’re inclined to write ‘very;’ your editor will delete it and the writing will be just as it should be.
Mark Twain

The road to hell is paved with adverbs.
Stephen King

If my doctor told me I had only six minutes to live, I would not brood, I would type a little faster.
Isaac Asimov

Don’t tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass.
Anton Chekhov

Start writing, no matter what. The water does not flow until the faucet is turned on.
Louis L’Amour

You can make anything by writing.
C. S. Lewis


And one more Things That Scare Fat Gary photo...


The Loch Ness Monster!

46 comments:

S.A. Larsenッ said...

I'm with you - no NaNo this year. I've only participated once. With the kids' having so many school days off because of holidays and such, November is a tough month. But all the best to those participating! Great quotes.

ELAdams said...

Great quotes! I'm taking part this year, but I've never "won" before. I think the important thing is getting the words down, even if you don't make the goal!

Jo said...

Love the Isaac Asmimov quote in particular.

I thought Fat Gary went the way of all flesh? Very scary monster.

Annalisa Crawford said...

I did NaNo once, and hardly saw my family all month! I'm editing and revising at the moment, so it's not a good time for me this year. Maybe one day though...

shelly said...

I've only done NaNo once. Was hoping to do it again this year. But my computer had been back and forth to the Skinny-computer-guy.

Tamara Narayan said...

I love those quotes, especially the Stephen King one. I'm not a NaNo person either. A huge volume of typed words in a short time doesn't fit my writing style. I have to let things simmer, and would hate to rush something and end up with 50 K of garbage.

Susan Gourley/Kelley said...

You are a fast writer. And Nessie is too cute to be scary. I love Twain quotes.

Cathrina Constantine said...

I love quotes. I'm definitely stealing some of them. I could never join NaNo, I don't write fast enough.

Anonymous said...

Show me the glint of light - I love that because it's so true and something I need to work on in my book. Show, Elsie, show!!

Elsie

Hart Johnson said...

Some good inspiration stuff in there. I LOVE NaNo, but then I've made it part of my cycle. I like it as a deadline (for having something else out of the way) and I think my books are better when I make myself wait to start.

Cherie Reich said...

Great quotes!

I'm not participating in NaNo this year, and I must admit I miss it. It's a great way to get words down.

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Be afraid, Fat Gary, be very afraid.
I like Twain's quote!

Karen Jones Gowen said...

I do my own personal NaNo, using November to get focused and make progress on whatever I'm working on, which right now is my next novel in my Diamond series. BTW, Diane, thank you for the review of Afraid of Everything!!!

AJ Lauer said...

Hah the Mark Twain quote. Love it.
I am doing NaNo, though it's going a bit slow. I'll definitely be playing catch-up this weekend. Thanks for the quotes of encouragement :)

Stephen Tremp said...

I'll take Anton Chekhov's words to heart: Don’t tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass.

I'm in the editing stage of my current WIP (along with NaNo) and am changing scores of such statements to show rather than merely tell.

Rawknrobyn.blogspot.com said...

I often think of Checkhov's quote, though I can never quite remember how it's worded. Thank you for all these great reminders.

I'm loving the Fat Gary series. Don't quit now. He hasn't been scared into pumpkin pie yet.

Be well, Spunk. Smiles.

David P. King said...

I have a separate goal in mind for this NaNo while the writing figures itself out. Seriously, that is a winning pumpkin! :)

SK Anthony said...

Love these! I've always liked Chekhov's quote, his and Twain's are true and both good advice :)

S.K. Anthony: My Writing Quirks—IWSG (16)

Sarah Foster said...

I wish I could write as fast as you can! I was going to do NaNo but decided not to at the last minute. Just too many things working against me.

Chrys Fey said...

I'm not doing NaNO, but I still really enjoyed those quotes. :)

Madeline Mora-Summonte said...

Love love love that Minion! Makes me smile. :)

And the Twain quote is great.

Madeline @ The Shellshank Redemption

J E Oneil said...

I still think Fat Gary is hilarious :D.

Lynda R Young as Elle Cardy said...

lol, I do love those quotes. I won't be able to do NaNo this year either!

kimlajevardi.com said...

That many words in six months? I bow down to the word count master. ;)

Dean K Miller said...

Nessy's looking good. I'm a non-NaNo-er myself. Someday maybe, (yeah, right!)

Unknown said...

haha, I love those! funny how King has always been so adamant about telling writers not to use adverbs, but he does use them quite a bit himself... though he knows how to use them, so instead of nixing them, I'd say... use them like the King! :-)

Jeff Chapman said...

Love the Mark Twain quote and the pumpkin. I've never seriously considered NaNo, because I know I would fail.

dolorah said...

Love those quotes; and Fat Gary :)

I have not participated in NaNo; thought i was going to this month since I'm jobless, but I don't have the initiative to come up with a story concept - or to write on something barely started.

Hey, are you up for a guest post on my blog? I've been thinking about re-submitting an already published story, and also one that was accepted but has not been published and I've had no contact with the publisher in close to a year. I was going to ask your advice, then thought others might be interested in this topic too and so I'm hoping you would be interested in a guest post on this topic.

My email is still donnahole at gmail dot com.

Thanks Dianne. Have a good weekend.

LD Masterson said...

I was never a big fan of his work but I love that Louis L’Amour quote.

I'd like to try NaNo someday, but why does it have to be November. I'm already knee deep in Christmas preparations by November. (I'm very big on Christmas.)

Denise Covey said...

I like this especially for NaNo:
Start writing, no matter what. The water does not flow until the faucet is turned on.
Louis L’Amour

Yep, although I think I'll feel better if I insert the odd 'damn' every so often.

Tammy Theriault said...

I would never have time for NaNo. tis life! but I love the quotes my eager little red head :D

Hilary Melton-Butcher said...

Hi Diane - great quotes ... and for all those aspiring NaNoers ... they'll achieve. Clever idea about the 'damn' too ... good luck with your own project outside of Nano .. cheers Hilary

Anonymous said...

Love that CS Lewis quote~

Anonymous said...

Thanks for sharing these quotes. Inspiring post. Love it!

Tyrean Martinson said...

I love those quotes!!! They are some of my favorites. I'm also a fan of the Things That Scare Fat Gary photos - they are hysterical. :)

I'm into NaNo this year, and I'm going for double - working on two projects at once, which is scary. I'll see how this time around goes . . .

Sheena-kay Graham said...

The pic made me laugh. I say make me interested in the moon first. Because I could care less how it shines off that piece of glass if the story is boring.

Heather M. Gardner said...

Good tips. I like the 'damn' one. :)

Sorry Fat Gary! You will be missed!

Heather

H. R. Sinclair said...

Great inspirational quotes! Love Nessy too.

Tara Tyler said...

i'm working on my own private nano in case i get too busy with my new job that starts monday...
thanks for the encouraging quotes - twain has a special place in my sarcastic writer's heart!

Anonymous said...

Wonderful quotes. I'm not doing NaNo, but I'd like to one day.

Vanessa Morgan said...

This is always one of the busiest months for me, so no NaNo. One day I'll participate though.

Joylene Nowell Butler said...

I'm late! My dang internet keeps freezing. Just wanted to add that these are great quotes. And no I'm not doing NaNo. Haven't yet. I'm so undisciplined.

Anonymous said...

Takes me 3 months to draft a novel, so no NaNo for moi.

Christine Rains said...

Great quotes! I had to skip NaNo this year, but I miss it. Poor Gary looks terrified! :)

Nicki Elson said...

Just roll over 'im, Gare.

Damn good quotes (see what I did there? I'm finding Asimov's to be quite true - so many stories to tell only so much time in which to tell them. No time to brood!

TBM said...

Over 200,000 words in six months. Wow!