The May NaNoWriMo is about to begin. If you are interested in this great phenomenon, you should definitely head over to the main website and take a look at what it is all about. Also–possibly more importantly–you can pick up the book No Plot, No Problem by Chris Baty (the event’s founder and organizer). If you ever wanted to write a book, but “never got around to doing it” because you are “oh so busy all the time,” then this book/website will greatly assist you in understanding why both of those statements are wrong.

Chris Baty makes a powerful argument in the epilogue of the book about how writing shouldn’t be all about “going for the gold” and making a bajillion dollars. He describes an engineer who loves to play softball after work. He plays softball because its fun and he loves to do it. He will never become rich off of it… He won’t enter the pro leagues. He just does it because of the joy. The same goes for writing. Many people, Baty describes too, slay video game monsters day in and day out to what accomplishment? There is none. It’s just fun.

Look at writing the same way. Have fun with it. If your novel doesn’t work out… So what? It was fun!

So get writing. Right now. Go.

After the March NaNoWriMo (see previous blog post), I am already anxious to get moving on another writing project. Just like J.K. Rowling, my next novel idea just kind of dropped in my head during a random time on a random day… So, this kind of means that my next idea is going to be the “BIG ONE.”

Have you heard of the term “Steampunk?” It’s a kind of fantasy genre which revolves around the idea that electricity was never invented and steam was used as the main means of power. It’s essentially a fantasy genre, but with a kind of clockwork/mechanical twist. That’s way cool, in my opinion. It’s a genre that I feel as though hasn’t been exploited to its full potential. Many people are aware of the genre in some form, but aren’t really active in it as other genres. This is the chance to bring this to the front and make it popular. In other words, it’s an opportunity for me to do something “new” without actually inventing a whole new concept. Jo Rowling, Tolkein and Stephen King all did the same thing. “Make it new.”

I think I have a good idea. Let’s see how it goes in May.

Yeah, I had no idea what it was until a couple of months ago. NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writers Month. I’ve gotten into the habit of saying it by its abbreviated form, and when it slips out in everyday conversation, I am frequently greeted with raised eyebrows and strange, contorted faces.

I came across NaNoWriMo when I was looking for a tool to aid me in my writing skills: I had gotten so washed up in the current realm of Telecommunications and other classes at college that I just didn’t write anymore. And I love to write. I used to write frequently. So, at the book store, I found a slim volume book called No Plot, No Problem by Chris Baty. It was all about “Writing a Novel in 30 Days.” This intrigued me, so I bought it and read it. I was hooked on the idea instantly:

Baty argues that where most wannabe writers ultimately fail is that they get caught up WAY too much in preproduction of their books, and when they begin writing their precious novel, they are ultimately turned off by the lack of quality that inevitably fits into the rough draft. So, Baty suggests to write with a blind eye: Get an idea, and write it with very little planning. It’s all about a deadline: You must finish the book in one calender month–no more. It’s all about quantity, not quality. 50,000 words or more must be written.

The quality comes from the editing. After you finish your book, you then evaluate and determine if it is something worth continuing to work on. Then, you revise, add and edit. It’s all about polishing until it’s nice and shiny.

This idea really worked for me… I wrote a book in January. I wasn’t satisfied though. My first book wasn’t really something that I would want to work toward publishing. So, I scooted it aside and am well underway to write one in the calender month of March. People think I’m crazy. Most people who do NaNoWriMo (which is formally held in November–I’ll write one then too) only do it once a year–even then only 17% actually finish.

I guess its my destiny to be writer.

Ever heard of James Hannigan? No, neither had I until one of my friends brought me to his attention when he was playing the exceedingly awful video game Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. I don’t really play much video games anymore, but I could tell that this game was horrid. But there was one aspect that brought me to my toes: The music was absolutely amazing. It rivaled and surpassed the movie’s theatrical score. How could this be? This was a video game. I quickly looked the guy up and discovered him to be a rising star in the gaming industry as a chief composer of many popular games.

I quickly bought the game soundtrack–I still have never even played the game. But, the soundtrack is beyond comprehensible quality: The style of the music is so surreal, so powerful, and well composed that I think this guy is better than many other Hollywood soundtrack favs like John Williams, Hans Zimmerman, etc.

Have a listen to one of the game’s tracks:

Recently, James composed music for Red Alert 3: Have a listen to the Soviet March. He certainly captures the atmosphere perfectly of “threatening and all-powering” communism:

I hope this guy transitions to doing movie music at some point. He certainly has the talent and many of the popular film composers are becoming incredibly repititive. Let’s get a fresh face like Hannigan in there to compose! Have him do the last Harry Potter movie or something. Just something. He deserves it.

There is a very popular misconception about a little place known as Southpark, Colorado: In the famous television series, Southpark, the main characters are always wearing fuzzy little hats, walking in five feet of snow, and are always subject to freezing temperatures. I don’t think that I have ever seen a warm day in that TV show. However, the other day, my roommate came back from a graduate school interview in Colorado and commented on the abundance of warmth there. He was walking around in a t-shirt and jeans. The college officials commented on the fact that Colorado on a whole has very mild winters–including very little snow–and not-so-humid summers. The sun is shining most days. Does that sound like the Colorado that you know about?

No, it doesn’t. The weather depicted in Southpark is the same exact weather that we experience here in Bowling Green. You freeze here. You never see the sun. On an incredibly rare occasion, you’ll be blinded by the darn thing–but just for minutes–and in those few minutes you will suddenly become confused of where you are. When it’s not snowing here, it’s raining. When it’s not snowing or raining, it’s overcast.

When it’s freezing, Bowling Green has some real skill of pairing it with 20-30 mph winds. When it’s warm, the weather makes sure that you feel completely bowled over by the wind. And God forbid that you forget an umbrella or a jacket one day: If you forget your umbrella, it’ll rain. If you forget your jacket, you’ll freeze.

Of course, there is a myth rolling around here that Bowling Green does see many warm and sunny days between the months of May and August. But I haven’t seen it. Three quarters of the town goes home then. We never see it. I usually go home then. So, it’ll remain just that: A myth. I don’t believe it’s true.