Better Living Through Introspection

Okay, kids…it’s done. Actually, it has just started. I have no plot, no storyline, no idea what I’m doing, but I’ve started. I don’t even have a name for my main character! Right now, he’s suffering under the dubious label of CharacterX. So, in the true spirit of drawing inspiration from others, I’m going to open this process up and ask you all to contribute a few minutes of your time to come up with a name for my novel’s protagonist.

First, go to my profile page and click the “Novel Excerpt” tab (Excerpt? Ha! It’s all I’ve written!) so you can see what’s going on so far.

DC residents might recognize the setting as an abstracted version of our fine city. While I’m likely to find my inspiration here, I’d prefer to not get lost in DC’s geography and history and politics, so I’m decontextualizing (firefox says that’s not a real word) it into a sort of “every city” for the “every man” that I’m sure CharacterX will come to represent.

Like I said, I have no idea where this is going, so be as creative as you want with your suggestions. (I realize this is probably akin to asking the world to name your first child, but I’m hoping the consequences won’t be quite as dire.) Please leave your suggestion in the comments so everyone else can bask in the glory of your genius.

Update: We have a winner, and it is me. Visit the excerpt to see the new name in effect. Thanks to A Certain Someone for her suggestions, and to Sharkripper for his awesome, if inappropriate, suggestion of “Bamboo Hardwood.”

National Novel Writing Month (or, more easily said, though less easily described: NaNoWriMo) has begun! I’ve heard about it for years, but never got around to joining up since I’ve never really considered myself a novelist. Short form fiction and poetry have been more of my bag since that’s what I studied in college, but what have I written lately? Nothing. So, I’ve decided to use NaNoWriMo as a method of jumpstarting my questionable writing skills, skills that have been dormant for far too long.

Luckily, the emphasis of NaNoWriMo is quantity, not quality. In their words, this is “an experiment in pure output.”

Think of November as an experiment in pure output. Even if it’s hard at first, leave ugly prose and poorly written passages on the page to be cleaned up later. Your inner editor will be very grumpy about this, but your inner editor is a nitpicky jerk who foolishly believes that it is possible to write a brilliant first draft if you write it slowly enough. It isn’t. Every book you’ve ever loved started out as a beautifully flawed first draft. In November, embrace imperfection and see where it takes you.

Okay, I’m going for it. Wish me luck!