Tag: Writing marathon

Locked in a Historical Carnegie Library for 72 hours

Lori Twining 4 Comments
Sunrise from the Carnegie Wing ~ Lori Twining
Sunrise from the Carnegie Library Wing in Owen Sound ~ Lori Twining

Some people call me a Librophile and others stick with labeling me as a Bibliophile, but no matter how deep my love goes for books, I seriously can’t get enough of them. I have this obsessive compulsion to read ALL the books in this world before I die… I’m in panic mode, trying to make this happen. I buy them, borrow them, beg for them, and at the moment, I hesitantly draw the line at stealing them (although, I’d have a whole lot more time to read if I was sitting in a jail cell all day. This is quite thought provoking and I should investigate this).

Thirty years ago, when I was choosing my career path, I should’ve chosen to become a LIBRARIAN. That would have solved my fascination for wanting to run my hands along the spine of each book I come across, to sniff the pages, to read ALL the words… of course, I’m not sure if I would’ve been able to concentrate on doing any actual library work. I just would’ve wanted to READ. All day. Every day. I would’ve been fired the first day on the job. Yes, I admit I have a small problem. There should be a support group for people like me. Read more

Writers Can Make A Difference

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2015 Muskoka Novel Marathoners at Nuit Blanche in Huntsville - Photo credit: BL Storrie
2015 Muskoka Novel Marathoners at Nuit Blanche in Huntsville – Photo credit: BL Storrie

I AM A WRITER! Or so I tell myself, almost every day.

That doesn’t sound like a problem, but it is. My dilemma is I don’t always write every day. Sometimes, I can go a week or two, without writing a single word of any real relevance to my current work-in-progress. Instead, I’m using my spare time to help other writers in a very unique way, by making decisions, by composing emails of encouragement, by pumping up the writers and getting them excited. You see, I volunteer as the Muskoka Novel Marathon Writer Liaison, and if that’s not enough, I also do all their social media postings and tweets, plus take care of their website for the whole year. I encourage the 40 participating writers to fundraise for the YMCA Literacy Programs, because I believe strongly that everyone should be able to experience the Magical World of Reading. This year, we raised over $29,000 for these programs that help people who are struggling with basic reading, writing, math and computer skills. This makes me feel pretty good. That’s over $6000 more than last year’s amount. I’m definitely smiling.

This past weekend, we finally experienced the moment, where all 40 writers gathered to spend 72-hours straight in one room… TOGETHER! Seriously, it is one of the best writing weekends of the year for me. It is an experience like no other adventure that I’ve ever taken part in. 40 people that range from quiet and non-social, to wacked out crazy people, who will light their hair on fire, just to get a few laughs (see picture above). Besides writing, we hug, we cry, we laugh, we walk barefoot, we sing, we dance, we scream, we whisper… and most of all, we have fun together. What’s not to love?

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Experiencing Literary Nirvana

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keep-calm-its-only-a-first-draft-1To a writer, the nirvana experience is better than sex… and I’m not joking.

Most writers are looking for a way to pump out their first novel, as quickly as possible. A fast first draft would be a gift, afterwards you can spend a full six months to a year revising it, if you like. Maybe, you already have a novel, shoved in your desk drawer, you’ve spent the past seven years editing or ignoring? Don’t feel too bad; I have approximately fourteen of them pressed into a few binders, nestled nicely on the bottom shelf of my office bookshelf.

Yes, you read that correctly, I said fourteen. Or is it fifteen?

You see, now I’ve lost count. Anyway, with each novel that I have attempted to write, I get a little bit better at figuring out the best way of approaching the creation of a novel. Practice, practice, practice is how you win the big publishing contract, or so I am told. In my opinion, trying to write the first draft of your novel all at one time is definitely the way to go. A deadline. That’s the true secret. You sit down in your chair and you pound the keyboard until time is up.

How do you make that happen?

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