By Lacey Gunter
Hallelujah, we are half way through the month of November. For all you NaNoWriMo and PiBoIdMo participants, you just have to put in another 15 days and it will all be over. Don't give up now, you can do it!
I have been able to come up with 16 picture book ideas so far. That puts me one day ahead. Which is a good thing, because I also decided to do SkADaMo this year, Sketch A Day Month. It has been quite challenging.
I am not a professional illustrator. I like to draw, and illustrating my own picture book manuscript one day would be a lovely dream. But I am nowhere near the skill level of a professional. Despite all that, I told myself "So what. Just try it." Honestly, it has taken a large amount of time and effort, but I am glad I signed on. I have been pleased with the progress I am making, while at the same time humbled and inspired by other participant's amazing talent.
Obviously, finishing a novel, coming up with lots of great ideas for stories and improving your skills are great benefits to participating in these events. But another benefit I've discovered in the past two years of doing them is the relative ease of networking with other writers and illustrators. These activities allow for natural interactions with people of a variety of skills levels, without having to pay to go to a pricey conference or join a writing association. That alone is worth at least one attempt.
I would love to hear how things are going for everyone else who is participating in one of these activities (see easy interaction).
Wishing you the best of luck in finishing November. Write on!
Hallelujah, we are half way through the month of November. For all you NaNoWriMo and PiBoIdMo participants, you just have to put in another 15 days and it will all be over. Don't give up now, you can do it!
I have been able to come up with 16 picture book ideas so far. That puts me one day ahead. Which is a good thing, because I also decided to do SkADaMo this year, Sketch A Day Month. It has been quite challenging.I am not a professional illustrator. I like to draw, and illustrating my own picture book manuscript one day would be a lovely dream. But I am nowhere near the skill level of a professional. Despite all that, I told myself "So what. Just try it." Honestly, it has taken a large amount of time and effort, but I am glad I signed on. I have been pleased with the progress I am making, while at the same time humbled and inspired by other participant's amazing talent.
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| One of my SkADaMo drawings. You can find the rest of my SkADaMo drawings on my Facebook account. |
Obviously, finishing a novel, coming up with lots of great ideas for stories and improving your skills are great benefits to participating in these events. But another benefit I've discovered in the past two years of doing them is the relative ease of networking with other writers and illustrators. These activities allow for natural interactions with people of a variety of skills levels, without having to pay to go to a pricey conference or join a writing association. That alone is worth at least one attempt.
I would love to hear how things are going for everyone else who is participating in one of these activities (see easy interaction).
Wishing you the best of luck in finishing November. Write on!
How cool, Lacey! Good for you for doing hard things. And your picture is funny and cute, too. :) I'm doing NaNo and have reached about 43,000 words! But I'm in a slump because the scene I need to write next is super emotional. I think I may just skip it and go back after. :)
ReplyDeleteKeep up the great work! :)
I applaud any amount, it takes courage to simply try. This is always my hardest week, I find.
ReplyDelete