Are you D-A-R-E-D enough to participate?

Hey folks! Are you particpating in the National Novel Writing Month Contest? I recently posted an article from Jeri's blog about a writing activity from November 1, which challenges participants to write a 50,000 word novel within a month.

Last night, I wasn't too sure if I would join the challenge, but when I woke up this morning I felt dared and decided to take a hit. Now, I just signed up on the site, and waiting to start writing. I know it'll be challenging for me, but what do I have to loose?

In this blog, I'll be posting gists about my progress in the contest and hopefully will be reading comments from readers and participants. If you are participating, why not aim at 1700 words per day (that should give you 51,000 words by Nov. 30), that way you'll be confident that you'll have over 50,000 by the end of the month.

Stop thinking...Start writing!

All the best, folks

Grisham's next legal thriller - The Appeal

John Grisham's readers would be waiting eagerly for Grisham's next legal thriller (with a political twist) after The Broker coming out January 29, 2008. The book, The Appeal will be Grisham's 20th work of fiction. Here's the storyline:

In a crowded courtroom in Mississippi, a jury returns a shocking verdict against a chemical company accused of dumping toxic waste into a small town’s water supply, causing the worst “cancer cluster” in history. The company appeals to the Mississippi Supreme Court, whose nine justices will one day either approve the verdict or reverse it.Who are the nine? How will they vote? Can one be replaced before the case is ultimately decided?

The chemical company is owned by a Wall Street predator named Carl Trudeau, and Mr. Trudeau is convinced the Court is not friendly enough. With judicial elections looming, he decides to try to purchase himself a seat on the Court. The cost is a few million dollars, a drop in the bucket for a billionaire like Mr. Trudeau. Through an intricate web of conspiracy and deceit, his political operatives recruit a young, unsuspecting candidate. They finance him, manipulate him, market him, and mold him into a potential Supreme Court justice. Their Supreme Court justice.

The Appeal is a powerful, timely, and shocking story of political and legal intrigue, a story that will leave readers unable to think about our electoral process or judicial system in quite the same way ever again.

Novel November

November is, among other things, National Novel Writing Month. A non profit writing organization, NaNoWriMo, sponsors a group writing activity – the goal of participants is to write a 50,000 word novel in one month. It’s feasible! In 2006, 79,000 people signed up, and 13,000 actually met their 50,000 word goal.

How does it work? Participants sign up on the website, and then they write. A lot. They need to average 1,667 words a day to succeed. They self-report their word count on the website. At the end of the month, they submit a copy of their text through a scrambling filter for word count verification. The submitted text is not read or retained – just counted and discarded. Verified authors “win” – and get a certificate and an icon for their website.

While authors can do prep work, like outlining and research, prior to November, the window for actual writing is Nov 1-30 and starting before that is cheating. If an author’s novel ends up being longer than 50,000 words, the initial 50,000 count as their NaNo entry, but authors can sure keep writing past Nov 30.

Why do people do it? Some want to jump-start their writing career with a focused writing stint. Others feel the deadline pressure makes them more productive. More specifically, many feel the insane deadline keeps them focused on productivity, rather than perfect drafts and constant self-editing. A few feel that the month’s constraints and rapid writing pace actually triggers creativity. Adapted from: Jeri's Blog

Grisham's work inspires me to write

I've been reading John Grisham's novels for some years now and have come to admire his style of writing. On my reading list, I have: The Client (1993), The Street Lawyer (1998), The Brethren (2000) The Summons (2002),and The Last Juror (2004). That's not really bad for a dude who does more of writing than reading:-), even if I wish I could devote more time to reading all of his 20 books to date.

Recently, I started reading The Broker (2005), his most recent legal-thriller. In this book, Grisham tells a story of Joel Backman, a notorious Washington power broker who has spent the last six years in solitary confinement at a Federal Prison. In his power broker days, Backman it seemed, may have obtained secrets that compromise the world’s most sophisticated satellite surveillance system and was seen as dangerous to national security.

With enormous pressure from the CIA, the outgoing President of the United States pardons Backman and within hours he is quietly smuggled out of the country in a military cargo plane, given a new name, a new identity, and a new home in Italy. Eventually, after he has settled into his new life, the CIA leaks his whereabouts to the Israelis, the Russians, the Chinese, and the Saudis.

With it's twists and turns, the book leaves the reader wondering who really will kill Backman. Reading this book has given me an idea of a good story to develop and I've been working my brain for results:-)

A compelling read!

It's Crunching, Folks!

Hi, my name is Loy Okezie! I've been writing for over a decade now and have developed a passion for this art. My blogging experience since 2006 has given me great pleasure and satisfaction and has motivated me to create two niche blogs - WritersCrunch and SocialCrunch.

WritersCrunch is a weblog created on October 27, 2007 that shares resources on writing as a career. The blog posts writing contests, writing jobs and writing events as well as gists about my writing career and inspiration. WritersCrunch will be passionately profiling and promoting successful and aspiring writers as well as best-selling authors who are creatively carving a niche in their writing career.

Currently, I am the editor of WritersCrunch and also involved with other projects including a fiction novel I've been writing - not sure if I should let the cat out of the basket yet:), and it's been fun and rewarding!

If you would like to contact WritersCrunch, please send me an email.