NaNoWriMo Dreamwidth Writers

There are 75 days left until the start of National Novel Writing Month! To celebrate, Nano Writers announces our final contest:


One of the cool features available to NaNoWriMo writers is the option to upload your book's cover artwork to your novel info page. Many writers find their cover art a source of inspiration for writing (and finishing) their NaNo novel!

Creating a book cover for your novel is fun and easy! Check out our quick tutorial on How to Create your own Book Cover in Four Easy Lessons ( here! )

Details for the Cover Up Contest may be found ( here! )

Any questions about either the book cover tutorial or the Cover Up contest or other comments or suggestions are welcomed! Our ongoing Build a World project continues tomorrow with part 17!

Until then, keep writing!

There are 130 days left until the start of NaNoWriMo, Nano Writers!

As this month's focus is on our characters and characterization, let's take a brief look at William Shakespeare's Sonnet 130, the Master's pithy characterization of his mistress:

My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun;
Coral is far more red than her lips' red;
If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun;
If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head.
I have seen roses damask, red and white,
But no such roses see I in her cheeks;
And in some perfumes is there more delight
Than in the breath that from my mistress reeks.
I love to hear her speak, yet well I know
That music hath a far more pleasing sound;
I grant I never saw a goddess go;
My mistress, when she walks, treads on the ground:
And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare
As any she belied with false compare.

It's been said that "Shakespeare's Sonnet CXXX mocks the conventions of the garish and flowery courtly sonnets." Yet I must admit that sometimes I have resorted to a little of the "garish and flowery" myself when trying to hit my NaNoWriMo word count.

Anyone else?

Perhaps this list may help the next time you're doing a little word padding (or just plain stuck looking for just the right word for your protagonist):

130 Positive Personality Adjectives

Scott Adams, author and creator of the Dilbert comic strip, also writes that: "...if you read the list of positive personality adjectives quickly, it actually makes you feel slightly upbeat. It's a subtle form of hypnosis."

And lest our bad guys feel neglected, there's also a list of common Negative Personality Adjectives that can be found here.

More later this week! Part 2 for What a Character! coming up next!

And as always... keep writing!