Welcome to November, now start writing
We’re on day two of November, and despite daylight savings time, you may already be behind. That is, if you’re a writer. November is chock full of writing-themed challenges, most of which involve writing at breakneck speeds.
You may already be familiar with National Novel Writing Month, a challenge to the writing community to write 50,000 words by the close of the month. It’s “thirty days and nights of literary abandon!” and Twitter is already alight with tweets from novelists cranking away.
In response to NaNoWriMo, a group has declared November to be National Blog Posting Month as well. The challenge here? Post one time daily for the entire month of November. According to Twitter, the challenge is being met.
So, whether you’re interested in writing a novel or just getting your blog back in shape, you’ve got options. But, you better get cracking, the month is already 2 days old. So, here are some ideas to help get the creative juices flowing:
Thinking negatively can boost your memory, study finds
“Whereas positive mood seems to promote creativity, flexibility, cooperation, and reliance on mental shortcuts, negative moods trigger more attentive, careful thinking paying greater attention to the external world,” Forgas wrote.
You could go so many directions with this. First, it’s an interesting story to dissect based on the headline. The actual study offered some interesting details on the benefits of both positive and negative thinking, but then again, “Balancing positive and negative thinking boosts memory and creativity equally, study finds” is not a very compelling headline.
World’s largest cruise ship squeezes under Danish bridge
The 20 story tall ship, The Oasis of the Seas narrowly cleared the Great Belt Fixed Link while departing on it’s maiden voyage. This is really good news, and passengers should revel in this for a while. After all, the cruise is headed to Florida, which means it’s all downhill from here.
Honor Sandwich day — Vote for the Greatest Sandwich in America
Go meta! Use November’s tribute to writing to pay tribute to another November dedication — sandwiches! November 3rd is the home of the oft-overlooked Sandwich Day. The good folks over at lemondrop have compiled a list of 16 sandwiches for their readers to vote on. A friend of mine has a published poem titled, “Ode to the Sandwich” which you can find in his book, The Date Fruit Elegies. Paying tribute to the art of food while making social commentary is possible, people!
Surprise! Cost cutting boosts Ford’s profits to almost $1bn in 2nd quarter
In a total shocker, Ford has announced nearly $1 billion in profit during the 2nd quarter. The company is crediting cost cutting, but did cash for clunkers play a part?
Obama warns more job losses coming
On a sour note, President Obama has warned of more job losses looming in the future. I’m not sure about you, but now might be a good time to take advantage of November’s writing-centric themes. Just think, this could lead to selling your novel, or open the door to the next breakthrough blog that takes the Internet by storm.
We’re taking the challenge, and I’m going to get things rolling on my own personal blog as well. We’ll see how that goes.
So, what are you waiting for? Start writing! And be sure to share your work in the Creative Writing group on Current.com.
