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Things you can use a NaNoWriMo for (that aren’t writing a novel)

27567966786_7db93a3f2dNovember is coming soon. For some people, this means growing a moustache. For others (like me), it means thinking about writing – and perhaps, this year, it will mean writing a lot more. So if you cannot afford writing coaching, NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) can be just the sort of month-long boot camp you need. But if you’re not into novels? Relax, you can still use NaNoWriMo to your advantage.

0. How NaNoWriMo works

It’s best explained on the project’s official site. Head over there soon, to sign up and get access to all the wonderful info. Basically, the goal is 50 thousand words in one month. They will keep checking on you throughout the month, and you may get access to meetups – which are also a good way to sit together and write.
Now, for those of us who ain’t writing novels this year, here’s what you can use the 50K words for.

1. Write lots and lots of blog posts

You’re reading a blog right now. Why not start writing one? For yourself, for your friends, for the whole damn world. No ideas? Here’s a brilliant idea generator: Claudia Altucher’s Become an Idea Machine. Read this and just follow the steps. It’s easier than you think.

2. Write a damn good diary

This is something that 20th century writers did AS WELL AS write novels: they sat down and wrote damn good diaries. I’m talking publishable stuff here. My favourite is Gombrowicz (read this New Yorker piece about how this came about), but there are plenty more. You don’t need to aim for publishing, though. Just make sure you sit down each day and write down what happened, how it made you feel, and what you were thinking of. Because the word limit is quite ambitious, you will be forced to write quite a lot – so think a lot about your events, too!

3. Just mess about with writing

Stream of consciousness. Really weird fan-fiction. Bad erotica. Bilingual writing? Essays? That thing you always wanted to write – could just happen this month. And really, the word limit needn’t bother you too much here. If you’re finding stuff out, that’s the important bit. My advice here would probably be: don’t edit. Keep writing, keep writing wrong, until you hit the right bits in your writing. There’s time to edit later when the month is through.

4. Write long letters to lots of friends

Who does this any more? I find it’s so much easier to send emojis and GIFs to people now, and enjoy this. But I used to write letters, lots of them, up and down the country. So why not use NaNoWriMo to discover again how it felt? Prepare your friends for an onslaught of epistolary talent – and fire away.

5. Really describe your goals

It’s funny how most people’s Really Big Ideas and Really Deep Thoughts could fit on a Post-It.
Imagine you have 50 thousand words to really describe your goals. That house you’re dreaming of building: sit down, each night, and describe it wall by wall, smell after smell, one square meter at a time. By the time you’re done, you may feel much better about the goal you’re chasing, much more committed to a vision that is now more detailed – or you may realise how hard it will be to achieve. Either of these beats “build that house” scribbled on a mind-map somewhere.

6. Write fifty good short stories

This one really resonates with me. Partly because I don’t believe that life works like a novel, and partly because I’m just too agitated to focus on one big story. If that’s your thing as well, focus on writing fifty good short stories during a NaNoWriMo. This gives you a thousand words per story – good enough for a simple episode, and you don’t have to feel like a Great Writer to get that done, right? In time, these may arrange themselves into themes, story arcs…characters may repeat, or you may find that different names you’re using could just describe one person, one place. Voila: stories blend into novels, just like that.

7. Review the best books / films / games of your life

Get an account on a review website and get going. Every night, write a thorough review for a book, film, TV series – something that really changed your life. Maybe you’ll hit 50K words, maybe you won’t. But the other thing that will happen is much better: you will have the chance to re-live the stories and experiences that moved you so much. And to share it with others. The way those websites work, by the end of the month you will have plenty of new recommendations for more fantastic moments – and plenty of reader / viewer friends to discuss them with!
Photo Credit: karlhols via Compfight cc

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Language Learners – How Do You Read?

So many books, so little time

One of the greatest joys of language learning is being able to read. Being bilingual means twice as many stories, twice as much joy – from reading in two languages. But the day-to-day practice of this is a bit more complicated. So what does your reading look like, polyglots? And what could it look like?

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Communication Strategies – Live Hangout, Good Articles, Your Stories

Hi all – today’s post is not really full of text 🙂 It’s a quick summary of a live session that took place this morning to supplement my Udemy course. The topic was “communication strategies” and I’d love your feedback on that!

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How to be an ELT (English Language Teaching) Writer – an #ELTChat summary

8020851980_6a0602af45_bThis is a summary of an hour-long Twitter chat that took place on Wednesday, 27 November. ELTChat is a pow-wow for teachers of English – and each week, two chats are held on a variety of language-related topics. Even if you’ve never taught or learned English, grab a strong coffee (tweets fly fast, stay sharp) and jump in. Click through to find out how: here’s the main page and here’s the Facebook community.

Disclosure: The topic of this chat was “How to be an ELT writer.” I work for one of the publishing companies mentioned during the chat. For the sake of clarity and just to be OK with the whole topic, most names of ELT publishing companies are missing from the summary. Go & check out the transcript to find out more (well worth a look). Right. With all the preambles done…

1. Where to begin? Useful starting points for ELT writers

We’ve been fortunate to have a few chatters around who write, used to write or supported writers in some way. This meant that tips for starting out and accessing useful resources or platforms were shared easily. In recent years, there has been more and more support for those who want to start out with their big ELT writing idea. Here’s just a handful:

IATEFL Materials Writing SIG (Special Interest Group) – this community supports and brings together ELT material writers. Suggested by @SueAnnan, but well-loved by many #ELTchatters.

English Teaching Professional or OneStopEnglish – both platforms accept lesson ideas and resource submissions, and can become useful springboards for the illustrious writing careers we all dream of. Suggested by @teflerinha.

ELT Teacher 2 Writer – a database for teachers who want to write. Big publishers signed up and reportedly use the database for their talent search – can you afford not to take that chance? Suggested by @ShaunWilden.

“How ELT Publishing Works” – @JoeMcVeigh reviewed and suggested this book.

2. What does it take to be a writer?

This was much harder to explain, and difficult to summarize – again, the transcript is brimming with ideas. A few key points to mention here:

Knowledge of rubrics and levels at which vocabulary items are likely to be used – this, suggested by @teflerinha, sounds like a technical and demanding skill that inexperienced ELT writers could struggle with.

– “Imagine materials used in settings other than your own by teachers other than you.” – @JoeMcVeigh and a statement you can’t disagree with.

A good relationship with the team around you – we spent quite some time discussing the great (and not so great) editors, as well as the joys and pains of working in a profit-driven team whose members you often don’t meet for a lot of the time.

3. Questions and doubts

For all its splendor and irresistible allure (okay, go with me on this one), ELT writing does raise a few issues and we certainly didn’t hold back here. Just a selection of the more interesting questions – feel free to tackle them in the comments below:

Are non-native speakers good enough to write ELT materials? – @HanaTicha asked and #ELTChat responded with a resounding yes. This is where experienced editors help you out…

Should you aim for big, global publishers, or use your experience in local contexts? – The situation described by @naomishema – and the resources mentioned by @Marisa_C – both seem to work well in the regions / settings where they were prepared.

– How do today’s aspiring writers prepare for the future in a long-term planning industry? – This is what I really wanted to know. Assume that the idea you have today will be published in 2015 (if you’re lucky and persuasive). What will have changed by then? (A quick un-related blog post to give you the idea of what I mean)

4. Famous last words

I’ll just leave them here. Reflect, respond and make sure you make the next #ELTChat – there are two every Wednesday.

– “Publishing is a business and operates with business principles. Sometimes a shock to the system for those of us from educational background”

– “You will learn a lot with every job you do. That’s one of the pleasures.”

 

(Photo credit: eltpicssome rights reserved)

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Write Right – Language Learning and the Prolific Polyglots

One of the nicest perks of my job is being able to listen to talks given by language learning experts, authors and enthusiasts. The inspiration is always there – and frequently turns into a blog post. This one is about different ways in which writing can help your foreign language study – if done right.

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Google Drive and Docs for Language Learners

My first language learning application was developed in 1990. A lot has changed since then. But the good ones – the really useful ones – have a lot in common with that 1990 oldie. Click through for a quick overview of how Google Drive and Google Docs fit into that category.