Chris Baty's Blog, page 201

30 Covers, 30 Days: Day 11

Today’s cover was designed by Austin Beckstrom, based off of Brianna Crump’s fantastical Y.A. synopsis:

Reality by Brianna Crump

"I’m not sure how safe this is. I’m not sure I should be putting these thoughts, feelings and events into words on a page. Anyone could read this. Anyone. Obviously you are.

Before I start, and give you every juicy detail of my private life, I want you, dear reader, to understand that everything I write here is true. Or else I wouldn’t write it all. It all happened. This is what I am willing to do to protect the ones I love. If given the choice, I would do it all over again. I will never be the same.”

A college graduate finds that she isn’t who she thought she was, makes a few decisions she’ll regret and falls in love with the one person that she can never have. 

About the Designer

Austin Beckstrom first discovered NaNoWriMo in 2007, and has participated one way or another every year since. Sometimes as a writer, sometimes as a designer, sometimes both. Last year he decided to create 30 covers in 30 days for his local WriMos, and is doing it again this year.  It is an honor to be selected as one of the cover designers this year. Austin graduated with a Bachelor’s in Graphic Design at Utah Valley University this year and works as a designer and freelancer in Salt Lake City. He lives in Utah with his writer/editor wife and wild/wondrous son.

CWI Anywhere! Kilbourne Middle School Get Adults and Students Writing Side-by-side

NaNoWriMo’s Come Write In program has partnered with bookstores and libraries around the world for four years. This November, for the first time, we’re welcoming community spaces of all kinds to become novel-writing havens. 

In the continuing adventures of Come Write in Anywhere!, NaNoWriMo intern Steve Genise sits down with Kilbourne Middle School media director Erik Burgeson to talk about bringing writing into the middle schools of America:

Is Kilbourne Middle School part of the Young Writers Program?

We are one of the first schools in our district to participate in YWP. We were joined last year by one of our “feeder” elementary schools, Evening Street Elementary. We would love to see other schools in our district participate. As we get more comfortable with integrating YWP into our language arts curriculum, we would like to invite other elementaries, and the high schools to join us.

That’s excellent! Have you taken part in Come Write In before? 

I attempted to host a Come Write-In last year but did not put much effort into getting out the word. This year will be different as I am inviting writer friends to join us at some of our afternoon sessions for our students. Adults and adolescents writing side by side!

Have any of your students participated in NaNo in the past?

My colleague Tom Strous did all the research about including NaNoWriMo in the Language Arts curriculum. He integrated the lessons with his classes, and all of his students participated. We had students writing during school, during their lunch and break time, as well as after school, sometimes until 5:30 in the evening. Three of them even reached their Young Writers’ goal, with one student finishing the adult writer goal of 50,000 words!

What is your favorite novel topic among the ones people you know have written?

I have seen some really great fantasy stories springing from the minds of middle school students. I think at this age, they get engrossed in these Lord of the Rings-like daydreams, and it spills over into their writing. I seem to remember doing this as a thirteen-year old.

Of course, my personal favorite is post-apocalyptic science fiction, although I have not yet tackled that genre in my own writing… maybe this year…

Just one final question: I hail from Pennsylvania—considering you’re located in Ohio, what percentage of students do you think will write on the impending loss of Ohio State to Penn State on October 26? Will it affect your future participation in NaNo if the loss is particularly devastating?

I cannot comfortably answer without first seeking permission from His Holiness, E. Gordon Gee. Speaking of speculative fiction, I was thinking of encouraging one or two of my young writers to pen a story about a universe in which Ohio State is NOT a dominant force in NCAA football. One suggestion I have for a title is Un-Happy Valley.

Touché. Well thank you very much, Erik! Good luck with your November!

Erik Burgeson is the library media specialist at Kilbourne Middle School in Worthington, Ohio. He also teaches elective classes called “Great Books” and “Graphic Novels.” He remains in denial about the superiority of central Pennsylvania collegiate football programs, but we’re at least glad he’s using it as writing inspiration.

30 Covers, 30 Days: Day 10

Today’s bookish art was designed by Mark Kingsley, inspired from the synopsis written by Young Writers Program participant A.R. Files.

Little Black Riding Hood by A. R. Files

Rouge finds out from the descendants of The Wolf that her great-grandmother, Little Red Riding Hood, was a deadly assassin who killed their great-grandfather.

What do the wolves want from Rouge? Justice and revenge.

About the Designer

Mark Kingsley… received a personal lesson in branding from Ralph Lauren… traveled with the punk band Bad Religion… counts some of the greatest cultural institutions in the United States as his clients… has been designing record covers for over 15 years… lives and works in New York City… can be found at Malcontent.com

"Think of a book special to you, and how much bleaker and poorer your life would be if that one..."

“Think of a book special to you, and how much bleaker and poorer your life would be if that one writer had not existed—if that one writer had not, a hundred times or a thousand, made the choice to write.


You’re going to be that one writer, one day, for somebody you may never meet. Nobody can write that book you’re going to write—that book that will light up and change up a life—but you.”

- sarahreesbrennan, on ignoring the doubters.

30 Covers, 30 Days: Day 9

Today’s cover was designed by Josh Silverman, based on a novel synopsis by J. X. Evans.

120 Days of Gomorrah by J. X. Evans

Humanity is rocked by an unknown phenomenon which transforms people’s faces and bodies based on their personalities and actions. The world’s best scientists are slowly unraveling the mystery, and correlating mutation and cause, while more and more of their number wind up dead under strange circumstances.

Stefan Stefanson is an average man trying his best to live a normal life, and make sense of a world where it’s increasingly possible to know everything about a person just by looking at them.

About the Designer

Josh Silverman is a designer, educator, writer, and start-up investor. In 1997 he founded Schwadesign, Inc., a national network of collaborators who serve clients in project-specific teams. Together they have created award-winning experiences for Blue Man Group, Delta Dental, Friends of Dana-Farber, MassEquality, MIT, Brown University, and many others. Josh is an AIGA Centennial Co-Chair, planning a year-long celebration for the organization beginning in 2014. He enjoys cooking, yoga, electronica, optimism, and getting lost. 

Wrimos Around the World: Of Cancun, Craziness, and Dreadlessness

One of the best parts of NaNoWriMo? The incredible community of writers. This week, we spotlight Rebecca Kubisiak, in Cancun, Mexico:

Rebecca: If my story about living in Cancun was a book, it would be titled About a Boy. The short synopsis? A girl vacations in Cancun and plays an awful game of Frisbee on the beach. A handsome stranger thinks he can show her how to perfect her throw. Unfortunately he’s awful at the game, too. They fall in love and paradise becomes an everyday reality.

While I have yet to find much of a writing community down here, I am trying to rally a group of expats.

What is unique about where you are writing from? 

Rebecca: There are a lot of headaches—but that’s what I love about it. The craziness of it all can be very inspiring. I feel that anything can happen in Cancun, so I’m constantly thinking, “What would happen if a pack of undiscovered dinosaurs started chasing my dogs?”

Or even better: “What would life be like if I received all my bills on time, instead of ending up on various neighbors’ lawns?” The immigrations office alone provides ample fodder for creating the worst villains in any story.

Will you leave us with your best writing tips?

Rebecca: Don’t dread writing time. Try to remember that you are in control of what you write. You’ve got a problematic scene in your story? You can change it. You don’t have to force it or keep it in there. Anything can happen in your writing, so give yourself permission to really let go! 

Write up your goal and stick it somewhere you will always see—whether it be your Facebook profile picture, your screensaver or framed on the nightstand to greet you when you wake. Never lose sight of it and let it propel you forward.

"Learn the one true rule of writing. The rule which is absolutely inviolate and true:1. Yea,..."

“

Learn the one true rule of writing. The rule which is absolutely inviolate and true:

1. Yea, Verily. You Must Sit Down and Write.

1a. Thou shalt not go see a movie instead. Or watch reality TV. Thou shalt write. No. Stop. You don’t need to clean out the fridge right now. Neither dost thou need to sort the recycling. I’m not even kidding. Go and write.

1b. Thou shalt not just think about writing. That is not writing. The worst unpublished novel of all-time is better than the brilliant idea you have in your head. Why? Because the worst novel ever is written down. That means it’s a book, while your idea is just an idle fancy.

1c. Thou shalt not read, either. I know it’s book-related, but it’s not actually writing. Yes, even if it’s a book about how to write. Yes, even if you’re doing research. You can research later. Sit. Down. Write.

”

- Patrick Rothfuss, on breaking the rules of writing.

30 Covers, 30 Days: Day 8

Today’s cover was designed by Bryony Gomez-Palacio, based on a novel synopsis by C. E. Dixon.

I Believe by C. E. Dixon

When Mary I takes the English throne in 1553, life in the small village of Shaftesbury changes drastically. Catholicism once again is the approved religion of the day—but as the faithful of Shaftesbury soon discover, core belief systems don’t necessarily change just because the new Queen decrees it.

Caught between the laws of the land, and the laws of the Lord, the families and parish leaders of Shaftesbury try to live by both—until they realize in the most heart-sickening of ways that you can’t serve both God and man.

I Believe follows 16-year-old Alice Cotton, as well as her best friends Jane Leynham and Thom Aynesworth. Together, they represent the three major religious factions of their time: Anglican, Catholic and Lutheran. While they are each sincere in their own affiliation, the three young friends must learn to navigate the difficulties of the Marian persecutions to find a common ground in their faith.

About the Designer

Born and raised in Mexico City, Bryony Gomez-Palacio is a graphic designer and writer now living in Austin, Texas. She is co-founder of UnderConsideration—a graphic design firm and publishing enterprise all rolled into one—where she manages the behind-the-scenes of the online network compromised of Brand New, FPO, Quipsologies and The Art of the Menu. Bryony has co-authored five books with her husband and partner, Armin Vit—their most popular titles being Graphic Design, Referenced and the self-published Flaunt. Most recently, they conceived and presented the Brand New Conference, the Brand New Awards, the FPO Awards, and a soon-to-be-launched lecture series. Bryony enjoys conducting workshops and lecturing when not tending to her two young daughters.

"Inspiration isn’t what gets your book written. Discipline is. Inspiration is fickle: it shows up..."

“

Inspiration isn’t what gets your book written. Discipline is.

Inspiration is fickle: it shows up when you least expect it, all sexy and exhilarating and reminding you why you put your butt in that chair and turned off Tumblr and forced yourself to trudge through the valley of no-good, very-bad first drafts. Enjoy that inspiration while it’s there. Enjoy it thoroughly because it is rare and precious.

Just don’t expect it to show up every day. The only thing that needs to show up every day is yourself—and your determination to see this through to the end.

”

- Malinda Lo, on writing with discipline.

30 Covers, 30 Days: Day 7

Today’s cover was designed by John DeGore, based on a novel synopsis by Julia Marie: 

Code X by Julia Marie

Diagnosed with a genetic anomaly commonly called Code X, Jude Hawthorne was born on the most wanted list. Keeping his head low is, to say the least, a priority. 

Unfortunately for Jude, he never went off the government’s radar—and they’ve finally caught up with him. Thrown back into a world he thought he escaped, Jude must figure another way out, but this time, for good.

About the Designer

By day, John DeGore is a user experience designer working on a variety of projects from application design to brand and content strategy. By night he co-hosts the Creative Briefs Show, a podcast interviewing people doing creative things about their processes, philosophies, and attitudes. John also serves on the of Board of Directors of AIGA Pittsburgh. He also likes comic books, bad jokes, and social media.