Chris Baty's Blog, page 56

Camp NaNoWriMo: The Musical!

This July, Camp NaNoWriMo is getting a little bit weirder. A little bit louder. The theatre kids have arrived. It’s time for Camp Nanowrimo: The Musical! Camp Counselors Morgan Smith and Abigail Greenwood will challenge you to write a musical in one month. And to add to the fun—they’ll be writing along with you! Today, Morgan shares what you’ll need to begin writing a musical:

Hi there! So you want to write a musical. 

Uh… good luck.

Just kidding! While musical theatre writing isn’t easy (and trust me—it’s not), I will go to my grave preaching the gospel of why it is one of the most incredible art forms. 

The most interesting (and challenging) part of writing a musical is that it is fundamentally three different art forms—bookwriting (what I do) and songwriting, which is further broken down into music and lyrics. These elements must blend harmoniously together to form a well-structured whole. While this is definitely hard, it also means stretching your mind to think in new dimensions, challenging yourself to see your writing from a new perspective, and, potentially, even finding a new writing partner. 

So let’s get going on the basics—what do you need to write a musical?

It mostly comes down to two main elements:

A storyAll the necessary writers 

1. The first part is something that most of you will be familiar with—we all know stories, down to our very bones. Musical writing is no different. There are no requirements from your story, except that it must haunt you. No, I don’t mean that it has to be creepy. I mean that your story must always be there, lurking, waiting, demanding your attention, slipping into your unconscious, around every corner. Your story must drive you wild—only then will you be able to stick with it. 

If you have more logistical concerns about your story, check out this worksheet. Feel free to make a copy and fill it out!

2. To have a complete writing team, you need a bookwriter—someone who can create a script—and a composer and lyricist, who together create the score. Any combination of these can be the same person, and sometimes one person can fill all three roles. 

If you don’t have a team yet, have no fear! Check out this forum thread to find yourself a writing partner. You can pair up with a person or people, discuss ideas, and form teams to create your musical!

After you have a story and a team, the real fun begins—but I’ll save that for my next post. 

If you want to get a head start though, here’s some recommended reading:

The Secret Life of the American Musical: How Broadway Shows Are Built by Jack ViertelWriting Better Lyrics: The Essential Guide to Powerful Songwriting by Pat Pattison

Get pumped for camp, y’all- I can’t wait to meet you!

—Morgan

If you want to contact me, DM me here, and you can find out more about my musicals here.

Morgan Smith is a writer, model, and activist, and social media influencer whose writings on have been published in the US and internationally, winning over 20 national awards. Morgan is the writer of Oceanborn, an internet-famous musical called “sweeping and confident” by the New York Times, and Averno, a multimedia franchise including 6 plays and musicals, virtual reality, epic poetry, comic books, radio theatre, and a concept album, culminating in a massive interlocking storyline that explores the politicization of women’s bodies. She is an experiential storytelling designer, a fandom creator, a legislative advocate, a medieval history literature specialist, and an avid proponent of fairy-tale revolution. You can find her on Instagram here and on Twitter here. 

A Writer’s Guide to Finding Time to Write

Camp NaNoWriMo is right around the corner! Today we have Wrimo Haley Papa here with us to share her advice on how we can set aside time to write amid our already busy schedules:

One of the biggest struggles for a writer is, perhaps, writing itself. In my experience, finding time to write within your current schedule ranges from sitting in front of a computer in the middle of the night when you can’t write anytime else, or sitting far too long in front of said computer and being unable to write more than a sentence. It’s a lot of pressure to actually find the time to write your soon-to-be-a novel. 

With Camp NaNoWriMo arriving soon and writing on the brain, I’ve put together some advice below for tips and tricks to carve out time—even if it’s for twenty minutes—to write each day. This is by no means an exhaustive list. After all, what works for me may not work for you. However, this should hopefully give you more options when you’ve exhausted your go-to methods.

1. Create goals.

Before even touching your novel for the day, create a simple list of goals for writing for the day. It can be a paragraph, a single sentence, or ten bullet points, whatever is easiest for you to remember and refer back to. What scene(s) do you want to get through today? Which sentences do you want to go back and edit? What word count do you want to hit? Be realistic about challenging yourself—don’t attempt to finish a twenty-page chapter in one day if you know you don’t have the energy to write more than two-pages. If a project isn’t capturing your attention for the day, set a goal to write anything you like, whether it be for another project or a burst of inspiration that might be deleted by the end of the evening. If you need to write a schedule around work to find time to write down to every last hour and that helps, go ahead!

2. Collaborate with others.

This doesn’t mean you need to jump into writing a full-blown novel with someone else. But if support or someone to brainstorm with is what you need, you could try seeking other writers to read or give advice for sections you’re stuck on. Self-isolation in recent times can be a lonesome and difficult time to hold yourself accountable for your goals, so finding at least one other writer to chat with when you’re in a rut (whether online or in person, since NaNoWriMo has lovely forums for collaboration and advice) is for the best.

3. Take a break.

Believe it or not, but the most productive I find myself being is after returning from a self-mandated break to write, even if it involves ten minutes of watching an episode on Netflix. Straining yourself and pushing to write when you’ve got nothing left to give is the opposite of what you want. If you can’t put more than three words on the Google doc, that’s okay! The best part of NaNoWriMo is that you have a whole month to write. Don’t pressure yourself if you can’t write for a couple hours or days. Adjust your goals and take time to get yourself back in the mood to write.

4. Have fun!

Writing isn’t meant to be a chore. At the end of the day, you should be striving for productivity, yes, but make sure you’re enjoying writing as well. You can’t rush creativity; your readers will still be here tomorrow, be patient. Take your time.

Haley Papa is a Creative Writing major at Eckerd College, working toward her Bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts and double-minoring in Literature and Sociology. She has written for various playwriting and fiction contests, including Florida state theater festivals, earning “superior” ranking for her work over the years, as well as writing and editing original prose. Her work has also appeared in journals such as The Eckerd Review and Bending Genres. She is currently working toward completing a short story collection as well as a novel.

Top photo by Jaelynn Castillo on Unsplash

It’s Pride Month! The act of writing can be vulnerable,...

Rainbow Pride flag with Black and Brown stripes with rainbow books


Bisexual flag with pink, blue, and purple books


Transgender flag with blue, pink, and white books


Lesbian flag with red, orange, pink, and white books


The pansexual flag with pink, blue, and yellow books


Agender flag with green, black, white, and gray books


Asexual flag with white, black, and purple books


Genderqueer flag with green, white, and purple books


Genderfluid flag with blue, black, pink, and purple books


Nonbinary flag with black, purple, and yellow books

It’s Pride Month! The act of writing can be vulnerable, empowering, cathartic, joyous, difficult, and rewarding. Whatever your identity (and whether you openly share your identity, or choose to keep it to yourself), we’re glad you’re here with us to tell your stories.

Feel free to share or download your bookish Pride flag(s)! 

If you feel ready to write, we’re here.

You can now announce your writing project for Camp NaNoWriMo in July! To be honest, we know that you might not be feeling inclined toward writing or creativity right now. Many of us are angry, and sad, and doing the hard work of examining our hearts and/or the hearts of the people around us.

There’s also some incredible hope and creativity on display, as people imagine a better world: with less cruelty and more inclusivity, less despair and more joy, less individualism and more community. We’re inspired by the many Black activists and community organizers who’ve been doing this creative, generative work for years, and who are providing a language for us all to use to imagine a different kind of future. They’re showing us that—alongside empathy, listening, and direct action—creativity and imagination are essential skills. And like any skill, they get stronger and easier to wield with practice.

If you have the time, energy, and mental space to flex your imagination and use it to write, we hope that we can be helpful to you. If not, please take care of yourself and know that we’ll be here when you’re ready to turn your creativity to your stories.

Learn more about Camp NaNoWriMo.

June is also Pride month! 

We love and support the many LGBTQIA+ writers who are essential and cherished members of the NaNoWriMo community. Here are a few resources you can check out to help Black queer and trans folks in our broader communities:

In honor of the lives of Monika Diamond, Tony McDade, and Nina Pop, you might consider supporting organizations that support black, trans people if you can, including: The Okra Project, The Marsha P. Johnson Institute, and/or the Black Trans Travel Fund.

If you’re looking for more novels to read, author Kacen Callendar shared a list of LGBTQ+ YA books written by black authors on Twitter. I’m particularly excited to read Kacen’s newest book, Felix Ever After.

Here’s a list of books by Black authors of queer lit that you can buy from Black-owned bookstores around the US!

Who Do You Serve, Who Do You Protect? is available for free as an ebook from Haymarket Books. In a collection of reports and essays, it calls for a re-imagining of who we rely on to keep communities safe.

If you’re a queer Wrimo yourself, check out our LGBT+ forum and say hi if you’d like! (If you’re not queer but would like to check these forums out, please remember you’re a guest, and it’s probably a great opportunity to practice listening, learning, and waiting to be invited into the conversation.)

“You have to acknowledge to yourself that you will fail — we all...

“You have to acknowledge to yourself that you will fail — we all fail — and you will try again because you are the only person who can tell your own story. Stare into the messiness and the loneliness and hold on to that part of you that will not stop demanding expression.” 

—Alaya Dawn Johnson, author and NaNoWriMo Pep Talker

Alaya (rhymes with “papaya”) lives, writes, cooks and (perhaps most importantly) eats in Mexico City. Her literary loves are all forms of speculative fiction, historical fiction, and the occasional highbrow novel. She plays the guitar badly and eats very well, particularly during canning season. She has published six novels for adults and young adults, including The Summer Prince , which was longlisted for the National Book Award in 2013, and Love Is the Drug , nominated for the Norton award.

Read Alaya’s full Pep Talk. Quote image designed and illustrated by Jenny D. Williams.

With you in solidarity.

Hi writers,

The past many days have seen extraordinary protests across the United States and around the world in support of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, David McAtee, and so many more unarmed Black Americans who are killed by police officers, without immediate and meaningful justice.

We’ve sent a couple of messages that have included anti-racist books and reading lists and suggested organizations that could use your donations right now. We’ll include a few more links below.

We’ve gotten some questions from writers in our community who ask why we’re getting involved here, even in our small way.

We’re involved because we love and care about Black people.

We’re involved because we want to help remove all obstacles to writing creatively, meaningfully, and joyfully. Time, money, and energy are obstacles for all writers that we talk about all the time, and white supremacy, racism, and bigotry make these obstacles loom even larger.

We’re involved because we feel a responsibility to challenge our own assumptions and learn more about white supremacy culture and anti-Blackness in the United States, past and present, so that we can avoid further contributing to those legacies.

Our mission statement includes the goal to create a better, more creative world. Thank you for bringing all of your imagination, perseverance, and empathy as we work together to try to do that. We love you very much.

—The NaNoWriMo Staff

ResourcesIf you’re able, you could donate to the Black Visions Collective, or the Louisville Community Bail Fund. Reclaim the Block, a Minneapolis-based community organization, is maintaining a list of organizations in Minneapolis you may want to support here.

Autostraddle also has a list of bail funds by state, or you can make a donation to be split across 70+ bail funds here.

A group of authors, including many who have participated in or partnered with NaNoWriMo over the years, is holding a virtual #KidLit Rally for Black Lives on Thursday, June 4, at 7 PM ET. The rally will be led by Jason Reynolds, Kwame Alexander, and Jacqueline Woodson.

The End of Policing is a book about the history of modern policing, how it currently functions, and potential alternatives to help create safe and just communities. It’s being offered for free as an ebook by Verso Books.

Here’s a list of books you can buy to learn more about racism. If you buy here, Bookshop will donate additional funds to the Brooklyn Community Bail Fund, the Minnesota Freedom Fund, and the family of George Floyd.

One of our Wrimos, Rachel Werner, reached out to share that she’s offering a class this June called “Reading—and Writing—Diverse KidLit & YA” if you’re interested.

We’ve loved working with many writing-related organizations led and staffed by Black people and other people of color. Check out We Need Diverse Books, POC in Publishing, and Writing With Color.

If you’re a parent, here’s are some suggestions and books to start conversations with your children around race and protest. Here’s another great list of children’s books from EmbraceRace. The Brown Bookshelf has also kicked off their summer reading initiative, Generations Book Club.

We're wrapping up our #StayHomeWriMo initiative!

When we began #StayHomeWriMo back in March, most of the world was facing stay-at-home directives and we wanted to come together to offer support and connection at a challenging time. 

While many are still sheltering in place, others are beginning to see requirements loosen. In recent days, many folks are also venturing out of their homes to protest in support of Black lives and against racism in the United States and beyond. We are so thankful to everyone who’s offered suggestions and shared support in these difficult times. We love you and are so grateful for this community. We’ll be offering new ways to support your well-being as we enter this next phase together!

Today’s Well-Being Suggestions:

Becoming anti-racist is often hard work. As we continue to follow the news in the United States about the protests around George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and too many more, here are some resources for you and/or your loved ones.

1. The End of Policing is being offered for free as an ebook by Verso Books. It offers history about how modern policing developed, the purpose of our current policing system, and insight into what can replace policing to improve the collective good.

2. If you are attending a protest, here are some tips from Elle magazine about how to protest safely during a pandemic. Popular Science has some tips for what to do if you’re exposed to tear gas.

3. You can still donate to the Black Visions Collective, Reclaim the Block, the North Star Health Collective, and the Louisville Community Bail Fund.
Autostraddle also has a list of bail funds by state, or you can make a donation to be split across 38 bail funds here.

“The books I wanted to read didn’t exist.” —Min Jin Lee is the...

“The books I wanted to read didn’t exist.” 

—Min Jin Lee is the author of Pachinko, which was a finalist for the National Book Award. She has written for the New Yorker, and the New York Times, and has served as a columnist for The Chosun Ilbo, South Korea’s leading newspaper, for three seasons.

Read the rest of Min Jin Lee’s pep talk here.

May is Asian Pacific American Heritage Month in the US!

This month, we’re celebrating some of the incredible Asian/Pacific American authors who have helped shape the NaNoWriMo community—from NaNo Coaches to Camp Counselors, from Pep Talkers to participants!

Image created by Wesley Sueker .

“We are all capable of infinitely more than we think.” ––Kevin...

“We are all capable of infinitely more than we think.” 

––Kevin Kwan was born and raised in Singapore, and moved to the United States when he was eleven. His critically-acclaimed debut novel Crazy Rich Asians became an international bestseller in 2013 and was made into a major motion picture. Its sequel China Rich Girlfriend also became a smash hit around the world, and the final book in the trilogy, Rich People Problems, was released in May 2017. 

Read the rest of Kevin Kwan’s pep talk here.

May is Asian Pacific American Heritage Month in the US!

This month, we’re celebrating some of the incredible Asian/Pacific American authors who have helped shape the NaNoWriMo community—from NaNo Coaches to Camp Counselors, from Pep Talkers to participants!

Image created by Wesley Sueker. 

“There are going to be times when you feel uninspired, when the...

“There are going to be times when you feel uninspired, when the very last thing you want to do is to sit down and write. Moments like these, I remind myself that sometimes the work itself can create excitement.”

—Kirstin Chen is the author of Bury What We Cannot Take and Soy Sauce for Beginners. She was the fall 2017 NTU-NAC National Writer in Residence in Singapore, and has received awards from the Steinbeck Fellows Program, Sewanee, Hedgebrook, and the Napa Valley Writers’ Conference. Born and raised in Singapore, she currently resides in San Francisco.

May is Asian Pacific American Heritage Month in the US!

This month, we’re celebrating some of the incredible Asian/Pacific American authors who have helped shape the NaNoWriMo community—from NaNo Coaches to Camp Counselors, from Pep Talkers to participants!