Michael Kitchen's Blog, page 30

NaNoWriMo Tips

November.  It’s an interesting month.  The days grow colder as the darkness grows longer.  We flip our clocks back an hour.  Every November since 2008 I’ve made the pilgrimage to Traverse City, MI for the Criminal Defense Attorneys of Michigan conference.  My birthday falls in November.  And since 2010, I’ve participated in National Novel Writing Month.

Image courtesy of National Novel Writing Month

National Novel Writing Month was born in 1999 and has become a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization promoting the writing of stories.  In 2013, over 340,000 writers participated in NaNoWriMo.

The object is to write 50,000 words in 30 days.  This averages 1,667 words per day, or roughly seven pages a day.  But word count, not page count, is what matters.

It seems like an ambitious exercise, especially considering the Thanksgiving holiday and merchants bombarding us with their seasonal sales.  However it is doable, and it can result in the rough draft of a novel you will be able to revise and publish later.

I’ve done this three years running, surpassing the 50,000 word count each time.  Last year’s draft is the novel I am currently revising, to circulate for publication when ready.  Here are some tips that I’ve found helpful in successfully completing NaNoWriMo.

1.  Be prepared.  You don’t have to know all the details of the plot, or all the characters that are going to inhabit your fictional world.  But you do need  plan.  You need guideposts along the way that you are writing to.  If you begin on November 1st without one you will find yourself sooner or later stuck with nowhere to go.  You’ll get frustrated and give up.

2.  Be flexible.  You’ve created your guideposts, but realize they are not set in stone.  As you write, characters and logic may drive the story off its original course.  Pretend you’re in the forest.  Stray from the path, but don’t let it slip from your sight.

3.  Be forgiving.  This is not the time to be worrying about spelling and grammatical correctness.  Break up contractions (“don’t” = one word; “do not” equals two).  Just get it out.  This is your rough draft.  You have permission for it to include some of the worst writing you’ve ever put in Word.  That’s fine.  Revision takes place the other eleven months of the year.

4.  Be on-target.  Don’t stop to research something.  Memorialize within that this requires research.  “Johnny rode his (manufacturer and make) motorcycle over the (name of highway) into the night.”  Save the research for the other eleven months.

5.  Be realistic in planning.  Look at the month of November and realize where writing is going to be hampered due to work, school, or holidays.  I factor in that I will be in Traverse City for a few days in the month, and find the dates where I’ll make up the words.  For example, I’m currently planning on writing 2,020 words per day on 22 days, 2,000 words on 2 days, 520 words on 3 days, and zero words on 3 days.

6.  Be off and running on Day One.  Get off to a fast start.  I have always tried to block November 1st from any distraction and exceed the word count I’ve planned for that day.  It’s better to be running ahead in case of any surprises during the month than it is to be behind.

These are the suggestions that I have found to have helped me churn out 50,000 words in the month.  Everyone works at their own pace and with their own style, so do whatever works for you.  In the end, it’s the 50,000 words that matter, after which you could revise and get published like Sara Gruen did with Water for Elephants and Erin Morgenstern’s The Night Circus – two of many NaNoWriMo projects that became published novels.

Miss the book launch?

The Y in Life launched at the Troy Community Center in Troy, Michigan on Tuesday, September 17, 2013.  If you were unable to attend, the video is of my reading from the book, and a couple of questions from the Q&A session.  My son, Colin Kitchen, shot the video and the follow up photos.

The Y in Life is now available through your local independent book store.  I’ve included links to four of my personal favorites – Literati Bookstore and Nicola’s Books in Ann Arbor and Brilliant Books and Horizon Books in Traverse City;

Photo by Colin Kitchen

Photo by Colin Kitchen

The Y in Life available at (follow the link):

LITERATI BOOKSTORE in Ann Arbor

NICOLA’S BOOKS in Ann Arbor

BRILLIANT BOOKS in Traverse City

HORIZON BOOKS in Traverse City

or check your favorite independent book store’s website.  I’ve found using the ISBN number to search the best way to find it right now.  The ISBN is 9781628280128.

or from the publisher – GREY WOLFE PUBLISHING

(Yes, of course it’s available at those larger franchises, too).

Deep bow, Erma

 I was in her city

She was not there

or so I thought.

Silly mind.

Saturday, I participated in a photo walk.  Held semi-annually in the spring and fall, Bija, a Buddhist teacher from Still Point Zen Temple in Detroit, leads us through the Woodbridge neighborhood of Detroit, south of Wayne State University campus, armed with cameras to capture images of our world.  It is, for me, a meditation.  Sitting on the cushion, mindful of breath and the current of thoughts flowing through my mind is one way I meditate.  This photo walk, and when I isolate images of the instant through photography in general, I find myself in that same, silent space.  Aware of my surroundings, my chatting mind goes silent and I see the world differently.

Saturday was  a beautiful day in Detroit.  Sun and a moderate temperature where a t-shirt and light jacket was perfect attire.  And as I had in the previous Buddhist photo walks I’ve taken, a number of interesting images were captured.  These are but a few:

Photo by Michael Kitchen

Photo by Michael Kitchen

Photo by Michael Kitchen

It was around 3:30 when we returned to the abbey.  We flipped through our photos and added a few more from within the Buddhist temple.

Photo by Michael Kitchen

Upon leaving, I felt calm and centered.  On such a beautiful day, I didn’t want the feeling to end.  I considered parking the car downtown then move about the city to shoot more images.  But something didn’t feel right about it.  It would have felt forced, almost touristy.  Instead, my attention shifted to the book launch of my novel in a couple of days.  My first published novel.  But not my first published book.  And the subject of the first book guided me.

On August 14, 2004, the book launch for Down Through the Years: The Memoirs of Detroit City Council President Emeritus Erma Henderson took place at the Detroit Public Library’s main branch.  The five years leading up to this monumental moment passed too quickly.  My only regret being that I was too busy with job, law school, and recording, researching and writing Erma’s story to journal my own observations and insights along the way.  One of the things I did recall was Erma’s love of Belle Isle.  This became my destination.

I had been on Belle Isle only two times previously: once when Erma asked me to drive her around the island in the early part of this century and once for the launch of an anthology which included three of my shorter pieces at the Detroit Yacht Club during a blizzard in February of this year.  This would be my first solo adventure, and it did not disappoint.

Photo by Michael Kitchen

Photo by Michael Kitchen

Photo by Michael Kitchen

Photo by Michael Kitchen

I stopped at several points along the island where I then stepped out and took in the view.  Like Erma and others have told me before, Belle Isle is a gem, with spectacular views of the Detroit and Windsor skylines and the glistening water, sparkling like a river of diamonds.  I’d take a photo or two, then take in the sounds and sights silently.  It was just like I was back in time, when Erma was alive and I in her home.  And across the river stood The Jeffersonian, where her apartment was on the south end of the 28th floor.

Photo by Michael Kitchen

I wanted to go back up there, to her apartment, tell her about my novel, listen to her stories and the affirmations she’d want to plant in my head.  To do so, however, would seriously confuse the current resident of that apartment.  So I got as close as I could.  Next to The Jeffersonian is the Erma L. Henderson Park & Marina, where I made the final stop on my day’s photo walk.

Photo by Michael Kitchen

Photo by Michael Kitchen

Photo by Michael Kitchen

Photo by Michael Kitchen

The walk through her park from my car out to the sign on Jefferson Avenue is when I told her about the novel.  I knew if she were here she would have had one of her many friends read her all 475 pages.  Then she’d share her thoughts with me about it.  It would have been a fun conversation.

A theme in The Y in Life is how a person’s life can change when someone who had an influence on him is no longer there.  Standing in the park, looking up  to that 28th floor apartment, I understood how Erma’s trust in me to write her memoirs gave me the confidence in myself to write this novel.  I helped her write her story; she helped me write mine.

One week away…

In one week, I’ll be at the book launch for The Y in Life.  It’s been a long road.

The proof arrived on Thursday via UPS, after I had left for bowling.  I did not receive it until 10AM Friday when the apartment’s front office opened.  It was quite surreal.  I opened the package in my car and looked at the cover.  Amazing.  I felt its weight in my hands, and the burden of the clock ticking away the minutes that I had to read through these 417 pages, red pen in hand, before delivering it Sunday to my publisher at the Kerrytown Bookfest in Ann Arbor.

But of course, I had to show it off around town, first.

Photo by Diana Plopa

There I am, outside BD’s Mongolian Grill in Roseville, where my eager publisher, Diana Plopa met me to see how the paper proof turned out.  There was much rejoicing.

Time to get to work.  I read through the first 195 pages Friday, and the remaining 222 pages on Saturday, without sacrificing the Columbus Crew match (though really, the way they played, it wasn’t much of a reward!).  I read it out loud, to my two Russian tortoises, Uma and Mariska.  At times their curiosity brought them to face me as they heard my voice, but eventually they’d slip back into sleep.

Then it was on to Ann Arbor Sunday morning to deliver the proof.  It didn’t bleed red ink, but I did scratch it up some.  I thought it would be easy to turn over to finally put this novel to bed.  The manifestation of something that I’ve written and re-written over the past six years was difficult to let go.  But if I didn’t, it wouldn’t become the final version of this story and these characters that have lived with me for quite some time.  It was time to release it into the world and allow it to become whatever it becomes.

The Y in Life is no longer in my hands.  And in a week’s time, it will be in the hands of readers.  I trust that the characters and story will take the reader on a journey that inspires and entertains.

Meanwhile, I’m working on a new story, with new characters that I am finding fun and interesting to explore.

Two books on the shelf now.  One, the fascinating true story about a remarkable woman; the other, the first of many novels within my imagination and various stages of progress.  Nine years separate the publication of these two books.  The next novel will be published well before 2022.  I promise.

Ready for Pre-Order

Ladies & Gentlemen,

I bring to you the opportunity to pre-order my novel: The Y in Life!

Click HERE

Getting closer…

I have the e-galley now, and very soon, Grey Wolfe Publishing will begin accepting pre-orders.  Stay tuned!

I also have two short stories published in Legends: Summer 2013 which can be pre-ordered here.

Forevermore, Rouge et Or

Photo by Michael Kitchen

It’s not often that a sporting event causes me to get choked up.  I’ve had a couple special sports moments in my life, beyond my imagination.  But July 17, 2013 surpassed them all.  It wasn’t a championship game.  It didn’t feature a legendary player or create a historic moment.  It wasn’t even a game that mattered in the standings.

But it mattered to me.

I was at Harry’s Bar.  I don’t drink, and bars are not where you will usually find me.  But Harry’s Bar in Detroit is just a couple blocks away from Cass Technical High School.  No, I wasn’t waiting for kids to get out of school.  It’s July, and my kids are well beyond the high school age.

I was at Harry’s Bar because I was joining the supporters groups – The Northern Guard Supporters , The Motor City Supporters, and Le Rouge Supporters.  It’s the pre-game tradition since the team’s first match last year, for Detroit City FC fans.

Detroit City FC is a soccer team.  They play in the National Premiere Soccer League, and just wrapped up its second season.  The team went undefeated during the regular season – eleven wins and one draw – beat AFC Cleveland 3-1 in the semi-finals, but was eliminated from the playoffs over the weekend by the Erie Admirals on our home pitch at Cass Tech Stadium.

Wednesday, July 17, 2013 was the final match of the season.  A friendly[i] against the Windsor Stars from the Canadian Soccer League.  The general mood was upbeat, subdued from the vibrant energy that filled Harry’s prior to the playoff matches over the weekend.

The Supporters meet in the parking lot prior to the DCFC matches, to walk over to the stadium together.  That’s an understatement.  The Supporters meet in the parking lot, with drums, flags, and smoke sticks, and are led by Sergeant Scary – a charismatic young man with clever creativity – to march as a group to the stadium, singing and chanting, through the neighborhood.

Detroit City FC Supporters march to the stadium.
Photo by Michael Kitchen.

I must pause a moment here to clarify.  I haven’t considered myself qualified to call myself a supporter.  Yes, I’ve been to every DCFC match over the two years.  Yes, my bank account has seen many hits from the DCFC souvenir stand and my wardrobe has become very rouge and gold.

Yes, I have photographed every match, including the torrential downpour we experienced playing FC Sparta Michigan at Cass Tech, which threatened the functioning of my six year old digital camera.

Detroit City FC host FC Sparta Michigan on 5-31-13 in the rain.
Photo by Michael Kitchen.

Yes, I consider myself City Til I Die.  But the first season I stuck to the “family-friendly” side of the stadium in order to photograph and video not only the players but the Supporters that filled the west side bleachers with their singing, chanting and smoke sticks.  They were as much the entertainment as the beautiful game being played on the pitch.  It wasn’t until last year, the last game (also a friendly against Windsor) that I did the routine of Harry’s Bar, march to the stadium, and hang out on the Supporters’ side of the field.

This evening, we gathered in the parking lot, as normal.  Sgt. Scary had an announcement.  After the loss on Sunday, the Erie players ran over to taunt the Supporters section (instead of celebrating with their team and the handful of fans that made the trip to Detroit).  It caused a handful of boneheads from the section to toss empty plastic water bottles at them.  As a result, Erie complained to the NPSL, who contacted Detroit Public Schools (DPS).  The Supporters were told that DPS officials would be at the game, to observe the Supporters behavior.  Therefore, the Supporters were going to show DPS and the league what they would miss by not having the Supporters there.

We began with a silent march to the stadium.  No chanting.  No drumming.  No smoke.  The residents of the neighborhood were confused.  They asked us why we weren’t singing.  They wanted, and almost demanded the group to perform, as it had become something they looked forward to every DCFC match day.

We entered the parking area between the school and stadium, where the usual chant would be made:

Can you hear (visiting team name) sing?

No  No

Can you hear (visiting team name) sing?

No  No

Can you hear (visiting team name) sing?

We don’t hear a fucking thing!

No No No

DCFC sing to visiting team (dressing room in building on the left). Photo by Michael Kitchen.

This evening we stood in silence.

Then we entered the stadium, where things became humorous and surreal.  The Supporters filled the west stands.  The chants and songs were altered.  As the teams waited in the tunnel on the opposite side of the field, the first chant to emerge was The Barney Song.  Then, instead of chanting “Come and Get It” as a taunt to the visiting team as they walked onto the field, we chanted “Thanks for Coming.”  It only got sillier from there.

When the ball came in to the Supporters section, the norm is to toss it back out on the field.  But this night, the ball would be tossed followed by a chorus of apologies (after all, we’re not supposed to throw anything on the field).

There was even a chant of “You’re the Greatest Ref, We’ve Ever Seen”

Then, at the 20 minute mark of the first half, the always standing, always chanting Supporters, in unison, sat in silence.  For ten minutes.  It was eerie.  You could hear the players shouting to each other.

DCFC Supporters sit during the friendly against the Windsor Stars. Photo by Michael Kitchen

At the end of the first half, the Supporters wanted to continue to make the statement of what a DCFC match would look like without them.  We picked up and moved to fill a section on the “family-friendly” east side, leaving the Supporters’ Section near empty.

When the second half begun, the usual nursery rhymes and generic sports chants continued.  At the 70th minute, DCFC captain Josh Rogers, spoke with the leaders of the Supporters, telling them to “get the fuck back to your side of the field” and make some noise.  They (the players) wanted the cheering and wanted to thank the Supporters for their support during the season at the conclusion of the game.  Sgt. Scary was going to wait until the 80th minute to march back, however a young woman’s voice from the section shouted, “Back to normal!” and the Supporters created a mass exodus from the family friendly side, chanting and singing all the way back to the west bleachers.

DCFC Supporters on the wrong side of the field. Photo by Michael Kitchen.

It was an explosion of pent-up, enthusiastic and authentic support for this team in rouge and gold that we love that commenced.  The chants and songs seemed louder.  Smoke filled the stands and field.  All was right with the world once more.

Photo by Michael Kitchen

Photo by Michael Kitchen.

Photo by Michael Kitchen

Not being blessed with the gift of athleticism, I’ve been a sports fan for decades.  Mostly hockey and especially the Detroit Vipers of the International Hockey League.  I still wear my Vipers jackets/sweatshirts to this day, my blood running the color of aqua and eggplant.  But the Detroit Vipers dissolved in 2001 and my first trip to Columbus in 2002 to a Columbus Crew match revived my interest in soccer (I was a Detroit Express fan back in the North American Soccer League day).  I photographed for a hockey publication at the Detroit Vipers games, which took me on the ice and in the locker room when they won the 1997 Turner Cup.  I’ve been involved in booster clubs, presiding over the Detroit Jr. Red Wings of the Ontario Hockey League for two seasons.  I was even a member of the Detroit Red Wings For’em Club for a season.  I’ve marched in anti-war and other protests.  But none of that prepared me for what happened this night.

I’ve seen this on television – watching English Premiere League matches and Portland Timbers home games.  I’ve witnessed it at Crew Stadium (in the Nordecke) and the first season of DCFC.  Tonight it became real.  Tangible.  Consuming.  I was not a spectator.  I was not a fan.  I became part of something more.  A culture.  A community where there is a mutual appreciation between the club and the supporters.  Something I’ve not experienced with any team or sport – not even my beloved Vipers.

The transfusion is complete.  The aqua and eggplant blood is gone.  It runs rouge and gold now.  This is my tribe.  I am a DCFC supporter.

Photo by Michael Kitchen

Photo by Michael Kitchen.

[i] A “friendly” is an exhibition match.

PUBLICATION ANNOUNCEMENT

On July 10, 2013, I signed a book contract with Grey Wolfe Publishing for my novel, The Y in Life.

This past Wednesday, I received the first round of edits, and having gone 200 pages of the 375 in the manuscript, the rewrites have been marginal.

As of this moment, I have two stories being published in Grey Wolfe Publishing’s quarterly Legends, which is due out in August, and my novel The Y in Life slated for a Fall release (Sept/Oct).

Photograph by Michael Kitchen

Stories about to be published

Grey Wolfe Publishing’s “Legends” is set to come out soon. This quarterly will be publishing my two stories, “Mother Nature Makes the Extra Point” and “The Word of the Day is ‘Trust’”

Grey Wolfe Publishing is taking pre-orders, so if you’d like to save $5, order today at Grey Wolfe Publishing.

PUBLICATION ANNOUNCEMENT PART DEUX

You’re going to want to pick up Grey Wolfe Publishing’s Summer edition of Legends.  Not only has my new short story, “Mother Nature Makes the Extra Point” been accepted for publication, so, too, has my award-winning short story, “The Word of the Day is ‘Trust.’”

For more info about Legends, go to Grey Wolfe Publishing’s website and/or Facebook page.