NaNoWriMo is Coming!

And Furrow's getting ready, creating a Support Group for all you WriMos out there.

NaNoWriMo is short for National Novel Writing Month, for those of you who don't know, and it is a "fun, seat of your pants approach to novel writing." Basically, you try to crank out a 175 page novel (that's 50,000 words, people) by midnight on November 30th. With such time constraints, its not about quality, it's about quantity. This "kamikaze" approach to writing forces you to get stuff out on paper, and take risks you normally wouldn't take. Sure, you'll be writing crap, but that's a good thing.

For more information, go to the NaNoWriMo website, at www.nanowrimo.org

Our Meetings will take place from 7 to 9 on Fridays, starting on October 28th and going until the first week in December. (except for Thanksgiving vacation. We're dedicated, but we're not sadists. Most of us anyway.) Our first meeting will take place in the UWM Union, room 343, and subsequent meeting places will be announced either at the previous week's meeting or via emial/Facebook.

Each week will center around a topic to help you whip your muse into shape and get those 50,000 words.

Week 0: Planning. Come and get your characters and plot somewhat hammered out, so you can just start writing at 12:01 the morning of November 1st. Planning sheets for characters, etc. will be provided. Bring your awesome ideas!

Week 1: Adopt-an-X and Dares. Have a character or plot device that won't fit into your story after all? Plan them out anyway and put them up for adoption! Or, dare your fellow WriMos to add maximum rediculosity to your story!

Week 2: Support. Come cry to your fellow WriMos about muses running away, characters acting up, and plot holes ripping actual holes in the space-time continuum.

Week 3: Word Wars! Unable to get over that third-week slump? Come do battle with your fellow WriMos to see who can write the most in a set amount of time, and force yourself up that hill.

Week 4: Thanksgiving! Give thanks that you can just write from the comfort of your own home all day long!

Week 5: PARTY. Come celebrate (hopefully) hitting the 50,000 word mark!

If you have any questions, please email us at furrowmag@gmail.com

Hope to see you there!

Poetry Time!

First of All, thanks to all those who attended our Kick Off meeting. All two of you.

So while the meeting wasn't as successful as we thought (hoped) it would be, we still had an awesome time, because both of those people are awesome. And if you guys who didn't show (for whatever reason) are still interested, you can email us at furrowmag@gmail.com for information on what went down. That's also the place where you can submit your stuff, which you out there in internet land should defiantly do.

Now for our Poem this week, submitted to us by none other then the irrepressible Brian J. Barnes from UW Milwaukee, entitled, "To a Dark Knight" Enjoy!

*~*

"To A Dark Knight" by Brian J. Barnes

Blue and grey

Black and white

Rubber and Kevlar

A pre-toddler memory.

Uncle Sam

The Planters’ Peanut Man

Uncle Don

And you.

The faces of my youth.

As I grew

your smile disappeared.

Your blues turned to grey.

Your grey to black.

No longer funny

no less fun.

You weren’t like the others

Nothing special,

Un-unique.

It was your heart

That was your power

Your forever broken heart.

*~*

Furrow Meeting

Furrow is having it's first Official Meeting this upcoming Thursday, that is, October 15th in Union Room 340 (3rd floor) from 3:30-ish until about 4:30. We'll be planning and brainstorming events for the upcoming year, which just happens to be Furrow's 10th! Anyone affiliated with UW Milwaukee is welcome to attend, whether a writer, artist, poet, a fan of art, poetry or prose or simply an interested party. Hope to see you there!