Objects in Mirror: November 25, 2008 Archive

Market quotes on mpr.org

Posted at 9:02 AM on November 25, 2008 by Julia Schrenkler

Now you can catch market quotes at a glance on Minnesota Public Radio's homepage. Granted there's a delay, but they're still a good reference point. They're located in the left column, right under News Cut and just above National News from NPR.

* Get more numbers on Marketplace
* Check in with the Economic Lookouts
* Read and comment on News Cut's economy entries

Are the Twin Cities a hotbed of speedy writers?

Posted at 2:52 PM on November 25, 2008 by Julia Schrenkler

MPR's Euan Kerr explains the basics and introduces us to some writers taking aim at writing a novel within a month:

"For thousands of Minnesotans, this week is crunch week. It's not just because it's Thanksgiving. It's because they have to finish a novel by midnight Saturday.

They call it Nanowrimo, short for National Novel Writing Month. The idea is to write 50,000 words between November 1, and November 30. The Twin Cities is known as a Nano hotbed."

Kerr points out how the writers work and support each other. Writer and interviewee Theresa Alberti shared a provocative suggestion with Roslind Nelson:

"Maybe you should try doing some violence on a character you don't care about," says Alberti. "You know pick somebody, just write in a minor character and just practice."

Wonder how many writers try just that! I hope we'll find out if practice made the writing perfect and whether or not these folks made their deadline.

* MPR Archives: 30 days to write your novel (October 31, 2005)
* Independent writer support group on Gather.com: gatherwrimo.gather.com
* Read and comment on one participant's experience: I Won NaNoWriMo!