I’m suffering from manifesto envy.
Or so I think.
Because I came up with a way to make it interesting to write a manifesto.
November is NaNoWriMo and NaNoBlogMo and… whatever you want to do, November seems to be the month to do it. Maybe it’s to burn off the pre-holiday jitters. I don’t know.
I’m not into writing novels and I already write a lot of blog posts.
But I haven’t written a manifesto yet. So I’m going to this November.
November is:
Global (I prefer to think beyond a single country)
Manifesto
Writing
Month
So here are the rules that I’m setting for myself:
1. Write at least 333 words per day. I was going to go with 1,000 words a day, but that’s a 30,000 word manifesto. Anyone who can write a 30,000 word manifesto is… probably not safe to be around. Just shy of 10,000 words is good enough, I think.
2. The only exception to 1 is if I come up with a cool chart or infographic or some kind of related image. In that case, a picture is worth 1,000 words (literally!)
3. I have to publish a copy of my manifesto on the Web by January 1, 2011. It probably won’t be the original because I’ll want to take some of the crazy out of it… I mean tidy it up a bit…
EDITS:
4. You don’t have to be perfect (at all) on the first try! The goal here is to have a document (good or bad) at the end of November, just like the way that NaNoWriMo works. Once you finish the first draft you sit back, read it and revise it until you feel ready to share it with the world. Over 80% of your first draft could be absolute crap. And that’s perfectly fine!!!!!!! The goal is to get your ideas out of your head, not to create something beautiful and perfect on the first try.
I reserve the right to revise these rules as needed but I think GloManWriMo is definitely doable.
I want to make this a challenge for the entire Thoughtwrestling community. Are you up for it?
Can you create a 10,000 word manifesto in one month? What would you say? What would you tell the world? And what would you do with it afterward?
Writing a manifesto is a great way to work on your thoughtwrestling skills, wouldn’t you say?
Come on, don’t let me be the only freak out there in November (Kat French is excused because she’s committed to NaNoWriMo, of course)… who’s with me?
Maybe it’s a small step towards changing the world…
Bonus incentive: we’ll link out to every GloManWriMo manifesto that’s published in the new year and you can provide the descriptive text.
So get with the manifesto problem! You can do it!
No related posts.
I think I may take up this challenge. Not that I need another thing on my to do list.
(See Suze’s post from yesterday.)
And I think I may have unknowingly written my first entry today in the post I put up on my site. Hmm.
Bill Wren recently posted..Why snow surprises Canadians
Excellent!
Great idea and, so long as NaNoWriMo doesn’t kill me first, I’ll commit to writing mine in December for January 1st publication. Would that still be allowed within your guidelines?
If so, count me in!
El Edwards recently posted..How to have your cake and eat it too
Sure: I think it would be nuts to try to do both writing projects in one month. December makes sense to me, El!
OK, I’m up for this! It’s been on my to do list for a year or so – about time I got it done:)
Thanks for the call to action!
Annabel Candy, Get In the Hot Spot recently posted..BlogWorld Bonanza and Other Ambitious Plans
Thanks! Look forward to reading it!
Mark, this is a great idea. I’m going to give it a shot. Thanks for putting your thoughts out there. I like the idea of NaNoWriMo but don’t think I have the novel in me.
A manifesto is something I’ve been hoping to work on, so I am going to view this as the moment I heard the starting pistol and had to start running.
Sean
Sean Cook recently posted..How I Use RescueTime to Increase My Productivity
Glad to hear it, Sean!
You’re such a good organizer, Mark. I’ve seen that in third tribe, too:) This is a great idea, although manifesto has always seemed like such a heavy word to me. What I write about doesn’t seem like it qualifies for one.
I have to laugh at the fact that the Nano blog challenge is the only one that doesn’t use the shortened 3 letters for the word “blog”. I think they should just have stuck with nanoblomo:) Ha!
Good luck with your manifesto. I look forward to reading it!
Thanks Debbie. I don’t really think of myself as a good organizer. I just try to keep things really simple so there’s less work for me if I’m organizing!
Hey, Mark!
Y’know, I hadn’t thought about a “manifesto” for my site. I’m not sure that’s really the right word in my case. BUT, I can see a 10,000 word “something” being important. Maybe “The 100 Questions I Know You’re Asking Yourself (And My Answers)” kinda thing. Somewhat autobiographical because I need to build trust.
Lemme ponder it a bit more. I’ll commit to a “10,000 Word Something,” tho.
Annie
Whatever works, Annie! I look forward to seeing what you come up with!
Great idea. And thank goodness someone has recognized the need for a non-fiction challenge like this! I just started writing fiction and I’m already beginning to think it was a very bad idea LOL! I’ve taken stilted dialogue to a stratospheric level. GloManWriMo here I come.
Excellent, Elana! Good luck!
As far as fiction goes… I think it just takes a lot of practice for most mortals.
This is a great idea and I’m on board. Well, to be honest I’m already well into mine and had committed to releasing it by year’s end anyway, this just gives me a bit more of a framework. I’ll do my best to get the word out about it as well.
Thanks Tobias. I think we can have some fun with this!
I’d like to try to write a something. I’m not sure it will be a manifesto exactly. Perhaps I should spend time reading changethis stuff during the month as well. Maybe writing with this goal in mind will help me get over the paralyzing not knowing enough feeling I get when I think about picking my blog up again.
Maybe you just need to write it for you, Beth, and not worry about publishing it.
I suffer from that same “not knowing enough” feeling at times, too. I think you just need to push ahead, regardless. But that’s just me.
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[...] anyone is looking for a non-fiction alternative to NaNoWriMo, you might want to check out GloManWriMo. __________________ Mark Dykeman Thoughtwrestling – better ideas, accomplishments and life. Are [...]
I’m in!
I stumbled across your idea via Twitter today and I would like to join in. I am a teacher and would like to write some edu-based manifesto. But do you mind if it’s quite specific eg. a global approach for creating slideshow presentations? Or for the use of Web 2.0 tools in education?
Sure, Drew, that works fine.
[...] want to do NaNoWriMo? Maybe you should try your hand at the Global Manifesto Writing Month. (I’m thinking about giving this a go in December, but there’s a good chance [...]
Hey, Found your broadcasting brain blog initially and was linked to here. Love this post as I love to write…and always seem to have something to say, but I still find myself writers block from time to time. I think I may just have to try step one of your manifesto for myself. I’ll be sure to suggest it to my clients as well. Thx! Shauna
Thanks and good luck!
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