Can you pump out 100 + pages of story in 3 days? Sure you can. It’s not easy - it’s a grueling challenge/contest known as the “3 Day Novel”.

It’s a brutal exercise in goal setting, pushing through blocks, dealing with horribly rushed writing and discouraging editing, and struggling to keep distractions at bay. Meeting the challenge though has never made me feel more accomplished (albeit drained) as a writer. It is the most intimate and intense that I get to be with a piece of work – It is after all, pretty much the only thing you will have time to do in the span of the three days.  It’s definitely worth a try and can recommend it whole-heartedly.

The online novel “29 Digit Lock” found in the “creative works” section of this website was in fact my first attempt at the 3 day Novel in 2009. I have been entering in the competition each year since. 

The contest takes place Labor Day weekend and is based on the honor system. The goal is to complete a novel, start to finish in those 3 days. You can do some brainstorming as to what you are going to write about and think of story line, but you can’t start the novel until the first morning of that weekend. First place gets to be published!!

Sure, it’s 50 bucks to register (if done before Aug 15th, $55 after), but you get a nifty certificate right around after Christmas when the winner is announced (who could be you). AND it’s a great way to hold yourself accountable to complete the challenge (and finally produce that novel you always wanted to get out). Also, “3 Day Novel” needs to read every 100 + page entry which is a HUGE amount of work which is worth the cost to support.

3 Day Novel This year! Who’s with me?

*While I’m writing this, memories are coming back to me about the competition, especially that feeling you get at the end of the first day, like you barely put a dent in the word count and story progression and wonder how you’re going to make up for it the second day. And oh that second day, the questioning, the furious pace of writing, battling those distractions, writing through the boring parts… and midnight the next night… the end. The feeling like “that’s it, it’s done”, as incomplete as you think it may be. Good times.

Good times.

YOU should take a look and join me in this year’s 3 day novel. CLICK HERE for the link to the website

CLICK HERE for their Facebook Page

CLICK HERE for the 29 Digit Lock 3 day novel entry that I did in 09’

-       Josh

Books have long been things that last pretty much forever, surviving many hundreds of years. In a way, words committed to a page are immortalized. 

Enter publishing house Eterna Cadencia with an intriguing twist about the things we took for granted in books above. What they came up with is a unique concept of a book with fading ink with the title, El Libro que no puede esperar (the book that can't wait).

Some will call it a gimmick or a silly idea. Personally I like the book. Unfortunately, If you fall into the same camp as I, you may be disappointed to find that contrary to what the video shows below, there is a lot of question as to if those books really even existed.

That aside, the idea is great, take a look.

You could use that idea in so many interesting ways to compliment the story within. Say if the story was about a character afraid that her written life's work would one day be forgotten and vanished. Wouldn't that be interesting how a reader would experience the anxiety in seeing the protagonist's worst fear come true.

What other ways could a story and the disappearing ink work together for a completely new experience?

- Josh

Being a huge fan of creativity, picking up this book was a no brained. All too often, a lot of other books with "creativity" as a focus come with plenty of suggestions for practice but rarely make reference to the science and research to back it up. This book is the opposite; that is that it has all kinds of examples of Science and research concerning creativity but little in terms of real application.

Sure, you learn about left brain versus right and the role of different brain structures and the complex interactions that contribute to creativity. You learn about different company approaches to boost creativity, about 3M and shakespeare and community. But it doesn't get to the specifics - how research on Broadway translates to practical application to small theater or even that it does.

To be fair, it's about "how creativity works" and not how to apply what you've learned. Because it's lacking that important specificity, you'll get the most out of this book if you have an invested interest and already have some ideas about creativity, then this book becomes important in that it provides good information and has great potential to inspire. If you have the foundation you'll be more apt to make connections, though the book itself can serve as a foundation for you to make your own connections about your life, creative ventures and workplace.

Overall, it's well written, so at the very least it'll be an easy read, but I can't help but think some might say of this book "yes, that's interesting, but so what?"

- Josh