The 500

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Category: About

Published on Friday, 30 December 2011 12:19

Written by Megan

Hits: 372

The 500 is a challenge to all writers everywhere.  It's as simple as this: write 500 words a day, every day, for a year.

Okay, it's a little more complicated than that.  Hold yourself accountable.  Use Twitter or Facebook or Google Plus to announce to the world your intentions.  Don't forget to have others hold you accountable.  Join us at the Writing Circle and write with others.  Write at home in your cave.  Or in a coffee shop.  Or on the bus.  Or upside down staring at a fishtank.  But not while you're driving.  And probably not while you're working.  That likely would be bad too.

What can you write? As far as BNO is concerned, everything goes. Starting with working on a novel or short story to non-fiction to blogging and even good old fashioned journaling. It doesn't matter what it is, just write it for 500 words every day.

What doesn't count? In a word: editing. Adding a bunch of new words to something well under revision isn't writing so much as it is editing. Adding new sections or scenes to something undergoing the revision process is, however, more writing than editing.

Membership Drive

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Category: About

Published on Wednesday, 21 December 2011 13:53

Written by Megan

Hits: 420

Boise’s Novel Orchard operates as a non profit. All the work and preparation that goes in to the program is volunteer based. We’re working hard to grow the program to bring you more. Some of the exciting plans for 2012 include:

• getting more involvement from published authors

• hosting workshops

• providing an online critique matching service to extend critiquing beyond Critique Night

• starting the monthly zine NIBBLES and pushing BITES, the journal from BNO, in new directions

Anyone can take advantage of the programming already offered by Boise’s Novel Orchard, and that won’t change. Members have additional benefits they can take advantage of. Just $40 for a year long membership gives you the following, with more benefits constantly becoming available:

1. Full access to all archived blog posts.

2. Access to the members-only lounge on the forums.

3. Discounts, including the following:

   1. 5% discount at Hyde Park Books with presentation of your membership card

   2. Tuition at BNO Workshops (that’s any workshop we offer, online or in person)

   3. Discount on BITES, the journal published annually by BNO.

4. Full Vlog access.

5. Critique Matching Service

6. Invitation to give seminars/write blog posts

7. Monthly newsletter

8. Invitation to summer picnic & end of the year banquet

9. Direct involvement during “Ask the Author” events

10. Electronic version of NIBBLES, the monthly zine from BNO

Click on the "Pay Now" button on right side of the webpage to become a BNO member today!

Contact us

Email Megan: meg...@boisenovelorchard.org

Email Sam: sam...@boisenovelorchard.org

Guidelines for Critiques

Be respectful of the writing. Critique groups will be formed at random. You will read many different genres and themes. Please see below for potentially offensive themes and how to handle them (for both the writer and the reader).

Works submitted for critique is submitted electronically.  Email your correctly formatted and saved document (see below for formatting guidelines) to Sam or Megan no later than the second Tuesday of the month.  Submissions will be distributed the following Wednesday.

You will receive at least three weeks to read and comment on the pages given to you by other writers. Please do everything you can to be certain that you will be present for the next critique meeting that follows the one in which you are sharing your pages. If you can't be there, make other arrangements to get your critique to your writers, and to receive your critiques from your readers. The writers in your group value your input. They've taken the time out of their days to critique your pages; be sure to return the courtesy.

Make sure your pages are formatted correctly.  We encourage proper and generally accepted manuscript formatting.  This means: double spaced, one inch margins with a footer at the bottom right of every page with your name, title of the work and a page number, paragraphs should be indicated with a single tab and never with an extra line space, denote white space with three * centered in the page with a space separating each, font size 12, times new roman.  Do not insert page numbers manually, let the word processor do the work for you; this ensures that the reader will have accurate pagination.  Files should be saved as a .doc, .odt, or .pdf.  Files submitted for critique with other extensions will be rejected with a request to resubmit the file in an acceptable file type.

It really can't be said too much: double space your pages. Pages that are not double spaced are very difficult if not impossible to comment on!

Please provide a short synopsis when working with a shorter section of a longer work, such as a novel, novella or memoir.  This helps the reader stay with the work and understand it to provide you with a critique.

Provide specific feedback. Saying "I don't like this," doesn't tell a writer much. Tell the writer why you don't like it. Even better, give some suggestions as to what the writer could do to change it so you do like it.

Be aware that writers are creative people, and that you may not agree with the things they say, do, or write. Remember that, almost certainly, no one intends to be offensive.  Keep your critique a critique. Mentioning that you would not choose to read something with a specific theme is acceptable. Launching into a discussion of why you object to the specific theme is not.

If you receive something that you find objectionable, or find something personally objectionable within the pages you are reading, first take a deep breath. Remember that this was not written to personally offend you; it was written to convey thoughts, ideas, and a story. If you find it truly offensive, skip the section, and continue reading. Mention why you found the words on the page offensive - any critique is helpful to the writer.

Just because you, and many people you know, do not find specific subject matter to be offensive does not mean that someone else won't find it objectionable.  If you are submitting something for critique that could be considered controversial, warn your fellow writers. You'll get much more and go much further if you warn your readers first. If your pages are generally "clean," but there is a section that could be personally objectionable to a reader, give them a warning of some sort of where the section starts and stops.