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As with many rehabilitation programs, the Presidential Turkey Pardon has not been without its share of controversy. And while I’m all for granting absolution as a pre-Thanksgiving gesture of goodwill, I can’t help but wonder what happens when these maleficent Meleagris gallopavo are back on the streets (Or farms. Whatever.) I hate to say it, but guilty turkeys are guilty for a reason.

So, in the interest of public safety, I decided to do some digging on these born-again Tom and Tina Turkeys. Did they stick to the straight-and-narrow after their fifteen minutes of fame? Or did they descend back to the crime-ridden depths from whence they flapped?

"Turkniss Everdeen" by Brett C.

Nothing says Thanksgiving quite like a construction paper handprint fashioned into a turkey, right? So, in a fit of nostalgia and bookish enthusiasm, we gathered together some feathers, googly eyes, and glitter glue and crafted up fowl versions of our favorite book characters to decorate the Quirk lobby. Check it out!

The clock is ticking, writers (or calendar, I guess, but calendars don’t really tick). Twenty days down, ten days to go. Your word count might be robust, or it might be flagging. You yourself might be feeling crushed, or sick, or panicked that Thanksgiving is next week and making six pecan pies is still a thing you have to do even when you are feverishly trying to churn out prose.

My advice? Go rogue. Take a break. Goof off. But make it count—here’s how.

Ahoy, NaNo-goers! This post is going to be about scenes. Scenes are important! They are what make up your novel. You are going to write a lot of them. But here’s the thing: I have no idea what a scene is. I mean, of course I know what a scene is—it’s, you know, a smallish chunk of words and…stuff.

Ugh, right? It hurts to think about.

Greetings, NaNo-nauts! How goes it? Typing? Scribbling? Yawning from too many nights scratching your head over what the crud is going to happen next in this damn story? Never fear, because this week, we're going old school—as in elementary, my dear writers.

Take heed! If you didn’t know, November is National Novel Writing Month. The idea is simple: write 50,000 words of fiction in a month (that’s 1,667 words a day, number-crunchers). All that it takes to participate is the decision that you’re going to do it. Okay? Great. Now re-read the title of this post.

Look at that post title. Just LOOK AT IT. It’s such thrilling news that I had to use an exclamation point where the Chicago Manual of Style would probably rather I didn’t!

But that’s the thing: in NaNoWriMo, you are not going for style. You aren’t even really going for substance. You’re just going. You’re going to point your flashlight at the darkness, suss out the shapes in front of you, and plunge ahead. You’re going to load up your schooner, set a course for terra incognita, and circumnavigate the hell out of your own personal globe. You’re going to cry (I mean, probably. I always do). You’re going to be a writer because you’re going to be writing.

Now, some people look down on NaNoWriMo because quote-unquote real writers do not need to fill in goofy charts or crank out words like they are so many widgets and count them like they are so many beans. Some people are also jerks. The big secret about NaNoWriMo is that it’s just a fancy way to give yourself permission—or a kick in the butt—to do what Real Writers do every day, and that is string words together.

In other words, if you’re waiting for a sign to get started, this is it.

Someone once told me that publishers hate NaNoWriMo. Well, I’m here to say that 1. that guy is also a jerk and 2. no, we don’t. We at Quirk love anything that makes more writers, because more writers means more books, and more books can’t not be a good thing. So all this month, we’re going to bring you special NaNoWriMo-themed posts, giveaways, advice, and commiseration throughout November. We’ll talk writing, revision, and how to take your first steps into the world of Being A Writer.

Speaking of which: tell us stuff! What are you excited for or trepidatious about? What's your word-churnout-strategy? How can we make these posts interesting enough to entice you into procrastination? Leave thoughts, questions, and suggestions in the comments, and we'll pick three random commenters next week to win a copy of Secret Lives of Great Authors! 

You can also enter our Rafflecopter below! Good luck! 

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