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"No Plot? No Problem!: A Low-Stress, High-Velocity Guide to Writing a Novel in 30 Days"

Aired on Monday, November 10th.

Every fall, thousands of people sign up for National Novel Writing Month (or, if you like, "NaNoWriMo"), which happens each November, and which was founded by our guest today, a freelance writer and writing coach in the Bay Area named Chris Baty. Baty's program has helped countless people -- over the last 15 years or so -- finally write that elusive novel and/or get down a workable first draft of said novel to the tune of 50,000 words.... Now, Baty offers a book to share the secrets behind his long-running novel-writing course -- which are, in effect, the secrets to belting out such a novel. With weekly overviews, pep talks, practical suggestions, grounded approaches, and survival tips, this book -- it's called "No Plot? No Problem!: A Low-Stress, High-Velocity Guide to Writing a Novel in 30 Days" -- offers all would-be novelists a results-oriented, quick-fix strategy to finally getting the dang thing down on paper. And per Library Journal: "Every November, tens of thousands of people sign up for National Novel Writing Month and attempt to write a 50,000-word novel. Baty, the brains behind this competition, has produced an uproariously funny motivational manifesto so readers can get a leg-up in his race or in the larger publishing game. The key is to lower your expectations 'from "best-seller" to "would not make someone vomit,"' says Baty, who maintains that stress and a deadline are important parts of writing. Aimed at the non-serious, with an emphasis on summoning creativity and having a life-changing experience, this original approach will appeal to anyone up for a challenge." Also on today's ST, commentator Barry Friedman is thinking about a friend -- who also happens to be a writer, actually -- who went on food stamps recently, and then got off of them.

Rich Fisher passed through KWGS about thirty years ago, and just never left. Today, he is the general manager of Public Radio Tulsa, and the host of KWGS’s public affairs program, StudioTulsa, which celebrated its twentieth anniversary in August 2012 . As host of StudioTulsa, Rich has conducted roughly four thousand long-form interviews with local, national, and international figures in the arts, humanities, sciences, and government. Very few interviews have gone smoothly. Despite this, he has been honored for his work by several organizations including the Governor's Arts Award for Media by the State Arts Council, a Harwelden Award from the Arts & Humanities Council of Tulsa, and was named one of the “99 Great Things About Oklahoma” in 2000 by Oklahoma Today magazine.
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