Chasing 50,000 words in one month, a trip to Winterset and more
Hello! I’m Isaac Hamlet, your local arts and entertainment reporter, and my favorite Latin term is "arbiter bibendi."
Welcome to Off Hours, a new weekly newsletter on all things entertainment from the Des Moines Register. Authored by reporters and occasional guest writers, we’re hyped to show you what we get up to in our Off Hours — from camping to concerts to crocheting and everything in between. Get it first in your inbox by subscribing today. For the aspiring writers in the crowd, head on a journey through literary haunts in Des Moines with me.
The Deal
November is the most magical time of the year. Magical because — when the stars align — I aspire to have the first draft of a manuscript completed by the end of the month and, come the first of December, I have a pretty first draft of a novel or novella that I like.
More often, though, my ambition magically doesn’t materialize, and I’m left with much less than I’d hoped for, yet still more than I had at the start of November.
For those not in the know, November is NaNoWriMo (a fun-to-say abbreviation for National Novel Writing Month), a time of year where thousands of people attempt to write 50,000 words of a novel. Sometimes, people even achieve this goal.
I don’t know what it says about me that I’ve only accomplished a “win” for NaNo two times, even though I cheat pretty much every year (typically starting with a few thousand words already written when I go into the month). This year, unfortunately, was a losing year for me.
I started the month with about 12,000 words already in the can and I’m expecting to finish with around 25,000 words, only a little more than double what I started with.
Still, if we factor in the 1,000 or so words this is going to be (plus whatever my word count for work writing is this month) I probably hit a handy 50,000 (no one do the math on that to prove me wrong; I need this.) Win or lose though, I still spent a considerable amount of time trying to foster creativity this past month as I pulled together the ramshackle skeleton of... something resembling a story.
In order to do that, I spent a lot of time in my apartment listening to thematically appropriate playlists, drank a lot of tea and read passages from other books I liked to see what inspiration I could glean.
I take some solace in the fact that my pattern so far with NaNo has been to have alternatively strong and weak years and this year — undoubtedly a weak year — falls in line with the pattern so far. So it's not so much me "failing" this year, as it is me planting the seeds of success for next year!
At the very least it means I have a little bit more time to breathe and gather my thoughts on what I want to write, find other inspiration and write at a more leisurely pace.
Maybe you did NaNoWriMo this year and were more successful at it than me. If so, feel free to brag and share your word count with me at ihamlet@gannett.com.
My Top Three places to draw creative inspiration
1. Beaverdale Books: I'm pretty confident that anyone reading this is already familiar with the local bookstore named for the Des Moines neighborhood it's located in. I find that one of the most creatively exhilarating things a person can do is wander a bookstore and pick up an interesting-looking text. Just looking at the cover and reading the back of the book cause your mind to spin with possibilities.
2. Mars Cafe: Another well-known Des Moines business is Mars Cafe in the Drake neighborhood. Maybe it's just the hours I've visited, but I've never been overwhelmed by how busy the place is while also never finding it empty, meaning there's a nice ambient noise at all times, which is nice for writing.
3. The Iowa Women of Achievement Bridge: Do you ever just see something and, not knowing anything about it, you just feel creatively energized by it? Despite knowing next to nothing about bridge architecture, I really enjoy going to this bridge on a long walk or bike ride to try and recharge my creative battery.
Eat This, Drink That
The Lachele, single — $8: I'm a big fan of the cheeseburger as an art form, and Lachele's Fine Foods nailed its quintessential expression. It's smashed burger with cheese, pickles, onion and lettuce perfectly balanced, as all things should be, with its LFF sauce — a combination of mayo, mustard and ketchup — which adds a nicely understated, mayo-adjacent flavor.
Get it: Stop by on Sundays for breakfast and every other day but Monday for lunch and dinner. Hot tip: grab some fries with breakfast seasoning to round out your meal.
Espresso Martini — $8: You'll start to notice a pattern with me and any featured alcoholic drinks included on Off Hours. The less it tastes like alcohol, the more I like it. The Breakfast Club, located in the East Village, has an espresso martini that tastes like you could heat it up and use it to top a macchiato.
Get it: This early morning to lunch spot is open from 6 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
Burgers are a food group, amiright? Hit me up at ihamlet@gannett.com with your suggestions.
48 Hours Off
Saturday morning: It's the final day of the Des Moines' Downtown Winter Farmers’ Market along Court Avenue, starting at 9 a.m. and running until 1 p.m. If you ask me, it's not a bad time to fill out some holiday shopping before the month gets too hairy.
Saturday night: "Every Christmas Story Ever Told (And Then Some!)" performs its second show at 7:30 p.m. at West Des Moines' Tallgrass Theatre Co. The comedy, which happens to be the 50th main production staged by the theater, is an amalgamation of some of the most popular Christmas tales of all time.
Sunday Afternoon: Some of New York City's most noteworthy jazz performers are going to be at Caspe Terrace, 33158 Ute Ave. in Waukee, on Sunday from 2 to 4 p.m. with the arrival of saxophonist Chris Byars, guitarist Pasquale Grasso and bassist Ari Roland. It's rare for events in this series to crop up this late in the year, so this is a fleeting opportunity for jazz lovers. Tickets at the door cost $35, but audiences can call event organizer Abe Goldstien in advance of the show at 515-279-6452 for a discounted $30 ticket.
Hit the Road
One of the places in central Iowa I've been meaning to make my way out to is Winterset, about 40 minutes southwest of Des Moines. The film buff in me wants to check out the Iowa Theater, which opened in 1914 and reopened in 2017 after a remodel, at some point, while the doing-something-before-sitting-in-a-dark-theater-for-two-hours part of me would like to swing by the Winterset Cidery for hard apple cider and walk across the bridges of Madison County composer and playwright Jason Robert Brown (who wrote the music and lyrics for the musical "The Bridges of Madison County") has told me so much about.
Knowing my grandma often reads these to my grandpa, I've also got to mention the John Wayne Birthplace & Museum located in the city. While I'm not personally a big aficionado of Mr. Wayne's filmography, he is one of a few Iowans to net a Best Actor Oscar win in 1970 for "True Grit."
Around Town
Iowa Stage Theatre Company launches season with pandemic-delayed topical comedy 'The Cake'
Ballet Des Moines and Des Moines Gay Men's Chorus announce new artistic directors
With spirits in all 99 Iowa counties, Iowa Distilling Co. breaks ground on a new production site
Java Joe's CoffeeHouse closes, ending an era of political and theatrical tradition on Fourth Street
My Day Job
Look out for a couple holiday lists from me as well as at least one entry in the Register's annual People to Watch list.
Stop by next week to catch up on how shopping reporter Hannah Rodriguez is doing it up right this the holiday season!
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This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Off Hours: NaNoWriMo no go
