Etc. An open call for guest posts.

We're interested in having some guest writers on the BEAT!

If you'd like to write for the blog, please email us at thebeatofyounglosangeles@gmail.com with your ideas.

Looking forward to hearing from you!

-- the BEAT

Photo credit: Pottery Barn

Do It. NaNoWriMo.

'NaNoWriMo' sounds like some weird anime character or computer virus or something, but in actuality it's short for "National Novel Writing Month." And that month just happens to be November.

During NaNoWriMo, writers get together to help encourage other writers to complete a 50,000-word novel within a month's time. It definitely seems like a lofty goal, but with the right sort of support and motivation, it has the potential to be done.

So log on onto the NaNoWriMo website and register to get writing. You'll get tips and access to forums filled with other writers, who'll be there struggling and hustling along next to you, and it's all free. It's a great way to get motivated to do something amazing like write a novel, and think about it -- in a month's time, you could be an author of your own novel! Now that's a feat.

Get to writing! And keep us updated on your efforts!

-- Chau Tu

Check It. I Write Like.

If there were ever a writer who I wish I could write like, it would be Vladimir Nabokov. There's something about his lyric-like prose that was always so admirable to me, in how effortless it seemed to make everything so beautiful--even in a twisted, dark world as was Lolita. But I definitely don't think I write like Nabokov.

Actually, I apparently write like Stephen King. Or at least, that's what "I Write Like" has told me. This instant aggregator simply asks you to input a sample of text into a box, click a button and voila! It analyzes your text to tell you which author you emulate the most. I inputted an article I had written, which isn't the best way to figure out a literary style, but I'll take King, I guess.

According to the L.A. Times, getting Nabokov is an option, unfortunately for me (a girl can dream!). But you can also get Raymond Chandler, Lewis Carroll, Chuck Palahniuk, Edgar Allan Poe, Kurt Vonnegut, J.K. Rowling, Charles Dickens, or even Dan Brown (ew). So who do you write like? Tell us below in the comments, I'm curious!

-- Chau Tu

Photo credit: babble.com

Check It. Moleskine sleeve.

I'm not going to lie. I love my Moleskine. I keep one of blank lined pages available to write whatever passing thoughts I have, and I live and die by my horizontal day planner. I ordered one just as 2009 was ending so I wouldn't have to be a day without one. That's how much I like my Moleskine.

There are also a slew of other handy pocket-sized and larger Moleskines, equipped for your writing, creating, jotting needs. There's one for watercolors and painting, writing musical notes, travelling, organizing, and, my favorite, scheduling.

In response to this boom in popularity, Moleskine covers have become pretty prevalent. The above Molecover is made for these tiny journals, and although I am interested in protecting my Moleskine (how else would I know where to be on Wednesday at 9:00 p.m.?) part of it's allure is its sleekness.

It's perfectly slim enough to put in my purse without taking up too much room. A sleeve would just add bulkiness. The covers of my day planners have always lasted me the entire year, too, so for my lifestyle there isn't really enough wear-and-tear to justify such a purchase. But for those who love their Moleskines as much as I do, there are some options, like this one, and this design-it-yourself one, that can preserve your notebook for all of eternity.

I just need mine to survive this year, maybe a few more, but these new mushroom businesses seem a bit superfluous.

-- Lauren Williams