With three days left before my self-imposed deadline to come up with a spiffy idea for NaNoWriMo (and six days before the official forum gets reset and would-be authors are permitted to post details of their 2016 novels), I have…one fragment of an idea.
It goes like this: The protagonist gets on a commuter train and instead of taking him to work as it always has, it takes him somewhere else, somewhere weird, wrong or possibly horrible. From there, the rest of the story chronicles how he and his fellow commuters puzzle out how and if they can get back to their comfortably mundane world.
It’s not much but the fact that I have a smidgen of something gives me some hope I may be able to meet at least the technical requirement of having an idea in place by October 1st.
Here’s my second pre-NaNoWriMo update. Exciting news ahead, depending on how very generously you define exciting.
Story idea progress: None
This is slightly disturbing because my goal was to have an idea picked out by the end of the month OR ELSE. There are eight days left in the month. Tick tock tick tock…
Tool selection: Tentatively done
I have come up with what is likely to be the final selection of writing tools for NaNoWriMo. In theory I could choose a tool that would work across all three major OSes I’ll be writing in (Windows, Mac and iOS) by using Word, for example, but I’ve opted to stick with using distraction-free programs and saving in txt format. The winners are:
Windows: WriteMonkey. I am still hoping version 3 gets a final release before November, but I’ve written over 50,000 words using version 2.7, so it’s not a big deal if it doesn’t.
macOS: FocusWriter. Mainly because WriteMonkey is not yet available on Macs yet (another reason to hope for version 3’s release).
iOS: iA Writer. I already have it, it’s simple and works. I am also testing out a couple of other apps, such as Werdsmith, but so far none has really won me over. I don’t expect to do a lot of writing on my iPad, anyway.
I will be using OneDrive again to save to the big fluffy cloud, with local backups on each platform. I may also send backups to Dropbox or Google Drive if I’m feeling zany.
Under the usual headline of “We found some fresh pins for you” I looked over my latest email from Pinterest (a name that is equal parts dumb and clever). Most of these messages contain collections of tips on writing because I indicated writing was my primary interest when I signed up, rather than drag racing or bocci.
Here’s a “pinterest” from the latest missive I received, along with what I suggest is the only possible correct response:
How to make your novel impossible for the reader to put down
[expand more_text=”Click for answer” height=”0″ hide_less=”yes” link_color=”#1e73be” link_style=”underlined”]Super glue on the cover[/expand]
Let’s check in on my progress in preparing for NaNoWriMo 2016!
First, a recap of my prep schedule below.
September:
Come up with a story idea
Choose a program for the actual writing part
October:
Ruminate over the chosen idea, perhaps outline a bit
Configure the writing program as necessary
Since October hasn’t arrived yet, let’s look closer at September:
Come up with a story idea
Progress: None whatsoever. I can say without hesitation that I have devoted no thought to what I might write about, other than a vague notion that it will be a story in which things happen. This is partly because the first week of September is the start of the fall semester and this is a very hectic time for me in my current work. My brain is not inclined to creative thinking during these early days. This is a bit of a stretch this year as Labor Day didn’t fall until the 5th, meaning I had five entire days to do nothing but think without significant distraction and instead of thinking I did other things, like eat olives. Mmm, olives.
2. Choose a program for the actual writing part
Progress: Some actual progress. Right now I’m looking at four different programs and mulling the pros and cons of each. The four are:
Microsoft Word 2016
WriteMonkey
FocusWriter
Scrivener
I’ve used three of the four in previous NaNoWriMos, with FocusWriter being the brash rookie trying to win me over. A succinct evaluation of my experience in using each would be:
Microsoft Word 2016: Technically I used earlier versions of Word but the last few have been essentially the same. I’ve encountered no issues in using Word for NaNoWriMo.
Pro: Works across Windows, Mac and iOS Con: Way more than you need to write a straightforward novel, formatting code is a hidden, tentacled monster that will try to strangle your story if you start mucking about with it
WriteMonkey: Again, no issues. The spartan nature of the interface puts it squarely in the distraction-free writing category. Most of its extra functionality is hidden behind keyboard shortcuts or a single menu that is hidden by default.
Pro: Simple, highly configurable interface Con: Curiously slow to start up, current version is Windows-only, some features are limited or hard to use
Scrivener: A mix-up in local vs. cloud (in this case, Dropbox) saves resulted in a catastrophic loss of a large chunk of the story (thousands of words). This derailed my attempt and further pushed me away from using Scrivener for any writing. Scrivener is essentially the opposite of WriteMonkey, with an absolute ton of options and tools, most of them staring you right in the face (though you can hide most if you choose).
Pro: Many options for researching, outlining, organizing characters and more, interface can be tweaked, scenes can be easily moved around, works across Windows, Mac and iOS Con: Instead of a single file, it creates many, introducing more points of failure, save mechanism annoyingly saves after two seconds of inactivity by default. This can wreak havoc if you save to a cloud-based drive.
FocusWriteris similar to WriteMonkey, but emphasizes a different set of features, including backgrounds and ambient music intended to put you into a relaxed and writin’ kind of mood. Curiously I find these rather distracting so have turned them off. It works on Windows and Mac, which is a plus.
At this point I am leaning toward either WriteMonkey or FocusWriter. WM has a spiffy new version in the works but it may not be ready before November. The current version (2.70) is still perfectly fine, just less sexy (and Windows-only). FocusWriter is nice but I haven’t found that feature yet that would convince me to use it over WriteMonkey.
I expect to have settled on the tool in the next few weeks. As for the story idea? Maybe I’ll do some brainstorming this weekend. Yes, that’s it.
It’s only two months until National Novel Writing Month 2016 rolls around. Will I take part? Most likely. Will I succeed? Odds are trending toward 50/50 (at best). My current plan is I have no plan, but this year I will definitely make a plan and have it in place one full month before this whole thing kicks off on November 1st.
I’ll report back at the end of September on the status of the plan, possibly while weeping in despair.
Yesterday I spent some time looking at various distraction-free writing programs but didn’t find any that really clicked. I still prefer WriteMonkey and am hoping the sexy new version launches soon, though I am doubtful of that. I could use the current version of WriteMonkey and probably should. Or Word. Or a notepad and crayons. Or anything. It already feels like I’m making excuses. I wrote my first (admittedly unfinished) novel by hand–using a pencil! Well, several pencils. I don’t need the newest, shiniest writing software in order to write.
But I want it.
Anyway, the proto-plan still in development is to have both the tool and story idea nailed down a month in advance. If I don’t I will officially give up before I even start.
Here’s to my maybe success in a month and my maybe greater success in three months!
No writing on Days 10-16. I am now a little over 20,000 words behind the required pace.
This does not bode well. If it was a suspense story, it would be one of the “where exactly is the suspense?” variety. We know how it’s going to end. In failure. [sad trombone sound]
And yet I am not sad nor am I discouraged. Is it because I am drunk? No. Is it because I have succumbed to despair and no longer care? No. Is it because I’ve become suddenly obsessed with adult coloring books? No. (What’s up with those, anyway? What a weird yet ultimately harmless fad.)
It is because while this version of Weirdsmith currently languishes (turns out third time is not always the charm) I am still confident that the latter half of the month will be a productive one writing-wise. How? I shall discuss this soon.
The domain writersdigest.com is not available. However, writersdigested.com is. Think of the possibilities. Think of Harlan Ellison trapped in the stomach of some great mythological monster like the hydra or the leprechaun.
Then think again about how the domain is still available and maybe there’s a reason for that.
But still, Harlan Ellison trapped in the stomach of a leprechaun. It demands to be written.
After a trickle of words on Day 7, work came to a stop with nothing at all written on Day 8 and 9. In fact, what I just wrote here is more than I have written for the past 48 hours on the story.
There are a few issues. Here they are:
Although I had a better plan this time than I did during NaNoWriMo 2015, it still wasn’t a very detailed plan. It was less a map and more a series of scratches on tree bark that had then been assaulted by a ravenous woodpecker.
I opted to use some real life settings and people as templates, intending to blend/merge and refine these things on a subsequent rewrite to make them more genuine composites rather than thinly-disguised stand-ins. But I went so all-in on this that a rewrite would be a challenge at best and a lot of work to make the reality more fictional. Too much work, possibly. In other words, I kind of screwed up.
My efforts to write at lunch have been stymied by distractions. I’ll probably move future writing there from the staff lounge, which can be loud and prone to interruptions, to one of the designated quiet areas of the library, which are prone to silence because very few people want to occupy areas that are truly silent, even in a library.
Mainly though, my plan is lacking form and shape and what I’ve written feels like warmed over work-based fanfic than an actual piece of fiction. I haven’t decided what to do yet but come tomorrow (Monday) I’ll move forward with…something.
Day 4: No writing done as I came home completely pooped from work.
Day 5: The weather outside was frightful so I took advantage and wrote about 1,000 words over lunch. I was not overly enthused with the output but this is quantity over quality time so I made temporary peace with my mediocrity.
Day 6: See Day 4. I sat down to write and immediately felt ready to doze off. Was I actually tired or was it the thought of continuing the unexciting scene from the previous day’s work that was yawn-inducing? Note to aspiring writers: don’t end a writing session with something dull like, “Randolph washed the dishes, put them away and went to bed.”
Hopefully Day 7 will see exciting plot twists and hijinks, possibly involving blimps. But probably not.
Day 3 of Camp NaNoWriMo and I am remaining a wee bit ahead of the pace, finishing the day at 5,650 words (the minimum for three days is 5,001). The protagonist of Weirdsmith leads a fairly ordinary, even slightly dull, life. His biggest issues are little ones, with things never quite working out the way they should. His frustrations are growing and in a few more days I expect to see some big things go very right for William Smith before it all goes horribly wrong. And after that? Things get weird.
I’m enjoying the ride so far. I don’t even want to think about editing this mess, though.
Starting late and a little slowly, I still managed to add another 1,984 words to my story today. Hooray!
It’s still a bit shapeless and when I’m winging it like this I always have a hard time getting a sense of the pacing, but I think it’s starting to pull together in a few interesting ways so I’m hopeful that I’ll be able to keep puttering along until I arrive at the real meat of the story where things get weird. I’m still in the setting-things-up stage where the story is very conventional, just an average schmuck in an average job trying to write and find a steady date. Soon events both bad and good (but actually still bad) are going to happen that will make life suddenly a lot more interesting for one William Smith.
The first thing I did today for my inaugural Camp NaNoWriMo project was abandon my chosen project.
This happened to be my failed 2013 NaNoWriMo novel, Start of the World. Instead I decided to take another stab at my failed 2015 effort, Weirdsmith. One advantage here is I’d only written about 5,000 words of Weirdsmith before abandoning it, so it’s easy to start over rather than figure out what to do with a larger chunk of text (as would have been the case with Start of the World).
I also happened to come up with just enough ideas and little hooks while running today to give the story an overall arc, something it never really had last year. I still wasn’t sure what the opening scene was going to be when I sat down to write, and having now written 1,780 words (above the required minimum of 1,667) I’m still not convinced this won’t all blow up in my face like one of Wile E. Coyote’s inventions. Still, it was nice to write something longer than an amusing cat image.
I’ll mull over whether to switch to first person perspective before starting tomorrow’s session. On the one hand, first person has an immediacy that I find appealing. As a bonus, it’s easier to find the protagonist’s voice, though there is a danger in making it too much your voice. If I’m undecided by the time I’m writing again I’ll stick to third person to at least keep things consistent.
Hopefully tomorrow’s update won’t be a picture of me sobbing into a bottle of Jack Daniels.
