Paperback Writer

EndWeek NaNoPost

2009-11-21T00:00:00.003-05:00

I'm hoping by the time this post shows up on the blog that I've completed 50K and made my NaNoWriMo goal. But if I haven't, I'm sure you'll forgive me; we've still got nine days left.

This past week for me has been all about striking back. I got over a major disruption and took back my writing space. Every time I sat down to work it felt like victory, as if I'd taken back my Road Runner lunchbox from a schoolyard bully. Life can interrupt and shout and hit and stomp you, but at the end of the day if you really want that PB&J, you have take it back and say "Mine."

The last week of NaNoWriMo will be a bit like a deadline week is for a pro. You may become painfully aware of time, or see November 30th bearing down on you like a train without brakes. Panic can set in, and so can the urge to have multiple marathon writing sessions. Just the other day I caught myself doing the math in my head to see how much I'd have to write per day to finish the entire book by November 30th (about 5.4K, or eight hours of writing sessions per day, which is doable -- but I'd have to set aside all my other WIPs to do it.)

If you've fallen behind, I'm not going to tell you to give up on your goal. Some things are worth a couple of marathon writing sessions. Just be smart and try to pace yourself, take regular breaks and don't do a wordcount every five minutes.

If you're on schedule or you're in the home stretch, don't rush things to finish early -- keep up a steady pace. One thing most pros do is learn how to take advantage of time and make the best use of it versus forever trying to beat the clock. There are no prizes for the fastest writer, or the most prolific.

At this point whether you have 10K, 20K, 30K, or 49.9K, you may also have another visitation from the Ghost of Doubts and Fears Past. They like to drop in around now to remind you of how much you suck, and there's nothing they like better than to derail a writer who is coming within sight of their goal. I think they have prizes for that; little shrunken writer heads that they put on necklaces and wear around their scrawny necks.

If those old feelings get into your writing space, remember what you have to do: accept them, agree with them, and then write your words for the day. Don't waste your time and energy wrestling with invisible jackasses who only want to suck the life and joy out of your work and your skull.

So how are you NaNo'ers out there doing? Has anyone won, or gotten close to the finish line? Let us know in comments.

No-Cost Ten

2009-11-20T00:00:00.001-05:00

Ten Things You Can Have for Nothing

Freeware caution: always scan free downloads of anything for bugs and other threats before dumping the programs into your hard drive.

ALEX Personal Knowledge Base is "a very simple tool to organize your knowledge, notes, ideas and other information" (OS: Windows32/64, Linux32/64, OS X, Solaris, AIX and etc.)

Eldy is "the first easy software dedicated to the elderly, from European Eldy’s non-profit organization. Eldy allows seniors use computers and enjoy the Internet revolution, by providing a software that allows easy access to all the most important functions: e-mail (any pop3/imap account), chat, Web browsing, weather, text editor, streaming and a lot more." [I'm listing this one for writers out there like me with older parents who are often perplexed by Internet; this might make things a bit easier for Mom & Pop.] (OS: Windows and Linux; multi-lingual, multi-user version available.)

FotoMix is "a versatile program that allows you to mix and manipulate different pictures, to create a wide variety of images. Features: Remove, add or alter backgrounds; add or remove your loved and not so loved ones from your pictures; design eye-catching photo collages, illustrations, wallpapers, CD and DVD covers, and miscellaneous Web graphics; create photo montages by combining multiple pictures into a unique heirloom depicting retrospectives of a birth, marriage, anniversary, etc." (OS: Windows 2000/XP/Vista/7)

Idea Knot for Mac allows the user to "Quickly tie ideas together. That is what Idea Knot does. With it you write documents that contain ideas written quickly at the instant inspiration hits you. You then organize these ideas together into relevant groups. Finally, when you have more time, you can edit those ideas until they are complete. Freeware for Mac OS X only. Source code posted on developer's site. We use it internally to develop drafts for legal documents, use-cases for software development and brainstorming documents during meetings" (OS: Mac OS X)

Image Tricks is "an application to edit and generate images. It uses Mac OS X Core Image filters that transform pictures to unimaginable extent. Various mathematical algorithms let you generate unique images. Created artwork can be used as a background, web-design illustration, for print materials and more" (OS: Mac OS X 10.5 Intel, Mac OS X 10.4 Intel, Mac OS X 10.5 PPC, Mac OS X 10.4, Mac OS X 10.6, Mac OS X 10.6 Intel, Mac OS X 10.4 PPC)

iSnip is "a new freeware application that allows users to manage and edit a collection of text clippings that can be easily accessed from a system wide menu. iSnip includes the ability to create a snippet from the clipboard contents using a global hotkey, inserting or copying of the selected snippet, instant filtering of your snippet collection, full drag and drop organization, full rule-based organization (with wildcard support), integrated software updating, import and export of the users snippet database, and more" (OS: Mac OS X 10.3, Mac OS X 10.3.9)

Read your Kindle books on your PC with this free Kindle app (OS: Windows 7, Vista and XP; Mac version coming soon.)

OneLoupe is a screen magnifier that is "simple and easy to use, the small Magnifier is always ready when you need it to view all fine details, even the small print in the I-Net to decipher. OneLoupe is very practical and user-friendly. And it is virtually no burden on the system, an installation is not required. Once placed on the desktop, it is always ready for use. Adjustable zoom range, and the zoom factor allow an individual adapt to the needs of individuals. This will of course be saved for the next start of OneLoupe with your favourite settings. Get color pixel from your desktop screen is also implemented, and not to forget that it offers the possibility for the quick creation of images from the zoom range, for comfortable work over the clipboard. It is also suitable for people with visual impairments or weak eyes. The control of the zoom window is done through direct input of the keyboard and mouse motions" (OS: Windows Servers 2000/2003/2005 Win 98/XP/Vista and Windows-7 x64/x86)

"Part scrapbook, part “to-do” list (or to-buy list), Ript mimics the actions of ripping, piling and arranging scraps of information. If you can see it on your computer, you can “rip” it. Simply drag and drop images and text from the internet or your computer and arrange them however you please — making it easy to compile, print and share your handiwork" (OS: Windows XP and Vista)

Text to HTML Converter is "a free tool for plain text to html conversion. To convert your text file to html -- just open the text file and press "convert" button" (OS: Windows)

Last minute extra: want to read a novel by an award-winning writer as it's being written? Author Holly Lisle is giving away the first draft of her new novel, TalysMana, to readers by e-mail. There's no cost involved, you just have to sign up by name and e-mail here, and you'll receive the book one scene at a time as she writes it.

Newsy Bits

2009-11-19T00:00:00.001-05:00

NY Time bestselling author Bob Mayer has joined the line-up over at my group blog, Genreality, and his first post is already up.

Google has this image search thing called Image Swirl that is currently in demo stage, but looks pretty neat; evidently it's set up to operate a bit like ThinkMap's Visual Thesaurus (link swiped from The Presurfer.)

I'm going to be doing some blog renovations during the month of December, when I'll also be wrapping up my 2009 online art project, PBWindow. While I won't be posting every day after 12/31/09, I am going to keep the photoblog and post to it whenever I have something interesting or fun to share.

Anyone besides me and the kids going to see New Moon this weekend?

Mid-week NaNoPost

2009-11-18T00:00:00.000-05:00

We've passed the mid-way mark of NaNoWriMo, and I really felt the burn this past week. The words were not interested in me or my novel and tried to avoid me. All the fun went out of town. I got mired down in scene after scene and slogged, slogged, slogged. If there was an Olympic slogging event, I think I would have qualified five times over.

A couple of times my mercenary self (a bit like TssVar from StarDoc, but with more teeth) tried to reason with my writer self (a lot like an exhausted hamster lolling in a wheel, with less teeth.) The money-hungry lizard self kept asking, "Why keep doing this when we could be 100% focused on the stuff we do for money?" My little fuzzy squeaky self was smart, though, and hid under the bed until my mercenary self got tired of poking at the dust pellets and slithered off to balance the checkbook and conquer some helpless planet.

If you writers out there are where I was, this is a wonderful time to laugh at yourself. Writers are never as funny as we are when we're frustrated. We do crazy stuff, we say ridiculous things, and occasionally we find inspiration in the most unlikely of places.

To cope with this slog-fest I've been stuck in, I went to see the same play twice in two days, made myself fish for breakfast (after everyone left the house) and cleaned out my laundry room (you could now comfortably dine on any surface in there, including the ones inside the machines.) I also worried and fretted and meditated and wore my ugliest pair of socks and at one point considered stopping by a tattoo parlor (fortunately that last impulse was defeated by the memory of my mother's life long threat to chop off any part of my body that I ever have tattooed.)

Writing is glorious. It's also heart-breaking. But somewhere in the middle it can get a little ridiculous, too. So can we. In those times, the best medicine is laughter, directed at yourself, at this rather insane calling of ours, and at everything we do to cope with it.

The highlight of this past week was when I shut off the computer, went into the kitchen and baked a big batch of cookies that I really didn't have time to bake. It reminded me that spending time doing something frivolous and unnecessary, just for the joy of it, is always a good thing. Kind of like NaNoWriMo . . .

Snow and Trees

2009-11-17T00:00:00.001-05:00

In addition to my NaNoNovel, I'm working on the third Kyndred book, and one major obstacle I have with this one is the setting for one of the early chapters of the novel: snow and trees, trees and snow. There are mountains (background) a road (lost early on) and one cargo truck (ditto) but that's about it. During the length of one chapter I have to move my characters through a setting in which there are no other people, vehicles, houses, towns or any sign of civilization.

This is the sort of place I think of as a non-setting setting, and it's one of the toughest to write because it seems like you have so little to work with. It's always tempting to start adding in things into this bleak landscape to remind the reader that the characters are still on this planet: critters (wild), caves (abandoned) and cabins (ditto) would be my first choices. But a magical distraction or solution to their immediate problem doesn't serve this story, so I have to work with what I have: snow and trees.

Fortunately I've visited several remote areas during winter, and I know I have a bit more than snow and trees to work with. There is the sky, various forms of natural light, water (streams, lakes, ponds) rock formations, animal tracks, and remnants of earlier passages (some hikers don't seem to know what trash cans are.)

Cold is always touted to mute the senses, and it does restrict my sense of smell, but I've found it also sharpens my hearing. You'd think a setting of snow and trees would be pretty silent, and it can be, but there's also the wind, snow falling, birds, echoes, etc. If you're in thaw weather, you hear water dripping, rushing, shifting debris and cracking as solid surfaces break up; if you're in a freeze you hear branches snapping, drifts collapsing and this odd crunchy sound ice-covered objects make when they rub together. In such places you also tend to regularly hear your own breathing and (occasionally) your heartbeat.

I find visuals help, too. I regularly go over and search Landscapes 2.0 for inspirational pics using keywords like mountains, snow and winter. Often photographers find things in otherwise deserted landscapes that are beautiful, poignant and even astonishing.

Once I put together all my visuals, notes and ideas, I found I had quite a bit more to work with than just snow and trees. But I'll admit, I'm glad it's only for one chapter. As much as I like snow and trees, I like great big fireplaces, warm snuggly quilts and huge steaming mugs of hot chocolate even better. So will my characters.

Related links:

How Setting Influences Story by J.C. Hewitt.

Fun with Setting by PBW.

Image credit: © Luminis | Dreamstime.com

NaNo Ten

2009-11-16T00:00:00.000-05:00

Ten Things to Help with NaNoWriMo

Customize your anagrams with Wordsmith.org's Advanced Anagrams generator.

Over at the forums on the NaNoWriMo site I found the quite excellent Big Scary Character Quiz '09, which gives you a long list of questions to answer in character.

Another detailed character worksheet template: The Epiguide.com Fiction Writer's Character Chart.

For those who need to make maps and have GIMP, here's a neat step-by-step tutorial on how to do it.

If you want a common last name for your ordinary Joe, check out the Most Common Surnames in the U.S. using data from the 1990 census.

If you want to put up a simple progress meter on your blog or site, check out Writertopia's page on Writing Meters.

The Great American Novel by . . . Sky Halillee -- get a writing pseudonym that is an anagram of your real name (or anything you type in the box) over at Technologies du Langage here (enter the name or words you want anagramed in the box next to "Tapez sans accents.")

How many characters or words do you type per minute, and how many mistakes do you make? Find out with this online Typing Speed Test (warning, highly addictive.)

A nice collection of world-building links can be found at World Builder Projects.

Dr. Wicked's Write or Die is "a web application that encourages writing by punishing the tendency to avoid writing. Start typing in the box. As long as you keep typing, you're fine, but once you stop typing, you have a grace period of a certain number of seconds and then there are consequences." (I tried this in Kamimkaze/Strict moder and deliberately stopped writing to see what would happen. It flashed a few colors at me, then it began erasing what I'd already typed. That is wicked.)

All of the above links were found while rifling through at NaNoWriMo.org's Helpful Orgs and Site forum.

Off to Write & Deal

2009-11-15T00:00:00.001-05:00

Create a sticky note online for your blog at Wigflip.com's sticky note generator, Superstickies (link swiped from Gerard over at The Generator Blog.)

EndWeek NaNoPost

2009-11-14T00:23:00.004-05:00

Since the midweek NaNoPost I've been dealing with things that don't belong in my writing space that I let get into my writing space. Why? Well, I had the best of intentions. It was important. I thought I could sort it out quickly and get back to work. And I didn't, not for two days, and it wrecked me and derailed the decent momentum I had going with the NaNoNovel.

People who are not writers often have very little idea of how much havoc they can create in the writing space. At times it's the equivalent of going to someone's workplace to empty a garbage can on their desk in front of their boss while shrieking obscenities at them. Kind of difficult to get back to being a happy, productive worker after someone subjects you to that.

So what do you do when someone intrudes and dumps their garbage in your writing space? I believe the writer has to first get them out of it. The next task is to clean up the mess they made and carry out the trash they left behind. Once the writing space is restored to optimum working conditions, the writer can then make peace with what happened and get back to work.

Easier said than done, I know. Sometimes you have to relocate your writing space, become very creative with handling other people's garbage, or even take some time away from work to clear your head, focus, and find a way back to where you were before this happened.

After an intrusion, I depend on meditation and work to reset my head and help me cope. It never happens fast enough to suit me, but I've also learned that pretending me and my writing space haven't been trashed doesn't work. I do know better than to stop writing, even when I have to work through days when I can't produce a single decent sentence. I write badly anyway. The very act of writing anything is quietly, enormously healing.

I'm hoping today that I get back on track. If not, I'll keep working until I do. I may not always guard my writing space as I should, but as long as I keep writing there, it will always be my sanctuary.

In case anyone is interested in seeing some excerpts from my NaNoNovel, I posted one at the groupblog last Saturday and another at the Stories blog today.

Dimensional Ten

2009-11-13T00:00:00.001-05:00

Ten Free RPG Generators I Played with over at Dimensions Game Software

Sight: A thickening fog Sound: A whistle Taste: Bland Touch: Springy Smell: Inviting (The Ambience Generator)

"You hear rattling sounds." (The Automated GM)

The Catacomb Generator

Rhapsodomancy: Divination by using random verses, passages, or words from the works of a great poet. (The Divination Generator)

Fern: Hart's tongue Flower: Gardenia Fungus: Bread mold Herb: Henbane Moss: Peat moss Tree: Cashew Grass: Buffalo Grass Shrub: Snowberry Vine: Ivy Weed: Bindweed (The Fantastic Flora Generator)

Name: Colm Origin: Gaelic Gender: Male Meaning: Dove (The Name Generator)

"The trees shall die before the desert shall stumble." (The Obscure Prophecy Generator)

Demeanor: Oblivious Hardship: Deaf Phobia/Mania: (None) Occupation: Doll maker (The Personality Generator)

chybblaerm ~ kralychaeg ~ laefdraz ~ mylyglah ~ wiemy (The Word Generator)

Number of Continents: 3 Number of Major Island Chains: 4 Number of Oceans: 6 Number of Moons: 2 Number of Suns: 3 [also generate continents, island chains, regions and more] (The Worldbuilder)

To check out more of Dimensions Game Software's free online RPG generators, head over to their RPG toolbox page and scroll down to the bottom.

Hot Spots

2009-11-12T00:00:00.001-05:00

I followed a link over on Gerard's Presurfer blog and found a new and very interesting online generator, described on the site as:

"Feng-GUI simulates human vision during the first 5 seconds of exposure to visuals, and creates heatmaps based on an algorithm that predicts what a real human would be most likely to look at. This offers designers, advertisers and creatives, a Pre-testing technology that predicts performance of an image, by analyzing levels of attention, brand effectiveness and placement, as well as breaking down the Flow of Attention."

To test drive the service, I uploaded my latest cover art into the online generator (which you can use for free, but only once every five hours, btw. Also, they seem to save a copy of whatever you upload, at least temporarily, so I wouldn't upload anything you don't want the world to see.)

Here's the heatmap I got in return:

According to the site, the heatmap information should be interpreted as follows:

"Heatmap color - The more intense the color (from blue to red), the more interest the viewer is. * Hotspots - Fixations - Regions of interest. The circles represent the focal points and their size.

Hotspots Order - The number next to the circle, represent the order in which the eyes move.

Gaze Saccades - The lines represent the movements of the eyes between hotspots.
Which areas are being ignored. If there is no color or circle in an area, that section has no interest."

I'm glad to know that my title and byline were the first thing the simulator looked at; that's a little reassuring. Not that I mind it then looking at the nice young man on the cover; kind of difficult to ignore him.

I don't know how accurate the results are, but this might be an interesting generator to try if you're putting together your own cover art or web page design and want to see what it thinks your hottest spots are.

Mid-week NaNoPost

2009-11-11T00:00:00.004-05:00

It's a little more than a third of the way toward the NaNoWriMo deadline of November 30th, and if life hasn't interfered in some fashion, I imagine most of you have kept at it. You've probably encountered a few bumps over the last ten days, so it may not feel as exciting or fun as it did when you started out, but you're also learning from it. Success is a lovely thing, but adversity is a better teacher.

Some of the lessons you may have encountered since our last NaNoCheck:

Characters: Your cast seems to have turned into a collection of giant sloths who only want to stand or sit around talking to each other.

Details: You can't remember her exact hair color, his exact eye color, or you're afraid you switched them and she now has green hair and he has red eyes.

Dialogue: You're sick of using said, so you're trying to mix up the dialogue tags. But you don't want to use anything else but said. But you're tired of said. Lather, rinse, repeat.

Jumping the Gun: Three more words: Premature sex scene.

Modifiers: -ly adverbs keep coming out of nowhere like barnacles to latch onto your verbs.

Repetition: The eye references are multiplying like tribbles.

Ugh Factors: Your protagonist is starting to remind you of that bitchy unmarried relation you avoid at all the family reunions, and the antagonist is beginning to behave exactly like your ex right before you started looking at rentals and stowing away money for the lawyer.

Wishy-Washy Watercolor Memories: You never used to write like this.

Work? Who knew it was going to be work, hard work, very hard work, and why didn't anyone tell you in advance?

Youch: They should call it National Novelist Torture Month.

There are ways to cope. You can skip along, you can trudge on, you can start over (50K/19 days = 2631.5 words per day), you can quit or you can pick it up from here.

Characters: To handle any slothlike creatures populating your story, think through your next scene before you write it. Use the situation and the setting actively to engage the characters in accompanying, scene-appropriate action during any conversation.

Details: When in hair, eye, or skin color doubt, check your character worksheet. Or stop describing what color they are.

Dialogue: Make peace with said. Employ it frugally. Obsessing over varying dialogue tags can and will suck the joy out of your scene. And when possible, resist the retorteds, reproveds, reiterateds and any other dialogue tag that has not been in active use since the eighteenth century.

Jumping the Gun: Think of sex scenes like sword fighting scenes. They should take place at logical and justifiable moments.

Modifiers: -ly adverbs are not the enemy. Nor are they your friend. Allow yourself one or two per page maximum, and instead use action to modify dialogue.

Repetition: Your characters have many other interesting body parts; don't ignore them all for the peepers.

Ugh Factors: Protags and Antags who start to morph into family or ex-family members are getting away from you. Go back to your outline or character worksheets and renew your acquaintance with the original characters before you write them into a scene.

Wishy-Washy Watercolor Memories: What you wrote in the past was then, what you write now is now. Stop thinking about how well or poorly you're writing and just write. You can edit brilliantly later.

Work!: Writing is work, or they wouldn't pay for it. You're earning your future keep.

Youch: I have it on good authority that National Novel Torture Month will be next July, or whenever Alison Kent gets tired of making Sven sweat, whichever comes first.

The phase of writing you're moving into demands three P's from the writer: patience, perseverance, and problem-solving. It's where we as storytellers pay our dues so we can make it to the home stretch. Don't beat yourself up over what you haven't done or what you won't do, focus on what you're doing. Write today, in this day, and let the rest fall away (don't worry, it'll be waiting there to jump you next time.)

Winners

2009-11-10T00:44:00.000-05:00

It was fun to see the many different types of inspiration you all draw on to create in comments to the Blogging Inspiration giveaway. Photography has been such a strong, new creative force in my life this year that I have to put in a good word for giving a new skill or hobby a try.

We cranked up the magic hat, and the winners of the giveaway are:

Liza, who's never read Artful Blogging (you're in for a treat.)

Carissa, whose very creative good friend and neighbor Laurinda (a lovely name) inspires her.

Phoenix-Karenee, who uses reading, hearing, viewing, touching, and otherwise interacting with the thoughts and creativity of others to inspire (I'm very tactile, too.)

Robin Bayne, who is inspired by a well-written, meaningful devotional (a reminder for me to catch up on my Daily Guideposts; they always help me see beyond my limitations.)

Winners, when you have a chance please send your full name and ship-to info to LynnViehl@aol.com so I can get your mags and surprises out to you. My thanks to everyone for joining in.

Telling Ten

2009-11-09T00:07:00.004-05:00

Ten Things That Appear in Your Novel, and What They Tell Me

Cats > 4: You don't own cats, because if you did you'd know that your heroine will have to run a lint roller over every article of clothing and furniture she owns at least three times a day to keep them as immaculate as you describe them, and spend most of her spare time cleaning up hairballs and emptying litter boxes. Also, her house would not smell like the wildflower meadow you've repeatedly compared it to; it would smell like cat (or the litter boxes she forget to empty.)

Dream Sequence: There was just no other way to deliver that flashback while sparing the reader the worst details except while your protagonist remembered it while sleeping (and woke up two seconds before Uncle Frank was mowed down by that runaway weinermobile) -or- you remembered in the middle of writing Chapter Seven something important that you should have told the reader in Chapter Two, but don't feel like rewriting.

Identified Black Moment: Does RWA now require their members to actually incorporate the phrase "black moment" during the black moment?

Kidnapping: Either someone doesn't want the hero and heroine to have sex, or someone does.

Love Scene: a) Fade-to-black -- Right as you were getting into the big love scene, your kids came home from school, your husband came home from work, or your mom called; b) Public -- Your mom called, and you had a fight with her, then you wrote the love scene; c) Unexpected -- your husband came home from work two hours before the kids are due home from school.

Spell of Convenience: You've suddenly realized that no one is going to survive the final showdown unless they employ the magic spell written on the scroll one of them just stumbled over on the way to their doom.

Sword Fight Scene, Extended: You've watched The Princess Bride more than fifty times.

Treasure Chest, Diamond-Filled: In lieu of the sperm or ovum-shaped journey diamonds you were expecting for your birthday, the hub got you a new vacuum or microwave.

Unexpected and Brutal Torture of Hero: The treasure chest filled with diamonds didn't quite make up for the lousy birthday gift.

Weather Report: You rewrote the opening line three hundred times, you're sick to death of opening lines, and who cares what PBW thinks?

Blogging Inspiration

2009-11-08T00:00:00.002-05:00

During a quick stop at BAM today I found the latest issue of Artful Blogging magazine, which includes in the buzz section a quote from Yours Truly (is there anything cooler for online art junkie than being quoted in online art magazine? Probably not.) Naturally I bought up all the available copies, so I also have some to give away here.

For your chance to win one of them, in comments to this post name someone or something who inspires you to blog, write, or create in any fashion (or if you're running short in the inspiration department, just toss your name in the hat)* by midnight EST on Monday, November 9, 2009. I'll draw four names at random and send the winners a copy of the Nov-Dec-Jan issue of Artful Blogging magazine along with a surprise I hope will further inspire your creative talents. This giveaway is open to everyone on the planet, even if you've won something here at PBW in the past.

*Note: I'll be out of town tomorrow and Tom will be at his day job, so if your comment doesn't show up right away tomorrow don't worry; between the two of us we will moderate all pending comments before the giveaway deadline.

Endweek NaNoPost

2009-11-07T07:09:00.007-05:00

We've hit the one-week mark for National Novel Writing Month, which is a good time to stop and take a look at how the work is going. With my normal work schedule I tend to work six days straight and use the seventh to look back, decide if I need to adjust something, and then take care of the thousand small details that I set aside during the writing process.

Some examples from my NaNoNovel: this week I had to coin about thirty words as I needed them to appear in the story; today I'll make sure that I'm happy with my choices as I update the novel glossary. I've brought in three new secondary characters; I'll update their character worksheets with bits about them from their scenes. I also like to keep a running list of tertiary or background characters who are named or described so I don't populate the story with any who are interchangeable or confusing with another.

Because I'm fond of several letters and tend to overuse them, one of my tricks with character naming is to make up two alphabetical lists of given names and surnames by letter, leaving open the letters I haven't used in the event I need another new name in the story. This prevents me from having a story overrun by J-named characters or those who all have surnames that end with -an, -er or -et.

My energy level and interest in my story is still in the high ranges, and I hope yours is, too. But if mine weren't, this would also be the day I decide if I want to keep going or scrap the WIP and do something else. No matter how carefully I plan -- and baby, I am the Queen of Planet Plan -- I really don't know until I've written a story for a week or two if I'm going to be able to move in and live in it for the next five to eight weeks. That said, once I make that one-week commitment, I will not stop until the story is finished, no matter how plodding or stressful the writing becomes. As much as I dislike working on a story that loses my interest halfway through, I hate unfinished manuscripts even more.

I'm glad I was able to write a little extra each day and buy myself two days off from NaNo to rest and think and reorganize my thoughts, but if something hits me this weekend that I need to get down on the page, I will write more. Even my days off aren't set in stone; I think you have to go with whatever the work demands (as long as it's reasonable.)

In my daily NaNoNotes book (to see larger version, click on the image) I've been jotting down some reminders on things I need to research as they come up in the story. There's a system of catering in India that uses metal buckets to deliver hot lunches to working people in the cities (and this is just a vague memory of something I watched once in a documentary.) My "D" note is a nudge to research that real-world practice in order to doublecheck the logic of the world-building I based on it. I'm also probably going to meet with one of my life-experts this weekend for lunch and a Q&A; I need to prep my question list so I can thoroughly interrogate him about what I need to know about his field of expertise and put together a convincing character who does the same thing. Life-experts are great because they can give you insight and behind-the-scenes info on their specialties that a writer can't usually find in books or other types of research (and while I've worked a lot of jobs, I've never been an animal control officer, a magician, a professional interior designer or the quarterback of a school football team.)

As you new NaNo'ers move into week two, you may find that the bright and shiny aspects of writing a novel are starting to flake off and it becomes a little harder to hit that keyboard every day. Until you reach the midway point (25,000 words written) these feelings may grow stronger and/or try to derail you. Don't let them. Once you hit the midway you begin to see the glimmer of the finish line ahead, and that will tug you through the last half of your writing experience. Your job now is to get to the place where that happens, even if it means slogging through the next seven days of writing.

Also, if you haven't knocked out as many words as you expected this past week, don't let that defeat you. I think the first week is really a time for you to settle into a writing routine of some sort, and develop good writing habits to carry you through the rest of your WIP.

So how do you guys feel about surviving the first week of NaNoWriMo? Let us know in comments.

Catch-Up Day

2009-11-06T00:00:00.000-05:00

I'm bailing on you guys today to take my vehicle in for some maintenance, deal with a contract and ship off some packages. I'll also try to catch up on comments I've missed later today (I've been so busy NaNo'ing I hardly plugged in at all this week.)

In the morning I'll have the follow-up post I promised to The Reality of a Times Bestseller over on the group blog, with the second statement that just came in, all the figures and my thoughts on how Twilight Fall performed over the eleven months since its release. If you like seeing the real numbers, do stop by and check it out.

Woeful Ten

2009-11-05T00:00:00.005-05:00

Ten New Terms for Writer Woes

Agentnesia: Your agent gives a long, detailed interview at the world's most popular website, during which he mentions every author he represents along with the title of their latest release -- except you and yours.

Copywronged: After finding an error made by the copy-editor on your manuscript, you correct it and send it in. When you find the same error on the galleys, you correct it and send it in with a note flagging it for your editor, who assures you it will be corrected. When you receive the printed edition of your novel, the error is still in the book.

Gush-Slammed: As your editor calls to tell you how great your story is and all the things she loves about it, you gradually realize that she's not talking about your book.

Misenveloped: You print out address labels to give your submission envelopes a more professional look, only you unknowingly switch two of them, and don't discover the mistake until you receive very terse responses from an erotica editor and an inspirational editor.

Pornswoggled: You are delighted by the daily, enthusiastic comments left by a dozen new visitors to your blog, and when you finally have a few minutes click on their ID links to check out their profiles -- and are promptly whisked off to a dozen hardcore porn sites.

Snitwittered: You plow through a hailstorm of ugly e-mails from outraged readers about your behavior on Twitter, on which you don't have an account. However, someone with nineteen married boyfriends, a scorching case of the clap, and a compulsion to inform the entire world of every tiny horrific detail of her unhappy love life does, and she's using the exact same name as yours.

Supplylessness: Just before you get the last chapter of your manuscript printed, the printer runs out of toner or paper. While looking for more, you discover only empty boxes with a post-it note that reads "Buy more toner" or "Need more paper."

Synopsiwhoopsis: After spending a week writing your synopsis, you e-mail it to your editor, print out a hard copy for your files, glance over it one last time, and notice that you mispelled the title, your own name, and the word synopsis.

Titleripped: A few months after your publisher rejects your proposal, you go to the bookstore and discover your very unique, never-before used title on the cover of another author's latest release.

Voice-Nailed: You call your editor, whose voice mail directs you to call her assistant. You call her assistant, whose voice mail directs you to call her intern. You call her intern, whose voice mail directs you to call the receptionist. You call the receptionist, who immediately puts you on hold and then twenty minutes later disconnects you. When you call the receptionist back, all you get is a busy signal.

Mid-Week NaNoPost

2009-11-04T00:00:00.000-05:00

If you're participating in NaNoWriMo this year, you've probably already gotten started with writing your novel. If you haven't and you want to, no worries, there's still 26 days left to write. If you start today. Which means, you should start today.

You're starting today, right? Don't make me get my writer whip.

The first week you spend writing a novel is usually terrific. The idea for your story is new and bright and shiny. You've got all sorts of cool characters to play with on the page. Your energy level is as high as your enthusiasm. This is a wonderful stage in writing a novel, one most of us love because the work doesn't feel like work. It feels like fun.

Next week it's probably going to feel very different, so enjoy these golden days.

This is also the week you can establish some good writing habits to follow for the rest of November. I think the most important one is to resist the urge to repeatedly backread and revise. While I know you want your story to be perfect, this is not National Novel Buffing and Polishing Month. You're doing this to write 50,000 words, and you're going to need the majority of your time to make that happen.

To combat the backreading/revising heebie jeebies, after you finish writing your new words for the day, take a break, do one quick editing pass, and put away the pages (I tuck mine in my novel notebook.) Then make a vow not to look at them again until NaNoWriMo is over -- and stick to that vow.

Another habit I think is important is to avoid thinking too much about what you're doing. If you've never written a novel before, at some point during this month you're probably going to have an insecure moment and think "I can't write this novel." It might be because you've noticed that your writing isn't setting the page on fire; it may be because the words aren't coming as easily as you thought they would. It might even happen because you sat down with a great book last night and realized you will never, ever be able to write like that author.

Whatever is making you doubt yourself, I have a very simple solution: don't fight it. When your brain says "I can't write this novel," just agree with it. If you can't prevail over your doubts, don't even try. Accept that you absolutely cannot and will not ever write this novel. Then go and write your words for the day.

I'm serious. You don't have to call what you write a novel. You can call it writing practice, or typing practice, or a keyboard test. Just sit down and write. What's your brain going to do, throw a fit because you're typing? For those of you who think this sounds ridiculous, guess how many novels I was convinced that I couldn't write, and wrote them anyway? About a third of the 44 I've published, plus the one I'm working on right now.

The third good habit to develop is to relax and pace yourself. I know how exciting is feels when you start writing your novel. You want to lock yourself in your writing space and hammer out 10,000 words in one day; some of you may even do it. The problem is if you haven't consistently written at that speed for some time it's probably going to result in some serious writing burn-out. To avoid that, set your daily wordcount goal to a reasonable amount that you can produce without physically and mentally exhausting yourself, and stick to that goal.

So far I've done pretty well with my NaNoNovel (of course, I've had lots of practice, but every book is different, and this one is already proving to be a decent challenge.) I'm working at a steady pace, avoiding impulse writing and sticking to my plan. I'm also keeping a daily NaNo journal over on the stories blog with a short summary of how my sessions go and what my stats are. Updating that along with the counter on the sidebar over there is fun, and helps keep me motivated.

I don't have any expectations with this book; if I really like what I get I may decide to do something more with it. For now I'm focused on stretching myself, experimenting and seeing what I can do with my vision of this story. I think having that kind of freedom is important for pros because we spend most of our time knocking out contracted work. If all you do is write for money, all you end up caring about is the money, and that's no good for the work or you.

I'll have another NaNoPost on Saturday, and continue with updates on Wednesdays and Saturdays for the rest of November. Now it's your turn: how are things going with your NaNoNovel? Are you having fun, or arguing with your brain, or having a different NaNo experience? Let us know in comments.

To-Doing

2009-11-03T00:00:00.000-05:00

It's eight a.m. here, and everyone has gone to work or school. The pup has been walked and allowed to win the latest bout of tug-of-war, the cats have been scritched and cuddled, the laundry is started, and the dishes are half done. The tea is brewed, a whole wheat English muffin waits by the toaster. The television, stereo and phones are silent. In a few minutes phase two of the writing day will begin (phase one started at 5 a.m., when I woke up and wrote for an hour while everyone else slept.)

My work schedule for today looks like this:

NaNoNovel: 2K
Kyn #3: 1.5K
FB: 1K
HB: 1K
RL: con/edit
PBW: Tues/Wed
PBWindow: Wed/Thurs
Genreality: draft BSL post/prep graphics
E-mail: answer 20 minimum

I used my early hour to rough out a plot timeline, so I'll have to produce about 5.5K in new words, or approximately 22 manuscript pages, in six hours with two breaks. But despite a solid 5K start yesterday, I'm already about two thousand words behind for the month. I want to make that up today, so I'll shoot for 7.5K, or try to finish about 30 ms. pages before 2:00 p.m. To do this, I need to stay off the internet, so I'm unplugging for the duration.

After 2:00 p.m. I'll check my business e-mail to see if anyone in NY needs something, and then my household chores schedule kicks in. I'll head into town, mail some packages, hit the market, pick up the kids and return home, supervise homework, finish the dishes, start dinner, and dust and vacuum the dining room. My second work session begins at 7:00 p.m., when I'll edit everything I write today, do my backups and tackle some e-mail. Toss in a shower, time with the pets, a second homework check, an hour with my guy and that will wrap up somewhere around midnight.

I'm forgetting something . . .(checking the calendar.) Here it is: my senior is the school play stage manager; he has practice from 5:30-7:30 p.m. He'll need to have dinner an hour earlier than the rest of us, and that's two more trips to the school. If my guy gets home on time from work, I'll see if he can make the second trip.

If I fall behind and have to sacrifice something, cleaning the dining room will probably be the first thing I drop off the to-do list. If I need more time, I'll push my Genreality post back a day; it's not due until Friday. Which reminds me, I'm probably coming up on the weekly rotation for an excerpt to post on Saturday (adding that to tomorrow's schedule.)

It's a busy day, as most Mondays are. I'm praying that the phone won't ring. I have no idea what I'm going to make for dinner; need to think about that. I also wanted to get in an hour of sewing today, but I just don't see room on the schedule for it. Maybe I won't have much editing to do tonight. The more focused I am, the better I write, which results in more time to play later.

Things I have to watch out for: lengthy phone calls (strains my voice, which I need to write), minor domestic disasters (if the pup feels ignored he will find a creative way to get my attention, like his new hobby of dragging all the pillows off the sofa) and homework crises (inevitably something like Mom, I need to make a poster tonight on Greek Architecture for World History or Mom, why do I have to read The Great Gatsby? It's boring or I don't understand this thing my Calculus teacher said, can you explain it?) I don't mind helping, but I have to be careful not to get sucked into doing the kids' homework for them.

All of this is why being organized and planning is so important to me. I doubt I'd get a quarter of this stuff done if I didn't plan my day, and the thing I least like in my work day is wasting time. Which I know I will do if I try to work without a plan. I think this is also why spontaneity in writing has very little appeal for me. I love the idea of being artistic like that, but I just don't have room for it on the schedule.

How do you guys cope with everything you want to-do? Have any tips on what has worked well for you? Let us know in comments.

Set It Free Ten

2009-11-02T01:03:00.000-05:00

Ten Things You Can Have for Free

Freeware caution: always scan free downloads of anything for bugs and other threats before dumping the programs into your hard drive.

The latest version of AM-Notebook Lite is "a multi-featured personal information manager that provides an easy and reliable way to save notes, formula supported spreadsheets, to do lists, tasks and contacts within a light weight tray icon tool" (OS: Win 9x/ME/NT/2K/XP/2K3)

Calibre is "a one stop solution to all your e-book needs. It is free, open source and cross-platform in design and works well on Linux, OS X and Windows. calibre is meant to be a complete e-library solution and thus includes library management, format conversion, news feeds to ebook conversion, as well as e-book reader sync features and an integrated e-book viewer" (OS: Linux, Mac OS X, Win 9x/ME/NT/2K/XP/2K3/Vista) [Thanks to LJ Cohen for the tip on this one]

Delphinus Notes is "a freeware program designed to keep and manage notes. It contains simple notepad, calendar (with week schedule) and expenditure management module. All data can be encrypted and program can be protected by the password. Program can also show time in 3 time zones, and can indicate the time of sunrise and sunset at specified location. Notes can also be shown directly on the desktop wallpaper" (OS: Win 2000/XP/2003/Vista)

Desktop-Reminder is "a freeware task planner for Windows to manage your tasks and other to-dos’ in easy way. Always during start of Windows it lists all tasks, which are urgent for that day. In case, there is additionally time of day in task defined, according notification message will be shown, when the time comes" (OS: Windows XP/Vista/7)

Eyes Relax is "a utility that helps avoiding eyes-related problems when working at a computer for several hours. Concentrating your eyesight on a computer screen can cause an eye strain. You can prevent this by taking regular breaks during the work and look at distant objects. Eyes Relax is a tool that reminds you about taking those breaks. It a very flexible utility, which allows you to specify two independent (short and long) work periods, the length of the breaks, break types, notification sounds and many other settings. Eyes Relax has also the parenting features. It can enter the password-protected Parent Mode in which the user is forced to take breaks (during the break the computer is locked). This is very useful since children often forget about the real world and play video games much too long" (OS: Win NT/2000/XP)

Home Accounts is "an application to enable easy management of home finances. Features include: Multiple accounts; Scheduled transactions; Money transfer transactions; Import and export of CSV files; Reconciliation against statements; Correct use of local currencies and dates; and Graphs to visually compare income and expenditure" (OS: Windows 2000/XP/Vista)

ooSooM responds to a simple idea: "To get on with the job in hand you need to get thoughts of what needs doing and what needs remembering out of your head and safely and securely logged, in a way that means you can find them later when needed. ooSooM does not attempt to force a predetermined 'methodology' on you, rather it's very free format and open allowing you to use it however you like, but with enough structure to ensure that once logged, information can retrieved easily and readily" (OS: Windows XP/2003/Vista/7)

Paint.NET is "image and photo manipulation software designed to be used on computers that run Windows XP or 2000. Paint.NET is jointly developed at Washington State University with additional help from Microsoft, and is meant to be a free replacement for the MS Paint software that comes with all Windows operating systems. The programming language used to create Paint.NET is C#, with GDI+ extensions. Paint.NET has many of the powerful features that expensive commercial applications have, including the ability to use layers" (OS: Win XP/2003/Vista)

Simple Plain Note is a "very small colorful note taking app. Features: Change color of notes; Make note stick on top; Make notes transparent; Create e-mail of note; Send note to twitter; Resize notes how big or small you want it; Some syntax highlight for notes that have code; -Fully xml based (does not need windows registry2)" (OS: Win 2000/XP/Vista/7)

VueMinder Calendar Lite is "a FREE calendar and reminder program for Windows. It supports multiple calendars displayed simultaneously in layers. These can be viewed and printed by day, week, or month.
They can also be visually distinguished using unlimited combinations of fonts, background colors, and gradient styles. It also integrates a semitransparent calendar into your Windows desktop, so you´ll always be able to see your upcoming events. Features: View multiple calendars in layers and by day, week, or month; Subscribe to calendars on local network or web; Add common public calendars, such as holidays; Categorize events; Import from iCalendar (ics) files; Export to iCalendar (ics) files; Print calendars using daily, weekly, and monthly layouts; Quick startup using a configuration wizard; Backup and restore data; Cut, copy, paste, and delete events; Customize calendar appearances; View simple popup reminders; Popup reminders can contain music or videos; View simple desktop alerts; Enter event descriptions using full-featured text editor or HTML; Mark events and tasks as being completed; View an interactive calendar that is integrated into the Windows desktop; Hide completed events and tasks; Quick multi-month navigation; Search for events; automatically check for program updates. The Lite version is completely free, but doesn´t have as many bells and whistles as the Pro and Enterprise versions. Requires: Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0" (OS: Win 98/ME/2000/XP/Vista/7)

Winners

2009-11-01T00:15:00.003-04:00

Did everyone have a great Halloween? Hope so. We had a small party this year at Casa PBW, traded books and ghost stories with friends, and handed out treats to the neighbor kids, who assured us that we had the coolest decorated house on the block (although the haunted garage six houses down was definitely scarier.)

After taking all the Snickers out of the magic hat tonight, we put it to work, and the winners of the Haunting giveawayare:

Jay Montville

shawna

Tori

Maria Zannini

Jusy

Winners, when you have a chance please send your full name and ship-to address to LynnViehl@aol.com, and I'll get these books out to you. Thanks to everyone for joining in.

Wishing You

2009-10-31T00:00:00.001-04:00

Haunting

2009-10-30T00:30:00.001-04:00

After I got hooked on author Douglas Clegg's online difference game for his new novel, Isis, I had to buy the book. Knowing Doug, I had the feeling it would be the perfect read for Halloween week, and sure enough, it was.

After her British father goes off on a war assignment, Iris Villiers and her family move from America to the Villers ancestral home in Cornwall, where they deal with a crazy grandfather, old spooky local legends and a seriously scary family burial ground called The Tombs. While Iris finds plenty to love and hate about her new home, she's also curious about the ghost stories, fantastic myths and stern warnings issued by the locals, particularly about the terrible things that have happened at The Tombs. Real life turns out to be far more grim for Iris, however, when a terrible accident changes everything and gives her the ability to speak with the dead.

I love Doug Clegg's work, and Isis is one of his more haunting tales of the supernatural. Glenn Chadbourne's superb illustrations mesh perfectly with Doug's beautiful writing, and the result is a story that resonates with secrets, sorrow and spine-shivering tragedy.

But as always, you don't have to take my word for it. In comments to this post, name a scary, spooky or supernatural book that you love to read at Halloween (or if you spend your night trick-or-treating, just toss your name in the hat) by midnight EST on Saturday, October 31, 2009. I'll draw five names at random from everyone who participates and send the winners an unsigned hardcover copy of Isis by Douglas Clegg along with a signed copy of my latest paperback release, Shadowlight. This giveaway is open to everyone on the planet, even if you've won something here at PBW in the past.

Updates

2009-10-29T00:00:00.004-04:00

According to my SF editor, Dream Called Time, the tenth and final StarDoc novel, will be released in August 2010.

The pitch for my third Kyndred book (title pending approval) has been accepted, and it will be a crossover Kyndred/Darkyn novel (and to avoid spoilers that's all I'm going to say about it for now), tentatively scheduled for release in late 2010.

Last but not least, I feel that the Shadowlight e-ARC experiment was a great success. I've never had a book place so high on the Times list, and I'm sure a nice chunk of my sales were due to the immediate response from my visitors and their help spreading the word about the book, which was simply outstanding. Here is the last round of reviews and write-ups that were sent in to me:

Amazon.com reviews: Margaret Fisk ~ Zeek ~ Nina Paules ~ C. Stone ~ C. Vandehey ~ Harriet Klausner

Amazon.com.uk/Margaret, also on The Book Depository

B&N.com reviews (the ones I could view): Margaet Fisk ~ Npaules ~ 4kidsmom ~ Debra_ Saturday ~ Nemhain ~ harstan ~ Zeek319 ~ lxz ~ CatsMeowAZ ~ Chad ~ Pandababy ~ Madonna_lily

The Drabbler/Robin

Erotic Horizon, also on Goodreads

Literaturely Speaking/Breia

Shiloh Walker

The Writing Playground/Danniele Worsham

Unique

2009-10-28T00:40:00.003-04:00

If there was a twelve-step program for my most peculiar jones, I would probably have to confess something like this: "Hi, my name is (whatever it is this week) and I'm addicted to house porn."

Yes, sad to say it's true, but like the teen with the fashion magazine addiction in the film Mumford, I love to look through magazines with glossy photos of beautiful architecture, amazing floor plans, exquisitely furnished rooms and gorgeous landscaping. I think it's the lack of clutter that seduces me, plus the fact that everything looks like art instead of a place your kids can wreck, your guy will track mud into and your dog may upchuck on.

I know it's a silly, frivolous addiction, and I've done pretty well managing it. I don't let myself impulse buy them anymore, and I've whittled down my subscriptions to the two I can't live without (Architectural Digest and Veranda.) I really thought nothing could tempt me again. But today as I was at the grocery store shopping, I saw this new addition on the mag rack:

Yep. It's not just house porn, it's mansion porn. After I picked my jaw up off my sneakers I grabbed it and checked the price: $7.99 -- as much as a paperback novel. I wasn't going to pay that for a magazine just because I instantly fell in love with the cover. Then the magazine sort of fell into the cart and I didn't notice it was there until I checked out, and then, you know, it was too late to put it back without holding up the entire line, so --

All right. I bought the damn thing. It was just this one time, okay?

I didn't thumb through it, and I probably should have, because it's actually a real estate magazine for billionaires. Inside there are mansions. Chateaus. Islands. Enormous estates in exotic places. Practically every home listed comes with a beautiful name: Acqua Liana (cover)*. Lions Gate. Coeur d'Alene. There's even a castle in Umbria that comes with a title -- for eleven million dollars, you could become an Italian Count.

These are not ranch houses, obviously -- every other one comes with a heliport and two or three panic rooms and probably interior waterfalls. The house on the cover has a glass "water" floor, for God's sake. Imagine trying to clean that with your Swiffer. Or what would happen if your spouse happened to accidentally drop their bowling ball case.

But when I got home and got over the guilts for falling off the wagon, I settled down with a cup of tea and looked through all the lovely pictures to my heart's content. In the process I came up with five or six story ideas and solved a problem with one of my settings. Sometimes we're addicted to frivolous things for a reason.

But I also paid for falling in love with a beautiful magazine cover, because inside this was the only other image of that room:

But that's okay, I found another shot of it in this article about the mansion. And I might sketch it or paint it, and build my own house around it, and work a variation of it as a setting for my next book, but that's all. I promise. I mean, $7.99 an issue, that's just ridiculous . . .

Do you think they give you a decent discount on the subscription rate?

*It has a web site, too -- the mansion is listed for sale at $29,000,000.00 U.S.