The Internet is a fabulous thing. I do a lot of my research for my books on the Internet, from looking at historical sources to contemporary locations to costumes to fact checking and even some plot ideas. I used bookmarks for years to try to keep track of these disparate sources, but frankly it was too hard to find what I needed in my notes, especially when I only had one or two sentences that I really needed from a long article.
And then I found Evernote. It’s a website where you can store all kinds of information: pictures, text, whole websites. It can also “clip” these notes from your desktop, or, via a smartphone app, your photos, etc. You can not only tag the notes you add, but also group your “notes” by topics, separated into “notebooks.” Probably the best part is that you can search your notes to find just what you’re looking for I *think* there are other good programs that can do this, but this is the only one I’d used until this year, and I like it.
So what’s this got to do with NaNo? When you’re writing as fast as you can, and you need to stop to look something up, or to find something you know you looked up when you were plotting on or around October 23, or to remember that one really cool idea you had from that weird news article that would be perfect right here, instead of trying to dig through your bookmarks or search your web history, you just go to your account, and either search your notes, or look through the notebook for this book, and you’re set!
This year, I’m trying out Scrivener for Nano, and I really love that you can save your research right in your project file. However, I also like Evernote’s capability to highlight a picture, paragraph or phrase on any website (or from my phone!) and save it in your notebook with a single click. So we’ll see what I end up using long term.
I also like this because I’ve used it to save research on ideas I might write later—much later. Like for NaNo 2011, I wrote an idea that I’d been thinking about for probably two years. Some of my notes on the pseudohistory I unapologetically used were clipped in July 2010. As I was gearing up to actually write the book, I was worried I wouldn’t be able to remember a lot of the things I’d need, until I saw the name of the notebook on Evernote. Voila! Lots of cool facts that I wouldn’t have to hunt down again!
How do you keep track of your research so you can find it when you need it?
It’s no coincidence NaNoWriMo is associated with utter insanity. For most of us, we have to let something go to get in those hundreds of words per day. And most of us don’t live alone. For NaNo to be a success, it’s best to get your family on board. My friend Danyelle Ferguson has some great tips on preparing your family for NaNoWriMo.
If you haven’t sat down with your significant other, or someone else who might be expecting more from you than you’ll be able to give this next month, do it today! Reasonable expectations really help in relationships, even when we’re doing something that might seem just a little unreasonable—like writing a novel in a month.
My favorite ideas are to plan meals in advance (have I mentioned that once or twice?) and (I’m sure my kids’ favorite!) set up rewards for word count goals—and while we all love incentive chocolate, even better in a month of insane writing is a reward that gets you away from the keyboard and spending time with your family, as Danyelle suggests. Go read her post for more great tips on arranging your schedule and getting your family’s support for you NaNo push!
I’ve been friends with Jami Gold since we met years ago in the Edittorrent comment community. Now I love to read her thought-provoking writing advice on her blog. I can’t say enough good things about it!
So, naturally, I was flattered enough to accept her tag in the “Next Big Thing” meme. Plus, since we’re all prepping for Nano, I’m also really excited about my next big thing!
Ten Interview Questions for the Next Big Thing:
What is your working title of your book?
It took me a little while to come up with one, but right now I’m leaning toward either Scorched Earth or Slash and Burn.
Hm. There should probably be a fire in the book then, huh?
Where did the idea come from for the book?
I had a dream last week. I was totally planning on writing a different book—had the characters picked out, using an idea I’ve had for a while, plotting was fun, but I wasn’t in love with the idea yet. (Sometimes it comes later, you know?)
What genre does your book fall under?
It’s really really different from anything else I’ve written: YA post-apocalyptic.
Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?
Normally I’m better about this. Lately, I’ve used Hollow Art to look for my characters. The user-submitted site features small pictures intended for LiveJournals and the like, usually from TV & movies. You can search by a physical attribute (hair color, age, etc.) or name, and possibly find hundreds of pictures of different shots and expressions. I browse through the pictures until I find someone who inspires me to be my character—often someone I’ve never heard of.
And I almost got out of answering the question with that, didn’t I? Okay, so the actress who most seemed like my main character was someone I haven’t heard of, but you might have: Nina Dobrev, who plays the lead (and her doppelganger) in The Vampire Diaries.
What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?
LOL, right now I’m trying to fill in all the blanks, not condense it! But let’s give it a shot:
In a depopulated post-apocalyptic world, 17-year-old Adrienne Lucas must protect her farm and avenge her father’s execution—even if it means destroying the man she loves.
Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?
We’ll see. Right now, I’m querying another book. (It’s going okay, but slowly, of course.) We’ll see where that one goes.
I guess the only thing I’m ready to rule out at this stage is the publisher who has an offer in on my book (yay, our one year anniversary is next week). This book has some elements that I don’t think they’d find so “savory.”
How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?
Let me check my crystal ball….
Probably two to four weeks.
What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?
Hm. It’s similar to other YA post-apocalyptic novels, but the main plot of the book isn’t the struggle to survive. My friend compared the plot to The Eleventh Plague, though I’m waiting for my library’s copy so I can confirm or deny this.
Who or what inspired you to write this book?
Uhhhh . . . okay, let’s be honest: DH and I love the TV show Falling Skies. Although my set up is somewhat different, that’s where the dream came from.
What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?
Hm. I was going to wait to share, but how about this?
We’ll talk more about how to make one of these soon!
Sharing the love: Tag! You’re it!
To pass along the fun, you’re supposed to tag five other writers/bloggers. So here we go!
Rachelle J. Christensen has two novels and a nonfiction book out, and she’s got a few more with her agent—but I think this Nano is her first! Come cheer her on!
Julie Coulter Bellon is a traditionally published author who’s recently moved to self-publishing. Her latest novel, All Fall Down, came out earlier this month and it’s awesome! (It doesn’t hurt that I’m her critique partner.) She’s got so many projects on tap that I can’t wait to see which she picks.
Our other critique partner, Emily Gray Clawson, is also premiering a self-published novel soon! Her faith-based YA novel Things Hoped For is coming out next month. She unveiled the cover recently.
Deana Barnhart is the amazing woman behind the Gearing Up to Get an Agent blogfest. She’s been a little blog quiet for a bit, trying to get back into the swing of things after GUTGAA, but I always like to hear what she’s working on. Once upon a time, I gave her voluminous feedback on an early manuscript, and rather than getting discouraged, she got excited and dove in to revisions! That’s a definite predictor of success right there 😉 .
Krista Lynne Jensen makes me smile every time she tweets (even if the tweets are from a Caribbean vacation. Sigh). She’s got a bunch of books coming out soon, and it seems like she’s always working on more!
Remember, you can write about a recently finished WIP or a planned one, whether you’re participating in Nano or not!
Rules for The Next Big Thing Blog Hop:
***Use this format for your post
***Answer the ten questions about your current WIP (work in progress)
***Tag five other writers/bloggers and add their links so we can hop over and meet them.
Ten Interview Questions for the Next Big Thing:
What is your working title of your book?
Where did the idea come from for the book?
What genre does your book fall under?
Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?
What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?
Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?
How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?
What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?
Who or what inspired you to write this book?
What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?
Include the link of who tagged you and this explanation for the people you have tagged.
Didn’t get tagged? I still want to hear about your next big thing! Join in the comments or just steal the meme!
I set goals all the time—and I’ve found the easiest way to achieve my goals is on autopilot.
That doesn’t mean coasting through the month, or setting absurdly low goals so I can achieve them, though. Like I mentioned yesterday, that means scheduling for me. I kind of beasted Nano 2011, and—especially the first week—I managed to do this without the world falling down around the ears. I’m the mom, of course, and I set the pace of the household. I do most of the housework. So how did I write 5000-6000 words a day (hours and hours of work) without running out of meals and clean underwear for the family?
Planning.
I was already used to one very useful phone alarm: a 15 minute warning to the time we need leave for school. So I decided to expand on that and use the phone alarm to remind me to do laundry (and switch it, fold it, and hand it off to the kids to put away), work with the kids to empty the dishwasher, read with the kids, start dinner and go to bed on time.
Dinners were also planned: I took the calendar for the month and planned out our meals (actually, when I did this for 2012, I planned for the rest of the year because I found so many great recipes—you can see the online ones on my Pinterest). Last year, I focused on quick meals, slow cooker meals, meals I’ve squirreled away in the freezer, and family favorites. Themed nights were also big helps: Meatless Monday, Favorites Fridays, etc. It took a couple hours to write it out, but then for the rest of the month, meal planning was handled and I could just look at the calendar to make out my shopping list.
Even blog posts (on four blogs!) were planned the month in advance. Topics and dates went on the calendar. I made up post drafts for each of those days with the topics all ready to go. I stockpiled topics and full posts. On weekends, I filled in the remaining posts and scheduled them to go.
It actually went really well—until I finished my novel. And then I let a lot of it fall apart. But all that advanced planning helped me to maintain a good routine, be productive and run the house better than I usually did.
So how can that apply to other goals?
Schedule them now.
If you want to write 1000, 2000 or 5000 words a day, pick a time and put it in your schedule. (Doing it at the same time each day can help, too.) Unplug from the Internet. Schedule a time with the fewest kids distractions around. I’ve used a handy browser plugin that would block certain time-wasting websites during certain times of the day—another helper.
5000 words a day was my goal during Nano 2011. I broke it into chunks and assigned each chunk a time: 1500 in the morning, 1500 in the afternoon and 2000 in the evening.
This works for other goals, too. If you want to read a certain number of books next year, start collecting recommendations. Figure out whether you prefer reading on an eReader/mobile device (if you have one) or paper book. I like library books since they come with built-in deadlines—and, oh yeah, they’re free.
If you’re trying to research a project, make a list of resources, get them and give yourself a timeline to read them.
If you want to lose weight, schedule your exercise sessions with yourself. Make up healthy meal plans in advance. Buy and prepare healthy snacks.
We all know that goals should to be broken down into steps to be achievable. But what it really comes down to is to just do it, to quote Nike. Little reminders and baby steps help me.
NaNoWriMo can be a pretty crazy time—crazier if you don’t plan ahead. No matter when you do it, doubling or even tripling your work time isn’t easy, at least not if you’d like your life to, you know, not fall apart.
Planning in advance is one key to making it through Nano without alienating everyone around you. Plotting your book, of course, helps, since you don’t have to stop to ponder where your story is going next and how you’ll get there.
But there’s another kind of planning that can make or break your Nano productivity: your schedule. For me, I went through and wrote down everything that I needed to do in a day to keep the rest of my life from falling apart (and if my life falls apart, my three kids’ and my husband’s lives most likely will, too, and that’s not fair to them, no matter what month it is). We’re talking meals, face time with my kids, and the bare minimum housekeeping tasks. I also wrote out some things I need to do weekly and monthly, and a few one-off tasks I need to finish (Christmas shopping for our Christmas-at-Thanksgiving celebration).
I assigned a time for the daily and weekly housekeeping tasks—and I found I had a surprising amount of time left for writing once my schedule was in place—and if I follow the schedule, not only does it afford me more writing time, but my house actually runs better and can even be cleaner than it normally is!
But now I have to be careful not to squander that work time. My friend Kathleen Brebes won Nano 2010 in thirteen days and she had some tips on scheduling for success:
A big helper to finishing my novel in thirteen days was that I had made a pact with myself not sign on to the internet until my daily writing was complete; I didn’t even check AI stats [our writing group] or Nano stats until my daily writing was finished. But, I did keep up with my daily housework schedule and DayMinder Agenda. However, the second week of Nano, I didn’t walk or lift weights; I only stretched daily. And, I made sure not to neglect my spiritual and familial commitments.
Now, if a first-time Wrimo can hit the goal in 13 days—and still make time to keep her house running smoothly—I hope we can all get inspiration from that.
What do you do to keep on your writing schedule? What do you let slip—and what can’t you let slip?
All right, it’s official: I’m doing Nano (aka National Novel Writing Month or NaNoWriMo). Feel free to add me as a buddy on the Nano site. You might be able to find me under the enigmatic name of “JordanMcCollum.”
I’m a loose plotter, so I’m spending the month of October preparing. I’m getting my plot outlined, getting to know my characters, researching the facts and the settings, pondering plot points and villains and subplots and schedules (mine, not the characters’)!
As I’ve worked on all these things, I’ve had to review all my favorite plotting methods and character posts—on others’ blogs, and on my own. So if you’re getting ready for NaNoWriMo, I’ll be sharing tips, strategies and advice to help you get the most out of your Nano experience.
We’ll start with some writing resources on my site that I’ve been thinking about and studying, and I hope they might help you prepare, too.
The plot thickens, my series on plotting, highlights plot structures and methods including the three act structure, Larry Brooks’s story structure, the Snowflake method, the Hero’s Journey, and now Blake Snyder’s Save the Cat (also available as a PDF, but it hasn’t been updated to include the Save the Cat posts).
Creating sympathetic characters—while you can edit a great deal of sympathy into your characters, keeping these things in mind as you write can help you get it right the first time.
Character arcs—last year, this was the series I needed most, specifically this post on finding your character’s arc. (Is it awesome or sad when you find the most amazingly helpful resource was written by you two years ago?)
And, depending on how you write, you might be able to try out some new techniques with Deep POV or dialogue—or save those for editing.
Although my normal blog schedule is only 2-3 times a week, I’ll be blogging a little extra as we prep for Nano to try to share the resources and inspiration I’ve been saving up!
So, how was your November? I didn’t want to report on Nano yesterday because I didn’t want to put pressure on the people rushing for the finish line. I hope you made it, too!
As for me, I pretty much beasted Nano. I was actually trying to do Candace Havens’s Fast Draft method, with 5000 words a day, but I was too chicken to admit it publicly. I’d only ever written that much in a day once before.
But, with help from 27,000 words at a writers’ retreat the first weekend of November, I hit 50,000 words on November 8 and kept write right on typing until I reached 78,000+ and THE END on November 14. That’s an average of over 6000 words a day—and I took Sundays off. So that November 30 finish line didn’t mean as much to me this year as it did last year for my Half-no (25,000 words on a WIP).
Now, how was the experience? It would seem like writing that much in a day is insane, awful, grueling, leaving time for nothing else. Candace Havens actually addresses these concerns—you should see the list of all the things she did while pumping out 5000 words a day. Raising three kids five and under, fixing dinner every night and keeping us all in clean underwear doesn’t sound like quite the challenge.
The purpose of fast drafting is to tap into your subconscious understanding of the characters, to get the story on the page, to let the storytelling and character-creating part of your brain take over and run as fast as it can. And in that respect—and the respect of churning out a first draft in two weeks—I’d have to say this was a rousing success.
In fact, this is the most fun I can remember having in a first draft since . . . the book that will be my first published novel. I see a lot of parallels between the two writing experiences. The novels themselves are quite different (though I did manage to bring in an aspect of forbidden love again) but I can see that many of the things I had to work on and revise with that manuscript are the things I’ll have to work on with this one. Which is convenient, since I’ve got experience fixing those!
However, some things fell a part just a little bit too much in my real life—apparently, in November, it’s advisable to wear more than just underwear (okay, that’s advisable year-round), and my children need more face time with me. At this point in my life, the balance can’t go quite this far to writing for very long. I’d be plenty happy with a first draft in three weeks or a month—since my record before this was about two months—especially if it wasn’t quite so stressful on my family.
Oddly enough, though, I got up by about seven and to bed by about midnight every day I fast drafted, but since then—nuh uh. That I could do with a bit more of. I worked very hard to maintain some semblance of structure and routine in the house, and I’m thinking I might get back to that, even though I kind of hated it.
Aaand then there’s the book. It was a fairly decent first draft—easier not to leave too many loose ends when you only wrote the beginning two weeks ago—until I thought “Hm… my heroine’s inner conflict over X is kinda weak, and I’ve always wanted to have a character with X^4 conflict—waaaait a minute, that would work!” And I rewrote the confront-the-conflict scene at about the 5/8ths point . . . but the rest of the book doesn’t reflect that now, and there’s ZIP transition and resolution from that. I know this new conflict is right for the character—I just have to make the rest of the book reflect that. And also fix the boring parts, the confusing parts, the underdeveloped parts . . .
What? Oh, yeah. That’s called revision.
But, hey. I’m ending the month with a publisher, a completed first draft and a ton of fun in the interim. I’m WAY more than okay with that.
Now it’s your turn: tell me, how did your November goals go?
It’s today! The final push! You can do it! In fact, you may have already. This month has been pretty much the greatest of my writing career. You still have a few more hours to make it yours!
Run Type, type, type!
We’ll share our successes tomorrow so anyone who’s still working won’t feel bad. And if you’ve already hit your 50,000—way to go!—don’t forget to validate on NaNoWriMo.org before midnight so you can claim your winner goodies!
And then I found Evernote. It’s a website where you can store all kinds of information: pictures, text, whole websites. It can also “clip” these notes from your desktop, or, via a smartphone app, your photos, etc. You can not only tag the notes you add, but also group your “notes” by topics, separated into “notebooks.” Probably the best part is that you can search your notes to find just what you’re looking for I *think* there are other good programs that can do this, but this is the only one I’d used until this year, and I like it.
So, naturally, I was flattered enough to accept her 
As I’ve worked on all these things, I’ve had to review all my favorite plotting methods and character posts—on others’ blogs, and on my own. So if you’re getting ready for NaNoWriMo, I’ll be sharing tips, strategies and advice to help you get the most out of your Nano experience.
As for me, I pretty much beasted Nano. I was actually trying to do Candace Havens’s Fast Draft method, with 5000 words a day, but I was too chicken to admit it publicly. I’d only ever written that much in a day once before.
