web stuff 4 writers

There’s only two weeks left till November 1: the start of NaNoWriMo.  Before the frantic days and nights of writing begin, you might want to check out a few of these online resources which may help you meet your goal.

1.  A report card

Don’t worry – you’re not going to be marked on your novel.  A NaNoWriMo report card is a nifty Excel spreadsheet where, each day, you record your total word count.  The spreadsheet then does its calculations and tells you whether or not you’re on track to meet your goal. 

I’m a fan of the ‘writing report card’ which can be found on the Zokutou website (scroll down until you see the link).  It’s based on an original NaNoWriMo report card by Eric Benson, but it’s been adapted so it can be used for any writing challenge – you enter your own starting date, challenge length and desired word count.

2.  A progress meter

A progress meter is a graphical way to display your writing progress on your blog or website.  The Writertopia website will provide you with the html code needed to display the plain or cartoon “anthropomorphic raisin in a variety of moods”* versions.  

* Quote from novelist, Faye L. Booth, in last week’s interview.

During November, you can also update your word count on your official NaNoWriMo profile after you’ve registered and logged in.

3.  Planning sheets

Any actual novel writing done before November 1 doesn’t count, but that doesn’t mean you can’t make plans between now and then.  Halfway down the resources page on the National Novel Finishing Month website, you’ll find a set of downloadable worksheets that you can use to plan your plot and characters.

4.  A Google Mail account

There are other online back-up services.  There are even other free online email accounts.  Google Mail (gmail) works for me. With the 3562 megabytes of free space I have on my gmail account, I can email myself copies of my drafts each day and rest safe in the knowledge that they’re backed up there as well as on my hard-drive and the occasional CD-Rom.

5.  The NaNoWriMo website

While it can be a major source of distraction, the NaNoWriMo website can also be a very useful resource.  Is your novel going to be set in a place you’ve never visited?  Does your main character have a job that you’ve never done?  I’ve found that, when I’ve asked questions on the NaNoWriMo forums, NaNoWriMo participants have been very willing to provide me with their answers and experiences.  This year there’s also a NaNoWriMo podcast which officially begins on November 1.

While it’s not technically an online resource, I’ve also got to add a recommendation for Chris Baty’s No Plot? No Problem!: A Low-Stress, High-Velocity Guide to Writing a Novel in 30 Days.  Chris was the founder of NaNoWriMo, and this book provided inspiration, motivation and lots of laughs during my first NaNoWriMo attempt in 2004 and again when I was writing the draft of Lessons to Learn.

Your thoughts

Do you know of any NaNoWriMo resources that should be added to the list?  If you do, please leave a comment below.

Tags: Planning by Natasha
4 Comments »

Happy new month everyone!

It’s the 1st of October and I’ve just been setting my writing goals for the month over at 43things.com.  This month, I’m aiming to:

• write at least 100 words a day.
• post at least 30 blog entries (shared between this blog and natashajudd.com).
• get the word-count of my latest novel-in-progress up to 30,000.

There’s some more long term writing goals there too, such as making my living as a writer and publishing a collection of short stories, alongside more personal ambitions, such as learning to make sushi and visiting every state of Australia. 

Why post your writing goals online?

Every January when I was at Intermediate school, we’d write out our goals for the year on coloured paper and tack them up on the stationery cupboards.  For me, writing the goals wasn’t the motivating factor.  It was the fact that they’d been put up on the wall for all my classmates to see that really made me want to achieve.

These days, I could write my goals for the month down in a notebook and put a tick next to each one when I’m done.  However, if I did that, I’d be accountable only to me – and I’m more likely to accept my own excuses for not getting thing done.

Now my goals for the month are online, I feel that I’m accountable to all those who read my list, whether they’re once-off visitors, friends or people who have found me because they are trying to achieve the same things.

While, I generally only talk about my writing in general terms, such as chapters and word-counts, it was great to receive cheers from others while I was working on the draft of Lessons to Learn, and an amazing feeling that day when I could click on the ‘I’ve done this’ button next to the goal I’d set many months earlier: ‘write a novel‘.

Your thoughts

Do you set regular writing goals?  How do you record them, what motivates you to work towards their completion and how do you measure success or failure?

Tags: Planning by Natasha
1 Comment »