It’s that time of year again, time for all obsessive writers to jump right into “NaNoWriMo,” or “National Novel Writing Month” as it’s known to the uninitiated. Started in 1999 by some fiction writers with too much time on their hands, NaNoWriMo challenges those who enter to write the first-draft of a 50,000 word novel between November 1 and November 30.
For some odd reason, the challenge has taken wings and attracts thousands of writers every year. In usual fashion, I went to the NaNoWriMo website this morning and renewed by determination to try it again this year. My applause for those of you who’ve completed the challenge (some perhaps even more than once!) — and my welcome to the rest of you who, like me, started out with high hopes and never got the job done.
Perhaps this will be our year to “win,” i.e., get those 50,000 words in order for a first-draft of that novel we keep putting off.
So go sign in and get ready. I’m going to make another run at it myself. And while we’re on the subject, I thought I’d offer you some random thoughts and random tools to help you with the adventure. Some of these “tools” are just tips and/or links to useful software (free or nearly free), and some are suggestions for various pieces of hardware out there which you might find helpful. Take these tools and suggestions for what they may be worth in your unique writing situation:
Useful Software for NaNoWriMo Enthusiasts
1. Evernote and Dropbox are extremely useful for writers. Evernote is a “catch-all” text writer, note taker, and file cabinet I’ve been using for about 6 months and don’t know how I ever got by without. It lets you write or copy, then store text and even graphic files in free-form manner on your hard drive AND in “the cloud” so the material is accessible from any computer you own. Dropbox is an excellent cloud-based repository for files and work you want to reach from any computer you use regularly, and they offer 2 gigs of completely free, very easily set up storage space.
I find Evernote very valuable for creating quick notes and/or even entire scenes in text files and organizing them by means of “tags” and “notebooks” in ways that make them very easy to find. I have a couple of database-oriented software programs I run regularly that I use on separate computers via Dropbox. Go to both sites and take a look for yourself. Evernote and Dropbox are extremely useful for NaNoWriMo and any writing you do year around.
2. Scrivener writing software may totally change your approach to writing. Scrivener lets you write novels the way you SHOULD write ‘em — one scene or chapter at a time. And it offers a wealth of ways to quickly organize and reorganize the scenes you’re doing as well as everything you’ve already done. You can choose to start at the beginning and work right through to the end of your novel. Or, you can write a scene as it comes to you, then completely shuffle/rearrange the scenes you’ve written as new ideas arise.
It’s much easier to see Scrivener in action than it is to describe it. If you aren’t familiar with it, take a look at the Windows version I’ve linked to above. Scrivener for Windows is actually still in development, with free “beta” versions you can use. If you’re a Mac person, they’ve had Scrivener for Mac out several years now. The professional novelists I know almost all use Scrivener as their primary writing tool. (Well, of course their brains are their “primary” writing tool.) The Mac version sells (I think) for around $45-$50. The Windows version, once it gets out of beta and goes on sale, will run about the same, I think.
Useful Hardware for NaNoWriMo
1. Don’t overlook the simplest and probably cheapest “hardware” for your daily NaNoWriMo writing — a good old pen or pencil(s) and paper. I’m serious. When you’re focused on serious daily word output, you’d be amazed at how easy it is to have a small pad or tablet and pen handy to scribble down ideas and even complete scenes or chapters. Of course for your finished project, you’ll want to hit the keyboard — but you can to a heck of a lot in each day’s spare moments with pen and paper.
2. How about an easy-to-carry, very sturdy text creation tool with incredibly long battery life? No, I’m not talking about the latest smartphone or even a netbook. I’m talking about the AlphaSmart Neo or Dana. These are terrifically useful, generally quite cheap, word processors. But they’re word processors for those who are serious about creating simply text, not Word files or anything fancy. They’ve been around for a number of years and a number of models, chiefly as creative writing and teaching tools for schools. They are so sturdy, you could almost throw one on the floor without hurting it. (CAUTION: If you have one and value keeping it, DO NOT THROW IT ON THE FLOOR to test that!!) And they run almost forever on a set of alkaline AA batteries. Seriously, they suggest you can get up to 500-700 hours on a set of three AAs — and I think they also sell a model that includes rechargeable batteries.
(I just happen to have an AlphaSmart Neo around the house here that I am willing to sell. It is NOT the latest Neo or Dana model; it’s about 4 years old, I think. I haven’t really set a price on it yet, but I probably would take something around $60 plus shipping. And I won’t get involved in selling and/or shipping anywhere outside the U.S. — but I would throw in the homemade padded carrying case I made for it. I’ve been meaning to get a picture and auction up on eBay, but just didn’t get that done in time for NaNoWriMo. It’s in good working order, but I’m interested in parting with it because I now have a … netbook.)
3. Netbook computers offer wonderful versatility and features beyond just text writing/editing. I bought a nifty little Lenovo Ideapad S10-3 from Amazon.com for around $300 about a year or so ago, and I love it. If your budget permits, and you’re willing to risk all the distractions it brings, a good netbook may be just the tool you need to do NaNoWriMo in style. The netbook I bought came with 1 gig of RAM, which I upgraded to 2 gigs to enhance performance. It’s not nearly as fast as my main laptop, but it’s really great for battery life and portability. I can get almost 8 hours on a full battery charge, provided I use some of the power conservation options. And the beauty of this particular netbook is the keyboard. I have fairly small hands, but pudgy fingers. The Lenovo I have has a full-sized keyboard. Or maybe it’s rated 3/4 sized, I’m not sure. But it has a wonderful feel to the keys and I can type as fast on this as on my mail laptop.
I’m sure all you writers out there have a world of tips and tricks, as well as hardware and software tools, that you would be happy to share with us all, won’t you please?
