NaNoWriMo, here I come.

Yep, I'm going to do it. So, I've been busy pre-planning my story.

Originally, I'd planned on individual posts on the tools that I'm using to prepare for my new story. But, with Life stuffing October with things to do and places to be, I've run out of time. So instead, I'll list a quick blurb about for my go-to tools.

• Story Engineering by Larry Brooks. As I've mentioned before, this structure spoke to this "retired" engineer like nothing else.
• 7 Point Story Structure as explained by Dan Wells. I just found his 5 video series on You Tube. These videos seemed like Cliff Notes version for the basics of Brooks Story Engineering. The link above takes you to the first video of the series.
• I recently bought The Plot Whisperer by Martha Alderson, and I can already see how her visual plot tools and character building can help my stories. Her plot line structure is also broken into 4 sections, similar to Brooks's.
• Holly Lisle's How to Think Sideways course has been my mainstay for how to develop stories that I want, and hopefully others, want to read.
• NaNoWriMo.org has lots of tips, tricks and inspiration to browse through when stuck. If you want to Buddy me, AnneV is my handle.
• Lynn Viehl will be blogging on various topics related NaNoWriMo.
• I've created a Google+  circle for those on that network planning on participating in NaNoWriMo. Head over to my Google+ profile, I've just shared my circle.
• Twitter. Many writers hang out on this social network, using hashtags like #amwriting and #nanowrimo. For specific tweets from NaNoWriMo directly, follow @nanowordsprints and @nanowrimo.
• Pinterest. I created a board to house all photos that will help me hopefully create a realistic world of my story and characters.
• Scrivener - for all my writing and digital project organizing needs. The company is a sponsor of NaNoWriMo and has special offers for participants.

Time to get back to outlining.

Screen Setup

Still revising, slowly but surely. Not going to hit my targets for this month, so it's time to think about how to move forward with NaNoWriMo right around the corner. To NaNo, or not to NaNo. That is the question.

In the meantime, thought I'd share what my setup looked like today. On the big monitor, Scrivener is open with my current WIP along with Visual Thesaurus and iTunes. My laptop screen holds Chrome with my Trello story To-Do cards. Using iThoughts, a mindmapping app, on my iPad, I created a character's family tree. Yes, there is a scrap piece of paper and a pen too. Other notes and story outlines are in stacks just out of the photo on the desk and on a cookbook holder.

On a side note, something cool that I discovered today ... if using a Mac or Bonjour enabled Windows computer, a user can access/download iThoughts mindmaps via a browser if the iOS device and the computer are on the same wi-fi network.

Links and Stuff

My wave of writing momentum broke, leaving me wading in the waters. Not that I'm not getting nothing done, I'm still moving towards shore. Just not very fast.

Rather than go on about my revision hell, I thought I'd link/share some posts that have entertained me, provided conversation fodder, and helped my writing process along recently.

• Donald Maass tweets golden nuggets that writers can use to improve any story. Using Hootsuite, I email his tweets to myself, then copy and paste them into an Evernote note that I save just for his tweets. If I need an idea of how to make the story larger, I browse the list of his tweets. My favorite at the moment is #87 -- I'm so going to let it hurt. 
• Pocket is a read-later service that I found via Lifehacker (another good site) that allows me to save articles and blogposts that I want to read for later. I was using Instapaper, even paid for the app, when I learned about Pocket, a free app. Both apps get the job done and make it easy to share the articles, but found Pocket's layout more visually appealing. I use Pocket to save recipes, writing articles, news pieces, and even links to videos, then dispo them to trash, Evernote, or email for final filing.
• Lynn Viehl, one of my favorite authors and  bloggers, has a Get Back to Writing theme this week on her blog. One of her posts has my Muse waving her sword and spouting ideas for a few short stories.
• Over at Photofocus, Scott Bourne always posts stunning photos as well as helpful photography related tips. Much of his advice is just as applicable to writing and life as to photography, like this one about scrubbing negativity from your creative space/life. (I still have the article in my Pocket queue to keep the message present for myself.)

Hope these links sparked inspiration, curiosity of sources/services available on the web, or just allowed you to take a break.

Me, I'm back to revising. Maybe, now that I have some pain to inflict character building to do, I'll have some fun.

Resurfacing to Roll With It

Resurfacing. Finally.

Despite the evidence to the contrary, with my last post back in June, I didn't forget about my blog or my writing. I just let other things take precedence ... kids, summer vacation, trips, cleaning, laziness. After a summer off, I'm ready to get back to work. I've cleaned and rearranged my office. All three kids are in school. A new writing plan is in place. So now I can get busy writing/revising. As a matter of fact, I've already reconnected with a few writer comrades, revised two scenes, and written this blog post. And it's only Tuesday. Can you tell I'm rejuvenated, pumped, ready to get this revision behind me?

It's because I took the summer off. Rather than carry the guilt and frustration of not keeping my writing schedule with the kids out of school, I gave up trying to shoehorn everything into my days and rolled with it. Yup, me. I rolled with it.

A memory from Arthur's Seat

I may have mentioned before that I can be stringent regarding my schedule, so this was a hard concept for me. As my family can attest, I get very cranky if things don't go just as I've planned. But being cranky, guilty, and frustrated got in the way of being with my husband and kids. Rather than ruin a perfectly good summer with my rigidness, I figured writing would come with the new school year. Besides, being there for the kids and creating life-lasting memories with my family are things I'd rather carry with me.

And really, my number one priority is my family. I chose writing as something to work on because I could fit the activity in the interstices of our schedules and lives, and hopefully earn a little something along the way. I forget that fact from time to time in wanting something for myself and to maintain my writing momentum. I'll keep forging time for my writing, but work on being flexible and appreciative of what I accomplish.

Which brings me to what I hope to work on for the rest of the year.

1. Finish revising Angie's story and start the query process by mid-October.
2. By the first of November, complete a story outline that I started in June, so I can participate in NaNoWriMo.
3. In December, pick up where I left off on revising Akeva's story.
4. Work on story prompts throughout the year to hone the craft and keep my writing fresh.

Ambitious, I know, but something to roll with.

PS - Rolling with it worked extremely well on our big vacation to Scotland ... left to my own devices we wouldn't have seen half the things we did or gotten some excellent story fodder along the way.

Surf & Turf for the Dads

Surf-n-Turf for the Dads. Happy Father's Day!