FYI

What if you got hit by a bus?

I am mostly a business writer - promotional materials and web content - but have been obsessing for the past 26 days on a fiction project and have some unfinished articles floating 'round the hard drive as well. The business content is easy since that is almost always done as a work-for-hire and the person or entity who commissioned it owns the copyright.

The fiction and articles, though, those are all mine.

So what happens to the contents of my hard drive and filing cabinets of I get hit by a bus?

Pretty good question, huh?

I wish I could claim credit, but a friend sent me a link to Neil Gaiman's blog which says it pretty eloquently and includes a template will for writers to dispose of their intellectual property rights.

Check it out.

PS - Totally shameless plug - If you've never read Neil Gaiman's fiction you should, you really, really, really should.

I recommend starting with American Gods - it is still my favorite, though Anansi Boys and Neverwhere are tied for a very close second.

Halfway There... Only 10 Days left!

Yep, broke the halfway point tonight. Ten days left and 24Kwords... I am so wigging!

NaNo ‘06 - 26, 208 & counting! 50K or bust, Baby!

It's Broken!

The 10K barrier, that is.

I broke 10K today and the day is not yet over :-) Most people who give up (I knew the stats before the month started but they've floated clean out of my head!) do so prior to the 10K mark. Of those who make 10K I *think* over 50 or 60% of them finish.

Based on missing a few days over the weekend I can still be on target if I up my daily word min to a little over 1800. A bit scary, but Monday was a banner 2400+ word day, so 1800 should be doable- right? Certainly sounds less intimidating that way than saying 50,000 words in 30 days. Don't ask me why, it means the same, but smaller numbers are less panic-inducing.

As a side note - my NaNo is still pulling teeth, but everything non-NaNo I've written this week has come **so** much easier, whether it's blogging or work stuff, it's just all flowing better.

Dadnabbit!

Dang visiting family messed up my word count as I was unable to get alone with the computer for two days (oh, the agony!)

If you need me tomorrow, I'll be holed up at Starbucks, trying to get caught up!

:-)

NaNo Tips from an (almost) Novice

I changed my mind and brought him back - he's not dead, just missing. I haven't decided yet if I want to kill him off or not. It would be closer to the true story my novel is loosely based on to let him live, but, from a plot perspective it would be a lot easier on me if he dies. I'll have to think about it some more.

So... On to the Nano tips:

1. Get a calendar JUST for Nano. I got one from my municipal liaison at the kick-off meeting and 30 stickers. Ours are stars, but get whatever floats your boat. Mark each day with the total word count you should be at, ending with 50K on the 30th. Each day you make the count (which is a minimum based on 50K divided by 30 and assuming you write every day) give yourself a sticker.

Ex. We had a five year-old emergency at 4am today. She went back to sleep, but I didn't. By the time 2pm rolled around I only had 900 words for the day and really wanted a nap. She went to bed at 830 and the only thing that kept me up was that I desperately wanted to put that damn star on the calendar, which meant heading back to the keyboard. It may or may not be dreck, but by golly, there's 5300 words of it now.

2. Go to the events. I was so stoked after the kick-off on the 29th that the 30th and 31st felt like the slowest days ever. Knowing you are not the only insane person in your geographic area and that other people have, in fact, managed to do this helps. Real people, that you can have a cup of coffee with during a write-in rather than the faceless handles on the NaNo forums. Here in Austin we have the youngest NaNo winner (someone who achieves the 50K in 30 days) ever at 13 (2005). She's 14 this year and by golly if she can do it, so can I. Right?

3. Turn OFF the inline spell/grammar check on your word processing software. The whole point is to free yourself from your inner editor and just crank it out. If you don't see those little wavy red lines from where you were typing too fast it is a LOT easier.

4. Turn off your monitor. This has been a big help to me this year. I'm a full-time notebook computer user, but have an LCD panel & dock on my desk. When I turn off the monitor I am freed from the editor since I cannot see what I am typing (and can stare at the keyboard, if necessary, if you're worried over typos). I am also freed from the pressure. It's much easier to resist the urge to constantly hit the "Recount" button in Word if I can't see the screen. And if things are going slowly, I cannot see how little space I've filled. If I'm on a roll there's no visual cue telling me, "Quit, you made it already."

That's it, so far. Thanks to these handy tricks (oh, yea, quoting lyrics or poetry is good for upping your word count, too. Just remember, if you want to work your manuscript up for publication you must either remove these sections or trim them to "Fair Use" snippets, and receive permission to use them from the copyright holders.) I am THREE HUNDRED TEN words over my minimum word count on day three. Which is good since my ILs are coming tomorrow and my time with the keyboard is going to be a little short over the weekend.

Good luck & happy writing--I got my red star and I'm going to bed.

Oh dear...

...Only Day 2 and I've already killed off a character. Muahahaha!

(too much coffee, too little sleep... expect more of the same for the next 28 days. )

Oh, and I'm taking December 1st off, just so everyone knows.

**********
It's twelve hours later and I changed my mind and resurrected him. Wonder if he'll survive the day tomorrow...

NaNo '06 - Day One

Woohoo!

I made my word count for the day with 97 to spare! On the other hand, that is pretty much ALL i got done today. Good thing I scheduled the day for it, since I probably won't be able to get away with that kind of time at the coffee house (2 1/2 hours) more than once a week or so...

Keep an eye on this year's participant icon to the right, it's keeping a running score on my word count.

50K or Bust, baby!