Some Planning/Prep Thoughts

So it is week two of Wrimoverse (well since we officially launched it anyway).  For those of you that don’t know what that is, myself and several of my ML friends have embarked on even MORE insanity for NaNoWrimo than we ever have before.  It’s a multi-region event, encompassing multiple countries and timezones as well.  There is a weekly story (in October, will be bi-weekly come November) piece that goes out with all of our regional mails, a Ship Cup (our four ships all compete by having their officers and cadets record points based on earning badges, completing tasks, and attending/participating in the online events that are planned), as well as just lots of general writing insanity.

It’s gotten a lot bigger than I think we were thinking it would.  HQ has even asked if we mind if they send out an announcement about it 0.o  So it’s probably going to get bigger which is pretty awesome for our first time with this!

Aside from what goes into that, been trying to do some planning/prep for my NaNo novel.  I’ve switched to Scrivener in order to write this year.  I’ve always used OneNote and Word in order to keep my notes and write my novels, but I love that Scrivener keeps all that in one place.  The first time I used Scrivener was when it was still in Beta form for Windows and sadly, it just didn’t have what I needed at the time.  But now that the Windows version has a lot of what the Mac version does (and is continually getting new things as well), I can safely say that it will now be my new writing software of choice.  The one drawback I’m finding is that is a bit overwhelming.  The basics aren’t too hard to get down and the flexibility is amazing, but I’m actually finding that it’s a bit TOO flexible XD  I’m trying to find the organization that I like best and that works for me.  I think I’m keying in on it, but we’ll see how that goes as October progresses.  I will say, my favorite features at the moment are: The Snapshot, Corkboard mode, and Outliner mode.

Perhaps, when I’m feeling more adventurous, I’ll post up some of the organizational ideas I’ve decided to go with.  I won’t do tutorials for it because there are so many great ones out there, far better than I can explain, but I do know seeing how others organize their projects has been helpful, so I might do that once I’ve settled on it.  Also, the NaNoWriMo trial version and template are out as well, which can help those doing NaNo ^^

To help me keep track of word counts and progress, aside from Scrivener, I use an Android app called Writeometer.  At the moment, it is only for Android, but I love it.  You can have as many projects as you want, list word count goals, daily goals, etc.  It has timers built in and even allows you to make little notes to yourself when you fill in your word count entries.  I often will make notes about what I plan on doing next, or maybe if there was a name or something I need to look up in case I forget (which I do XD).  Again, Scrivener also has a great way to track progress, but I like using both.  Plus, Writeometer has a couple fun tools as well, and it has “guavas” which are rewards you earn for doing word sprints with the timer.  You can spend those guavas on treats that you can program in.  For instance, my big reward this year will be getting to play Sims 4 (the new EP comes out the 1st XD), but ONLY after I get my daily goals XD.  You can assign a worth to treats (I made Sims cost 5 or 6 guavas I think XD).

I think that’s about all for today.  Going to attempt to keep a regular schedule.  Every week or every other week at least.  Would be happy to answer any questions for anyone as well ^^

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