How does the app integration work? I saw it has like a note taker section where you can write little details you think of on notecards.
Can you do that from the app?
So, I don’t use the app that much because it requires drop box to sync from phone to PC. It’s fine if you have DB but I stopped using it a while ago.
I just make a folder in my PC scrivener doc called notes and keep all of that in there. You can split the doc to look at notes on one side and your story on another so it’s pretty useful.
I’d still jot down notes on your phone though if it’s helpful for you.
I used a pirated version of scrivener for years and liked it so much I actually paid for it (this was during a time in my life where money was kinda short and I legit wasn’t paying for anything. not a brag, I’m not proud of it but it was what it was).
So I’ve only used scrivener on windows, and from what I’m told it’s the inferior version to the mac version. I don’t have experience with the iOS version so I’m not sure, but I’d imagine it’d have similar functionality.
My workflow in scrivener goes something like this:
Open the app and choose something (usually I go with novel with parts).
Then I reorganize the side to my liking. For NaNoWriMo I fly by the seat of my pants so I like to make a lot of options for characters and settings that I leave blank until such a time as I need them.
Then I honestly just start writing. The thing that makes it so useful to me is that I can start writing anything and then figure out where it goes later. I don’t have to be constrained to continuing a single thought. When I burn out on a scene or idea I just start up a new page and go from there. And then I’ll be able to connect them later.
I think it’s worth a trial before NaNo starts.
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Once again, I am not ready and I think I’ll probably not finish again.
But is anyone planning to do it?
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I’m… gonna try! Last year I finished for the first time since the first time I attempted way back in 2014.
I’ve got some ideas and a loose plot set up for this year. Also, I’m unemployed and out of grad school so I have nothing but free time to use on this (even though I should be job hunting).
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DO 50,000 WORDS OF JOB APPLICATIONS
God, what a post-capitalism nightmare.
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I refuse lol.
I’m fortunate enough to have a partner who can cover my ass while I’m unemployed/out of school. She seems to want me to apply for PhD programs which complicates the job hunt further because I’d basically be occupying job space for 6-9 months and then leaving which I always feel bad about >.>
NaNo is actually going to be a cathartic/relaxing break from stressing over the above.
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I don’t expect to hit 50k but I’m going to do my best to write a bit every day, and finish a couple short stories.
So, I’m leaning into writing an epic furry fantasy novel, or a sci-fi novel inspired by Mass Effect with a strange lady in a strange land kind of vibe.
What should I dooo?
I think I’ll try my hand at this portal fantasy bullshit all the kids seem into these days. I’m unprepared. I never finish. I haven’t even been thinking about it.
I just can’t commit to the number of words you need to write each day. That, and the fact that I’ve barely been reading anything for the past couple of months so wouldn’t know where to start…
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I wish there was an app that would give a little notification when you hit the 1,667 words.
This, but more so: I tried NaNoWriMo twice, two years in a row, back in around 2007ish. In the end, it made me feel awful, and really killed any desire I had to write any fiction at all for several years afterwards. I couldn’t meet the word limits any of the first few days, ended up just staring at a screen and going on the Nano forums and feeling increasingly depressed by how excited everyone else was at how well they’re doing.
So, I have learned not to do Nano for my mental health since then.
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Yeah, I was thinking about the logistics of this “challenge”/month this morning and was just kind of dumbfounded how people can commit to that word count! During the week I’m either too busy at work or too drained from teaching to consistently focus that hard when I get home.
In an essay, Amitava Kumar says that one of the things that helped him become a good writer was to write at least 150 words a day. They don’t have to be connected, or anything more than a brief catalog of what you’re thinking at the time, but making that a habit can help you gradually write more in general. Maybe that’s a good alternative to the popular limit people discuss; write at least 150 words about whatever each day in November.
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The thing is, I have written more than 1667 words a day for periods - and I started a blog a few years after the WriMo debacle above in order to softly encourage the same thing (although not in fiction). I do think that, certainly when I was involved in NaNo, that part of the big problem was the “culture” of the thing; the inflexible word count, but also the evangelism of the community (the number of posts from people saying ‘I think X, my friend, should do NaNo, but they don’t want to - how do I make them?’ was disturbing) and what felt like relentless pressure to be ‘subsumed into this sacrificial communal act’. I don’t think people, at least, back then, really understood how incredibly problematic that was when dealing with people who couldn’t commit - sure, some people did, but the zeitgeist was that posting trite inspirational posts was the most useful approach. Maybe it’s better now. I hope so…
I totally feel you there. As a nurse I do 12.5 hour shifts, including nights. The energy often just isn’t there to sit and write anything. Patients’ notes is about all the writing I want to do on a given day!
I have on occasion tried that daily writing, but the habit has been so hard to maintain.
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I’m scurred.
Haven’t started yet. Waiting to get home from work.
I gave this tip up thread, last year… (edit: I guess I didn’t? Did we have a separate thread last year??). the 1,667 daily words do not need to be good words. It’s fine to go stream of consciousness in between things you’ve actually thought up.
Limiting yourself to careful, methodical writing for NaNo is a sure fire way to not meet the word goal. Some people just don’t/can’t write that way and that’s fine, but the two times I’ve “won” and what I’ve read from other winners… you have to kind of stop giving a fuck about quality and just go for it.
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You dont have to work on only one project. You dont have to do anything.
I like using it as an idea dump. Just filling up my notebook. I’m actually doing a lot by hand this year. Just to try it out.
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