Monday Madness: Tips for Tackling NaNoWriMo

So, fellow NaNo-ers, how's it coming? Are you staying on top of your goals? Flagging behind? Have you suddenly sprouted extra fingers and are simultaneously banging out two separate scenes in your novel? (If so, can I borrow a pair?)

I'll admit, I'm behind. Because, well, I'm not the best at sitting in front a computer on the weekends so, yeah...

BUT, I will catch up. All I have to do is write 5,000 words and I'll be good. Think I can't do it? Think again!

I have some secrets up my sleeve. Okay, not secrets, but some nifty tools that help me out. And, because I'm feeling generous today (and riding a sugar high brought on by a powdered donut), here are some of the things I use to keep me on track.

Write or Die. I'm usually pressed for time and always easily distracted, so Write or Die by Dr. Wicked is a great tool to keep me on track. I usually write about 1,000 words at a time (to keep it down to manageable chunks) but you can set it for as many as you want (I think up to 50,000).

Pandora. I like to use music to get me in the mood to write, and nothing is better for that than a personalized radio station. If I have a certain theme in mind for a story, then I can enter a similar music style and create a station. For The Morgue Tree, I'm going with a lot of Breaking Benjamin, Fireflight and Paramore. Yep, it's emo.

Revising. This might sound a little counterproductive, but it helps me narrow the focus of the story. While using Write or Die, the things I write can be either raw genius or pure garbage. I do a lot of pruning and polishing, and, by doing this, usually have a stronger hold on the story. I usually add words, too. And, since I'm a perfectionist, I can feel more comfortable about moving on with the story, knowing that it's not a lot of crap just taking up space.

How about you? Have any tips that keep you on track? And are you on track?

Monday Madness: Better Late Than Never

Oops. Yep, I know, I'm late. Sorry. Usually I write these things ahead of time and pre-schedule them to avoid this, but, yeah. I've been busy.

So, this Monday, I would like to talk about procrastination.

Or get around to talking about procrastination. Look! Something shiny!

Ahem. Okay, seriously, procrastination is a writer's best frenemy. It's fuzzy and cuddly and oh-so-much-fun, until you realize that you haven't written two sentences in the three hours you've been on your computer.

So, if you're like me and haven't finished your short story because there are just so many cool websites out there, here are some tips for overcoming procrastination:

1. Stay away from technology. No computer. No TV. No Kindle/e-reader. Not even a radio. Grab some paper, a pen and a hard surface and go at it the old fashioned way. (Also, stay away from windows.)

2. Use Write or Die. This is a handy online tool (and FREE) that will help you overcome writer's block or lack of motivation or both! And did I mention it's free?

3. Have a brainstorm session. By this I mean that you just write whatever pops into your head. Write without editing or worrying if it's good enough.

4. Set yourself a goal with rewards/punishments. For example: If I write 1,000 words today/finish this scene/finish this chapter, I can go have ice cream. If I don't, I have to pick up rocks in the backyard. (But this only works if you're the type to stick to your rewards/punishments. If you have ice cream either way, it defeats the purpose.

So what about you? How do you tackle procrastination?

In Whose Head? Hers? His? Theirs? All of the above?

Maybe you notice it, maybe you don't, but point of view (POV) affects writing in significant ways. Honestly, before I sneaked into the WD Sci-Fi/Fantasy Forum, I didn't really think about POV. It just happened naturally. I would start out in one POV and then blithely switch to another's or do both, or whatever, without regard to how it was affecting what was being said/going on.

Now that I'm smarter/more experienced/brainwashed, I can look back on works that I did pre-POV and examine them critically. Is that POV working? What does it take away? What would happen if I switched it to the other person's POV. And, my favorite: Whoa, just went from third-person limited to omniscient. Goody.

In the genre I'm being sucked into like a pink vortex with red heart confetti (i.e., romance), it might surprise you to realize that omniscient is used. A lot. Now, when I gained my POV knowledge, I learned that omniscient is one of the hardest POVs to write because even though the reader knows every thought of every character, they are, in the end, distanced from them. There are so many jolts between characters that you get to the point where you're not sure who's head you're in.

I have also seen in romance novels the use of limited third spattered with bits of omniscient. For example, you're in Lord What's-His-Face head and he's admiring Lady So-and-So's assets and then we switch to having her admire his assets. Bam! Just like that. ::snaps fingers::

I'm not sure if this was intentional on the author's part or accidental, but it (surprisingly) can work.

How does this tie into what I'm working on? Well, I've decided to pick up Last of the Elves again and finish it. (This project was started BEFORE Fury was even a gleam in my eye.) The first chapter (and much of the second) is in Minalea's POV. But then it switches to omniscient. And then it's in Lial's POV. Whoa, there, POV horsey. Too much galloping around.

Now, FURY began in omniscient. But I realized that it would get more out of third-limited POV, so I changed it, creating pretty little white spaces between head jumps. I think it gives the characters and the circumstances a complexity that wasn't present before because the reader knew everything, so it was like the characters knew everything. Now, it will go a whole chapter/scene without switching to the other character's POV, so the reader is having to guess how the other character is reacting based on what the POV character is observing/thinking.

But with LOTE I'm not sure if that limited POV will work. Hmm. I'll just have to go by trial and error, I suppose.

What are your POV preferences?