Network Your Notebook

I'm off again taking care of some work stuff. In the meantime, while hunting around for any online alternatives for the novel notebook, I found this freeware:

Piggydb is "a Web notebook application that provides you with a platform to build your knowledge personally or collaboratively. With Piggydb, you can create highly structural knowledge by connecting knowledge fragments to each other to build a network structure, which is more flexible and expressive than a tree structure. Fragments can also be classified with hierarchical tags. Piggydb does not aim to be an input-and-search database application. It aims to be a platform that encourages you to organize your knowledge continuously to discover new ideas or concepts, and moreover enrich your creativity" (OS: Multi-platform, requires Java Runtime Environment.)

I'm going to test drive it when I have a chance and I'll report back on how it works for me. If you collaborate online with a writing or creative partner, and need to build a novel notebook or series bible, this freeware might be particularly useful.

Educationally Free

Copywriter and Men with Pens blog owner James Chartrand is holding a contest for his Damn Fine Words online writing course; the winners each receive a free spot in the class. To enter, you have to write a blog article, minimum 450 words, on why writing is important to you and how better writing skills would change your business or your life, and post it on your blog, and then do some linking. No entry fee, deadline is May 1 at 7 am EST; see contest post for more details.

I'm at the halfway point of my online art class now, and I feel that I've already gotten twice my money's worth in advice and instruction, so that's working out quite well (and I will be relating more about the class once I'm finished, for those of you who were curious about it.) It's also nice to shed the authorial albatross for a couple of weeks and be a regular person.

Over the years I've been approached by various colleagues and organizations to do pay-for online writing classes, and while I've been flattered I've always declined. It's not that I think there's anything wrong with charging people to learn about writing; talented writers who share their knowledge certainly have the right to be compensated for it, and teaching for money helps them supplement their writing income which for most of them, let's face it, is probably never going to be the stuff of instant retirement.

I'm a child of public education, though, and my university was the local library; I teach for free to honor the librarians and public school teachers who guided me in this direction, and to be there for all the writers like me who could never afford to pay for classes. Aka my little personal Crusade.

My past efforts at online teaching have been both rewarding and frustrating. Early on in my career I moderated an online writer's think tank in a chat room, which made every Friday night a blast, at least until my arthritis grew worse and I couldn't type fast enough to keep up with the questions. My Left Behind & Loving It virtual writing workshops were also a lot of fun; they just got too big too fast to handle on my own. When RWA committed the ultimate irony by promoting me and my fellow writers' efforts to their membership as an alternative to their National conference, I knew it was time to let them go.

Likely the most successful teaching project I've done to date is The Novel Notebook. When I put it together five years ago I thought it might help a couple of writers organize their stuff better, but that was all. I can't tell you how many writers have since downloaded and used it, because I don't track things like that, but it's the most popular free e-book I've ever posted online. Last year during NaNoWriMo I heard that several groups were actually handing out CD and printed copies of it at their meetings, which was very neat.

I don't know yet what my next teaching project will be, but I'd like to do something along the lines of the Novel Notebook (whatever evolves, I promise I will keep it free.) Which makes me wonder: if you could get me to teach something online, what would it be, and how would you want me to teach it? Let me know in comments.

Graphic credit: © Yellowj | Dreamstime.com

On the Road

Just a heads up: I'm starting a road trip tomorrow, so any comments you care to leave will probably sit for a while in the approval queue. I'll try to get to them whenever we stop and my kid finds somewhere with free wi-fi (I don't think it will be a problem anywhere but in the mountains.)

I'll be working while I'm out of town, too, and I thought some of you might like to see what I take with me and how I go about being a mobile PBW. A story can be as portable as you want it to be, as long as you think ahead and plan what you'll need for your writing sessions away from home.

The first thing that goes into the writing tote is my novel notebook, which has my synopsis, chapter outlines, character profiles, research data, visuals and so forth for me to reference. This is another reason for making one; it's convenient to take along on trips.

In a pencil case (one hole-punched to fit in the novel notebook) I stock lots of pens and pencils, of course; I never depend on hotel freebie pens.

A blank notebook also comes along for any new notes, writing to-do lists, or other draft material I may need to jot down (a spiral-bound, one-subject student notebook or composition book have prepunched holes in them, so they should fit nicely into the back of your novel notebook binder.)

A laptop, netbook, smart keyboard or other writing tech to use for writing sessions is a given; for me it's usually the laptop, but if my hands are in pretty good shape I also take an AlphaSmart Neo smart keyboard. The Neo is sturdy, doesn't require special hookups, power supplies (mine runs on batteries) or complicated wiring, can be used practically anywhere but in the shower and doesn't offer the distraction of the internet.

A few blank CDs to backup the work I accomplish while away from home also go into the bag. If your writing tech doesn't burn CDs for you, an alternative is to e-mail whatever writing you do each day to yourself, although if you've had any problems downloading e-mailed files I'd use a secondary form of backup as a safety measure -- maybe send a copy via e-mail to a writer friend to hold for you.

I always write up a daily task schedule to make the best use of my time. On the road I might have two or three hours a day to work, so I try to give myself short, manageable writing assignments. On some trips when I have to fly for more than eight hours or drive for more than four hours every day I will pack a print copy of a recently-finished manuscript with me and do a read-through edit each night (you may want to do an electronic version if your airline has weight restrictions or extra baggage charges.)

If I'm going to be staying at the home of a family member or friend, I also bring a lap desk. In the event there is no desk or table in a quiet area for me to use, I can take a chair to a secluded corner and work off the lap desk.

Finally, I take one book to read for pleasure. I take only one because I usually end up visiting book stores wherever I travel and buying at least five or six more.

What do you take with you on your road trips to help with getting some writing done? Do you have any tips on how to be productive while traveling? Let us know in comments.

NaNoNotebook

Every Wednesday from now until November 1st I'll be posting some ideas, resources and other info that may be of help to those of you planning to join in NaNoWriMo 2010.

For me, one of the personal pleasures of writing novels is putting together my novel notebook. No one sees this writing tool but me, so I can do exactly what I want with it (and I do.) It also allows me to stay organized when I'm working on a book, which is an important part of my process. I don't want to have to rustle around looking for notes when I can't remember the protagonist's middle name, or in which chapter the antagonist unleashes what chaos, or when I promised my agent I'd send her the proposal. I don't have a secretary, and I have story to write.

For me a novel notebook is basically the depository of all the notes, outlines, character bios, setting info, research, plotting and other ideas that I use for writing a book. Here's the one I've started putting together for my NaNo novel. It's not mandatory that you put one together in advance, or even make one at all, but I think having a place for all your story-related ephemera keeps you organized and saves time (especially when while writing you go fuzzy on some detail and need to refer back to your original outline, character notes, research, scribbles, etc.)

I've always made notebooks for my novels, but I started out just keeping a neatly-typed synopsis, chapter summaries and character worksheets together in a binder. Over time I gradually began adding other things, like sketches, photos, cover art mockups, journal entries relating to the book, music CDs and other inspirational bits. Now my notebooks are as much creative diaries and story archives as they are work schematics and fiction blue prints.

The spiral notebook I use (which fits in the binder, btw) is where I jot down all my notes related to the story. I also have a pocket-size blank book that I carry in my purse most of the time. In the binder I also insert tabbed pocket dividers (the pockets are handy for smaller items like Post-It notes, CDs and pocket journals.)

No matter what I'm writing, I always tab a section for characters, plot, setting, notes, research materials and submission info. Another strategy that helps me is to create a small theme icon for every novel (this can be anything from a word to a symbol) which I use to mark all the related paperwork in the upper right hand corner -- also very helpful later when I'm sorting out things I need to put in the office file.

Other sections I use are more business-related (pitching, promotion, styling, lists of editors to pitch for my agent and so on) but one I find very useful while writing is a section on visuals (photographed or sketched depictions of characters, objects, settings; floorplans, topographical maps, etc.) I also keep backups of my daily work on CD in my notebook because I'm just paranoid that way.

The last section in my notebook is always reserved for my synopsis. I do this because A) I always write the synopsis before I write the novel, B) it's the one document I refer to most frequently when writing, and C) I like to make any necessary corrections to it as I write the book versus rewriting it after the story is finished. Having it in the back of my notebook makes it easy to flip to immediately.

As I mentioned, it's not necessary to create a novel notebook in order to write your NaNoWriMo story, and you certainly don't need to organize everything the way I do for a book. If it's simple to use, you'll be more likely to use it. Also, don't feel forced to put your story stuff in a binder; you can use file folders, a blank book, a legal pad, a bigger spiral notebook (I like the ones that are divided into five or six sections for students), a software program or even an electronic gadget of some sort. Remember, this writing tool is for you, not anyone else, so make it what you want it to be, and have some fun with it.

Related links (Freeware caution: always scan free downloads of anything for bugs and other threats before dumping the programs into your hard drive):

PBW's Novel Notebook: This is a free .pdf e-book with templates and examples of some of the things I do with my novel notebooks (and feel free to change it around to suit your process and/or discard what you don't need.)

To organize her creative writing projects, our blogpal LJ Cohen worked with Tiddlywiki (TW), a "javascript based open source personal wiki that lives as a single html page, on a local hard drive, a thumbdrive, or on a server" to create TiddlyWikiWrite (TWW). Per Lisa: "It is an electronic relational filecard system that runs in any browser window on your local computer." She's also generously shared it online for free use and distribution.

The free version of AM-Notebook is "a multi-featured personal information manager that provides an easy and reliable way to save notes, formula supported spreadsheets, diagrams/flowcharts, to do lists, tasks and contacts within a light weight tray icon tool" (OS: Windows 7 (32/64 bit), Vista, XP, 2000)

The Printable Notebook allows you to "organize and print your personal data in the same manner a paper notebook does. You can print (and cut) selected pages so that they fit into your paper notebook. The program allows you to create multiple notebooks with custom fields for each. It includes several sample print templates, that will fit a standard notebook size. The templates are XML based and can be edited by experienced users to accommodate other formats. Printable Notebook supports website links and email fields, different tab layouts, search across notebooks and more" (OS: Windows 98/ME/2000/XP)

Scribe is "a free cross-platform note-taking program designed especially with historians in mind. Think of it as the next step in the evolution of traditional 3x5 note cards. Scribe allows you to manage your research notes, quotes, thoughts, contacts, published and archival sources, digital images, outlines, timelines, and glossary entries. You can create, organize, index, search, link, and cross-reference your note and source cards. You can assemble, print, and export bibliographies, copy formatted references to clipboard, and import sources from online catalogs. You can store entire articles, add extended comments on each card in a separate field, and find and highlight a particular word within a note or article. Scribe's uses range from an undergraduate history research seminar to a major archival research project" (OS: Windows, Mac OS X)

Pindersoft offers a thirty day free trial of their Writers Project Organizer, which is "manuscript orientated software for writers and not a magic magic program to get you published. What Writers Project Organizer will do is organize your ideas, thoughts, submissions, plots, storylines and contacts within the publishing industry" (OS: Windows + Microsoft's .Net Framework 3.5, looks like it's good to run on Vista)

Fun with Setting

Because I do so much planning and prep work before I write a single word of a novel, I write up hundreds of pages of notes, outlines, character profiles, thread diagrams, setting specifics and plot schematics. I used to keep these in binders and file them away once I finished production on the corresponding novel, but then I started returning to worlds I'd already created in previous books and needed to pull them out and refresh my memory.

I don't like writing the same setting over and over, so when I needed to revisit a world I'd pull out my notebooks, read what I'd already done and build with that in mind as a foundation. When it became obvious that I'd be writing multiple stories set on K-2 and a couple of worlds in its surrounding solar system, I decided to split out all my setting notes in one separate notebook to keep straight what I'd done and what I planned to do.

I wasn't happy with just a big collection of notes, so when I decided to do another setting notebook for another multiple-story world (Joren) I wrote a little travelogue-type book for myself about the planet and made up a nice cover for it:



(You can tell this is one I wrote for myself because I misspelled planetary on the cover and never bothered to correct it.)

That was nice, and very organized, but it lacked something. To me a world isn't just about the physical characteristics, it's also about the people who have lived there. So when it became obvious I needed a setting notebook for my dome colony world Trellus, I decided to have a bit more fun with it. Along with my notes, maps and sketches I wrote a brief history of the colony, from the day the first settlers touched down to seizure and shutdown of the colony's infamous mining operations.



While the process evolved mostly from my need to be hyperorganized, by having some fun with the settings and treating them like subjects all on their own, I found the worlds became more real to me. I don't use everything I write in my setting notebooks in my stories, but I think making them has allowed me to write about the settings with a bit more enthusiasm than my usual attitude of "Why can't everything happen in a featureless void?"

I don't recommend every writer write a separate book on their settings for themselves, as that would likely take up too much time you can use for writing the actual novel. But it doesn't hurt to experiment with the ways you put together and maintain your settings. They're a bit like gardens -- the more you plant and tend to them, the more wonderful stuff will grow.

What are some of the things you do to flesh out your settings and keep track of what you've built for worlds you revisit? Let us know in comments.

Novel Synopsis-o-rama

Over at Tobias Buckell's blog I came across this list of links to writers posting synopses today online, among those who participated are Naomi Novik, Mindy Klasky and S.L. Farrell. I'd mention it for those of you out there who wrestle with the Dread Syn and like to see examples that actually sell books.

Last summer I put together a rough draft of my revised novel notebook (and I'm still revising the revision, as it happens; every time I think I'm finished I find one more thing I want to add or change.) Among other things I put in the notebook was the original synopsis for one of my published romantic suspense novels, Heat of the Moment. Naturally I forgot about it while I was transferring everything from the old ftp files, but I moved it tonight. You can now read it online or download it at Scribd here.*Note 9/3/10: Since Scribd.com instituted an access fee scam to charge people for downloading e-books, including those I have provided for free for the last ten years, I have removed my free library from their site, and no longer use or recommend using their service. This e-book and all of my free reads may be read online or downloaded for free from Google Docs; go to my freebies and free reads page for the links. See my post about this scam here.

The Revised Novel Notebook

I'm in the process of updating my old novel notebook examples, forms, and worksheets. I tried to get it done before the virtual workshops, but that didn't happen. I would like to finish this project sometime before civilization falls into ruins and we devolve back into lemurs.

For those who don't know what the heck I'm talking about, I make novel notebooks for every book I write, and they've been very helpful to me when I'm in the planning and outlining stage of the game. It also gives me one place to put everything: notes, sketches, changes, plot diagrams, plans, promotional ideas, etc.

Ideally I'd like to create a novel notebook template for other writers to use that would be universal for all genres, but that's not working out. There are so many genre-specific writing issues, like charting relationship arcs in romance, creating magic systems in fantasy, inventing new tech for SF and so on. All genres share some of the same characteristics, but none of them are interchangeable.

At the moment I'm wrestling with the idea of dividing it into sections by genre or putting together different versions of the notebook for each genre. I also want to add some new ideas, like the character color wheel I've been working on and some other stuff.

In the meantime, I've put together a rough draft in .pdf form of what I've already done (click here to download)*, for those of you who are interested in having a look.

*This link no longer works, but you can find my Novel Notebook on Scribd here, and it's free for anyone to read online, download, print out and pass along. *Note 9/3/10: Since Scribd.com instituted an access fee scam to charge people for downloading e-books, including those I have provided for free for the last ten years, I have removed my free library from their site, and no longer use or recommend using their service. My free reads may be read online or downloaded for free from Google Docs; go to my freebies and free reads page for the links. See my post about this scam here.