Discovering Scrivener

I wasn't blogging or freelancing much over the summer, but I was working on my novels -- revising the first one in the series I'm working on, which I finished during NaNoWriMo last November, and starting the next book.

Before the August session of Camp NaNoWriMo started, while I was still working on revisions to the first novel, I decided to try Scrivener, a word processing software for writers that is supposed to be far superior to Word when it comes to outlining, keeping track of research, and other tasks that Word isn't really set up for.  Since I'd won NaNo in November, I had a coupon code for 50 percent off, which meant that it only cost me $20.

I'm sure I have yet to experience all of the features Scrivener has to offer, but so far I LOVE IT.  Every scene is a separate "documents," essentially, but you can drag and drop in order to reorganize and reorder.  Creating folders for chapters and documents for individual scenes also makes it very easy to do a rough outline.  If you like more detailed outlines, the folders and documents also allow you to include a synopsis and notes (none of which is counted in the word count).

Scrivener also allows you to keep track of all your research in the same file: You can import web pages and documents such as PDFs, and also create documents to type up your notes.  I imported a Word document full of notes into my novel, for example, and also imported a few web pages.  You can also keep virtual note cards with character and setting information.

Since you have so much in this one file, the split screen feature is very helpful.  I like to keep research on the top and whatever scene I am currently working on at the bottom.

Another nice feature: snapshots.  This allows you to take a snapshot of a document before you start making changes to it, so that you can quickly and easily go back to the way it was if you decide you don't like the changes.

And after I nearly lost a whole lot of data when my hard drive died earlier this summer, I am really pleased with Scrivener's auto save and auto backup features.  You don't have to ever hit save, for starters -- it saves your changes automatically every time you pause in your typing.  And you can set up the software to automatically back up every time you close the file.  I have Dropbox installed on my computer, so it backs up into the Dropbox folder, which then automatically syncs to my online account.  I'll never, ever have to worry about losing my work again!

When summer ended, and I went back to freelancing part-time, I decided to try the software out for client work, too.  I had a few articles to write that were fairly long and detailed, and required some research, and I found that Scrivener worked just as well for those as it does for novels.  I set it up so that the different sections of the novels were separate documents (just like the scenes in the novel), and imported all of the web pages I used for research.

I'm sure I'm missing a whole bunch of great features in this little review, so please, if you use this software, feel free to add anything I'm missing in the comments.  Perhaps I'll even learn a new feature that I wasn't aware of before!  Also, if you're interested in trying out the software, in the past NaNoWriMo participants have gotten 20 percent off just for being registered for NaNo, so it might be worth signing up this year, if only for the coupon code.

And life returns to normal (mostly)

After a busy summer taking care of the kids I nanny for, they are back in school and I am (finally) back to my pre-summer schedule.  Granted, I didn't always manage to keep up on my blogs even when the kids were in school, but during the summer, when I was working twice (sometimes more) the hours, it was totally impossible.  What little time I had left, I split between my novel, my horses, and my home life, and as a result freelancing and blogging both fell by the wayside.

Now that the kids are back in school, I feel like I've been gifted with several more hours every day (not to mention more sleep, since I can now sleep in again -- finally!).  Some of that time has already gone to the horses, and some to freelancing, which is why I'm writing this post after the kids have already been back in school for several weeks.

Just to get everyone up to speed, over the summer I participated in Camp NaNoWriMo, NaNo's summer edition.  In June I didn't actually write, just worked on revising last year's novel, the last 50k of which I wrote for NaNo.  I finished the majority of revisions a couple days into August (all I have left is the major rewriting, i.e., a couple of scenes that need to be overhauled and several that need to be written from scratch and added in), so in August I started the second novel of the series.  I got to 50k -- albeit just barely -- and emerged a winner, despite my slow start.

I've been meaning to continue working on the novel, with the intention of finishing it before November so that I can start a new one for the regular session of NaNoWriMo, but I only worked on it for the first few days after Camp NaNo ended.  Part of the problem is that I'm not entirely sure where to go next -- I know what has to happen, but I haven't figured out yet how to get there.  So I'm thinking I need to spend this time between sessions with planning and finishing revisions to the first novel, and then finish book 2 in November.

And freelancing.  I'm picking up some more freelancing work, which I had completely abandoned over the summer, and it feels good to earn at least part of my living from my keyboard again.

How was everyone else's summers?

A tale of two computers

Since my netbook's hard drive quit a couple weeks ago, I've been using my old Averatec more.  It's my backup computer, so I used it while the Asus was getting the hard drive replaced, but I also used it for several days after I got the Asus back.  It was having quite a few problems when I retired it ages ago, but part of that was that Outlook was freezing -- and since I haven't been using Outlook on it (just webmail), I haven't had any problems.

I'm remembering the things I liked so much about this computer, such as the nicer screen (larger, better pixel density, and just in general nicer to look at), and I've been thinking about reinstalling the operating system so that I can start using it more again.  I went ahead and ordered a new battery, too, which came yesterday (the old battery wouldn't hold a charge at all).  The new battery is telling me that I'll have close to 5 hours of battery power with it fully charged up, which is far more than the netbook -- another point in its favor.  The biggest disadvantage right now is the smaller hard drive (though I have a USB hard drive to put pictures on, so it really doesn't matter) and the fact that it runs a little hotter than the Asus -- not a good thing in summer, but since I'm not really at home anymore during the hottest part of the day, that's probably not a problem.

I have been so busy this week that I haven't had much of a chance to do anything with the computers.  Both have been sitting on the coffee table in the living room, the last place I was working on them (partly because there isn't room on my desk for both until I clean it).  Today I'm working on getting the most recent copies of all files onto each of the computers.  I also need to finish reinstalling some of my software onto the netbook -- I haven't yet done that since getting it back -- and I want to test the Averatec's battery to see how much time I really get out of it.  Once I've done that, I'll reinstall the operating system.

In order to solve the problem of which computer to use, I intend to clean my desk and keep both of them there, with one out of the way at all times so that I can work on the other, but easily change them out if I want to.  And then we will just see which one I end up liking best over the long run!

How do you revise?

With the June session of Camp NaNoWriMo under way, I've been working on revising last year's novel.  I decided that in June, my goal will be to go through the entire manuscript and mark up the changes I want to make.  Then in July, I will make the changes.  I'll also be working on some remaining research during both months, though I think that might fall more into July's to-do list.

Revising a novel is infinitely different than revising an article or a blog post.  For the shorter things, I tend to revise a bit as I go, and then give it one last read-through on the computer when I'm done.  With the novel, though, I'm starting out by doing it the way Stephen King suggests in On Writing -- reading through the manuscript, marking changes, and then making the changes once I'm done.  The only difference is that since I want to be able to work on it on the go, I am marking up the manuscript in a PDF reader on my Nook.  It's much easier than hauling around a 300-page manuscript!

I'm not sure yet how much I like the method, though, and I am still in the process of figuring out what works best for me.  Therefore I am interested in hearing from other writers: How do you go about doing revisions on a longer piece, such as a novel?

Two computers and a lesson in backing up

I had a good scare the other day: I went to turn on my netbook, which had shut down the previous night with no apparent problems, and it wouldn't boot up.

At all.

I barely restrained myself from having a complete and total meltdown: I hadn't backed up in months.  I was halfway through a big magazine article, and had some novel notes and research I didn't want to lose, plus (eek) all of our tax files for our 2011 returns.  (I do have hard copies of those, since I believe in redundancy on important things, but still!)  Then there were the months' worth of work emails, the spreadsheets with all my work income and expenses, tons of photos...

In retrospect, it's amazing I didn't lose my sanity once the full gravity of the situation hit me.

Of course, as these things tend to work, it was an evening, so I had to worry all night long about whether I'd be able to recover all my data.  The next day, we took the netbook to a repair place in town, and they took a look.

The verdict: hard drive failure.

That was what worried me the most, but it turned out they were able to recover all my data.  They even cut me a deal because I brought my own external hard drive to recover it to.  Turns out it was cheaper to install a new hard drive than to buy a new netbook (especially since I'd have to pay even more to upgrade all my software, as I still run Office 2000).  They even offered to let me buy a hard drive at Microcenter and install that one, since theirs were more expensive.  Not a bad deal at all.

So I went home and resurrected my old Averatec laptop in the meantime.  Long-time readers of my blog will remember how much I loved that thing.  It's the same size as the netbook, the same weight, but it has a full-size screen (1280 x 768 instead of the 1024 x 600 of the Asus Eee) and a CD/DVD drive.  It was starting to freeze and crash all the time, though, which was why I got the Asus three years ago.

It got me started thinking, though -- why not do the same thing with the Averatec, replace the hard drive and start using it again?  Even better, why not look into replacing the hard drive with a solid state drive and upgrading the memory?

So during one of my trips to the repair shop, I asked them about it.  They tested the Averatec's hard drive, and amazingly enough, it was fine -- so the issue is with the operating system, not the hardware.  If I can find the CDs that came with it, I can install a fresh copy of Windows, buy a new battery (this one is toast), and start using it again.

Two computers... Whatever will I do with myself?

Although this incident had a happy ending, it did remind me of how important it is to always back up.  From now on, I think I'll hang my flash drive from the bulletin board above my desk as a reminder to back up every day after I'm finished working!

A week off means a week to write!

This week is my calm before the storm.  I'm actually working almost double the hours at my nanny job over the summer, so I will have less time to maintain my writing than in previous months (not that I've done such a good job of it then, either).  But I'm hoping that I'll manage, since I'm planning on doing Camp NaNoWriMo in August (I'm only loosely participating in June, as I'm using the next two months to finish some research and a first round of revisions on last year's novel before I start the second book).

But this week the family I nanny for is out of town, so I (blessedly) have the week off before the summer schedule starts.  I'm planning on doing more of both writing and riding, although Michael took the week off too, which will cut into my plans somewhat -- we have lots of stuff planned that we want to do this week, too.

In other news, my broken finger is healing well enough, although I still can't use it to type -- it's good for a few keystrokes before it starts feeling a little sensitive, so I've stuck with my nine-fingered approach, even though the doc said a couple of weeks ago that I could start typing on it in a week or two.  I don't think it'll be much longer, but I just don't feel quite ready for it yet; and in any case, I've gotten quite fast at typing without it -- almost as fast as I was with it before the accident.

My plans for this week are to finish an article that got delayed after my accident, do a little blogging and blog upkeep, and start working a little more on my novel research and revisions again.  With any luck, I'll be able to accomplish most of that without getting distracted!

Nine-fingered typing

Do you ever have those idiot moments that you would give anything to take back?  I had one last night.  I had my finger in the wrong place as I was setting my horse's hoof down, and before I had an opportunity to move it, he put his weight down.  OWWWWW.

You can read more about how it happened on my horse blog.  For the purposes of this blog, though, fast forward to this morning, when I started learning how to type with only 9 fingers.  It turns out the most common finger used in typing is your left-hand middle finger... the one I hurt, obviously.  (Not that I'm complaining -- I'm actually quite glad it was not my right hand, since I am right handed.)

Trying to blog on Percocet is also very interesting, by the way.  I wrote that post on my horse blog while feeling the lovely effects of that drug, and am doing so again now.

Of course, I have a due date looming, so my editor will have to be informed.  I wanted to wait, though, until I had an idea of how well I'd be able to type.  The verdict: I should be able to, just rather more slowly than usual.

I took today off from the nanny job, though I am going to try to go back to work tomorrow.  Next week, I have some plans for my blogs.  I've started slowly switching my blogs over to the new Blogger template designer, and I'm thinking of totally redoing this blog, as well.  I had planned to redo my website to expand on the services and portfolio sections a little, but since I've backed off that a little in order to focus on fiction a little more, that doesn't make sense anymore.  I think therefore that a new website might better reflect my new focuses in my freelancing.

I do plan on taking advantage of having a little extra time to work on my blogs, but I also want to make sure that I don't make any important decisions under the influence of Percocet, so I will probably wait until I'm not so dependent on it to make any major decisions!