WIP Challenge Check-in -- Day 13 (Monday)

[linaewen]

I'm really pleased at all the good responses to yesterday's discussion about reviews.  I'm happy to see that, for the most part, we are all committed to our writing no matter whether we get reviews or not.  That makes the reviews we do get all the more sweet, I'd say!

So, is today going well for everyone?  Let us know how your Monday has been going, is currently going, or is hopefully going!

What writing-related pursuit did you engage in today?

• Writing
• Editing
• Sent to beta
• Posted
• Procrastinating
• Planning/Researching
• Something else I will describe in comments

For those who got some writing in, what was your word count?

For discussion:

• What is your favorite way to write your story when you are in the process of creating?  Can you only write on the computer?  Do you write it out on paper first, then type it up in a document?  A combination of the two?
• How do you handle notes for your stories as ideas come to you?  Do you scribble notes on anything that comes to hand -- envelopes, napkins, church bulletins?  Do you wake up at night and have to get up to write down an idea so it's not lost forever?

Comments

[xpaperplanex]

I managed to get a bunch of writing done on a WIP that I haven't worked on in ages. Not the big WIP that everyone and their dog wants updated, but the weird little crackfic that one or two people want updated. Ah well, I'll take what I can get.

I mostly write directly on the computer, though I have notebooks for when I'm places without a computer or electricity. I hate writing by hand first, though because I have really bad arthritis in my left hand/arm and use the time I take thinking of what to write next to give my arm a break from typing. That doesn't work so well when it's already written down. Also my handwriting is atrocious and it's hard to decipher xP

I don't keep a lot of notes for ideas. They stick in my head pretty well as long as I'm awake when I get them. For when I'm not awake, I have a notebook by my bed. I do keep an outline for longer fics as a separate document so I have an idea of where I'm going. And often I'll keep another doc of random ideas or things I'd like a character to say at some point. I keep each story in a separate folder and try to keep everything related to it in there.

[anyssia]

Not the big WIP that everyone and their dog wants updated, but the weird little crackfic that one or two people want updated. Ah well, I'll take what I can get.
Ooooh, I think I know which one that is! Waaaant ^^ *makes grabby hands*

Also my handwriting is atrocious and it's hard to decipher xP
Oh Gaia, I hear you! *frowns at her notebook* Sometimes I even manage to read the words, but the sentence doesn't make any sense xD

And often I'll keep another doc of random ideas or things I'd like a character to say at some point.
I found that PageFour is a great software to keep track of random ideas. It's fast and easy to use, and I usually just create a new page for whatever plot bunny bit me this time. But for longer stories, I use a notebook too. (and folders are the stuff of gods. I don't even want to imagine the mess it would be without them ;D )

[xpaperplanex]

Heh heh... could still be a little while before there's a new chapter, but I'm working on it!

Yeah, I've had that happen a few times. The words are legible, but what on earth was I trying to say???

I looked up PageFour and it looks amazing, but it's for Windows only :( But that smart edit feature looks so cool! It's hard to tell when you've used the same phrase 5 times in the last two paragraphs unless you know what to look for. *wants*

[anyssia]

^^ Really, I don't even think I use every features of PageFour. I'm a bit weird with editors, in fact.

I use PageFour to keep track of plot bunnies, Q10 editor to write the first draft and Word to put the chapter in form. I used Scrivener during last November, but even if I like it very much, I don't really feel like paying to write a fanfic, so... ^^;; I used yWriter too, once, but I don't need it to be that complicated, so I went back to the classic Q10 (which is a full page editor, so that nothing distracts me, and Word to put it right afterward (and for the spellchecker ;p))

[msmcknittington]

Thank you for the mention of PageFour! It looks a lot like everything I loved about Scrivener, which I liked a lot during NaNoWriMo, but couldn't justify spending $40 on for the full version.