How LivingWriter Is Going To Make NaNoWriMo 2020 A Breeze
If you haven’t already heard, NaNoWriMo is fast approaching. On November 1st at 12:01 am, the thirty-day clock starts for hundreds of thousands of participants. The goal for each participant is to write 50,000 words in one month. Every day you log in your word count and watch as the rest of your peers rack up theirs.
The purpose of NaNoWriMo is to challenge yourself to focus on those writing goals that otherwise fall by the wayside. To complete the 50,000 words is to win.
I won’t lie, it’s not easy. This year I anticipate being a lot easier though because I’ll be using LivingWriter. Here’s how it’s going to make this year’s NaNoWriMo a breeze.
Plot Writing Templates
The last time around I was nervously attempting to create a plot which is much harder than I thought. The creators of NaNoWriMo have some books available for purchase that teach you how to plot but it turned out to be way too much to comprehend in a time crunch.
That’s why I’m excited to get started this year because I found LivingWriter’s templates for different plots. It’s amazing. All you have to do is click the templates on the top row to read a small description of the plotting method. Then choose which one entices you the most. Once you choose the template, it’ll pull up an outline where each section or chapter gives you a description of what to write. It’ll even give you an example from a popular book like Harry Potter to give you a really clear sense of what to do.
Instead of learning and regurgitating all the information into a structure and then coming up with your ideas, all you have to do is type your idea into each section. It’s so unbelievably simple, and I’ve never found anything that works as well. Major time saver and stress reliever for any story you write.
Shareable Link For Your Story
The purpose of NaNoWriMo isn’t just to encourage the completion of a word count. It’s also to provide networking and encouragement from the other hundreds of thousands of writers. One of the issues I found last year was the difficulty of sharing my story for feedback. Or receiving other participants’ stories to give them feedback.
A lot of writing software doesn’t make it easy to share your work. A lot of times for someone to open up your story you need to get their email and send a pdf. The problem is that you’re in a Facebook group where you might not want to share your email, you might not want them to have a copy of your work, and it’s not in real-time. In other words by the time they read it, you might have already made changes that you want them to see.
Some software doesn’t even have sharing capability or if they do it requires the other person to purchase the software.
So this year with LivingWriter I’m excited because you can just share a link! You don’t even have to send your whole story if you don’t want to, you can just send one chapter. Just post the link to anyone you want to view your story, and once they click on it they can see your story in real-time. Any changes you make they can see right away. So much better than downloading and emailing PDF’s like it’s 1999.
Perfect Interface and Organizational Tools
If you’re familiar with writing software then you know that they can either be too packed with features and confusing to use or have too few features for organization. For instance, Scrivener is used by a lot of writers because it has many features. However, it was built over a decade ago so it’s interface is extremely unpleasant and confusing. You need to read their training manual to use the program which you definitely don’t have time for if you’re attempting to write 50,000 words in a month.
The beauty of using LivingWriter I found is that they have the perfect amount of features for writing. For example, their story elements feature lets you organize all of your characters, locations, and ideas in a separate but easy to access area on the left sidebar. As you type the name of the element, the program even highlights the name for you to click on for easy access. Each chapter and subchapter can be dragged and dropped to reorganize and has a spot to quickly take notes.
The best part is there’s no learning curve. As soon as you get on for the first time, it’s like second nature to use. Everything is organized in this perfect way, with a really modern interface so it’s incredibly nice to work with.
Set Chapter and Story Word Count Goals
One of the most difficult parts of last year’s NaNoWriMo was time management. You had to find a way to break down the 50,000 words into daily goals. Unfortunately, it doesn’t translate well into chapter goals. Plus, you end up having to subtract your day’s word count from the total to figure out if you hit your goal.
This year however will be different. LivingWriter’s set up is perfect for this. All you have to do is click on the word count up top and set your story goal of 50,000 with the end date of November 30th. It will automatically break your total goal up evenly into daily goals. If you know there are certain days you’re not going to write, then select them under the “days off” tab. It will automatically readjust your daily goals, evenly spaced, excluding your days off.
You can even set individual word count goals per chapter. As you type, you can see your remaining words for your chapter, day, and story! When you’re finished for the day just log your word count with NanoWriMo.org.
This year’s NaNoWriMo is going to be so much better! No stress, just you and your creativity. I hope this helps you guys! If you want to try it out it’s free for a month, just go on LivingWriter.com and start your trial.