NaNoWriMo Update
This is just a quick update on my NaNoWriMo progress thus far.  Today I should be crossing over the 40K mark and hoping for an early finish. Of course, the novel will be incomplete at that point so I will continue to work on it daily throughout December and would like to enter into the editing phase sometime in January. It has been an amazing process this year. I was able to set up my writing studio in October and this has made a huge difference in not only my commitment to NaNoWriMo but to myself as a writer. My writing goals have evolved as well. I will be shopping for an agent in 2010 and hope to be marketing four novels. Back to the writing!  

Coffee, elevators and food replicators
If you get a break in your writing go back and read some of the stuff you wrote. Pay particular attention to those moments in writing when you were typing away at a feverish pace and you really had no idea what you were saying. Trust me, while it may momentarily cause you to question your abilities as a writer, it is sure to make you smile at some point. For example, yesterday my main character woke up, made some coffee, drank some coffee, then went out for coffee. I’m pretty sure right now she is drinking more coffee. Guess what is sitting on my desk while I write? You guessed it! Coffee! Or I have plenty of these little gems: 

Let the novel writing begin!
So our little group of Wrimos started at midnight and wrote together until 2:00 a.m.  We were able to secure free space at the Wingate Hotel which was a lifesaver. While the pancakes and coffee were much appreciated last year at iHop, this was much more conducive to the writing process. So my word count stands at 2,885 at 5:00 p.m. on the 1st. Not too shabby. What is more perfect is my first chapter has been written and revised. I know, not the way it is supposed to work but I felt the need to get to know my characters better. Now that I have a good idea of what they look like and how they might behave, I think I can now push forward with enthusiasm. I  want to

The MacSpeech Dictate Debate
I would really like to try MacSpeech Dictate for writing my next novel but I worry that my mind, which has been collaborating with my fingers all these years, will reject the idea of working with a new partner, my voice. You see it isn’t a question of whether or not the software will work. I have complete faith that the product will do what it says it will. I even accept the limitations and issues that come with voice recognition software: You need to speak clearly You need to speak in chunks Y

This Novelist Uses Storyist!
I recently downloaded Storyist for Mac and although I have only had limited time to test it out, I am thoroughly impressed with the features. It offers so much more than what I was previously working with. So far my favorite feature is the customizable character, setting and plot sheets. I also like the nifty cork board, index cards, and polaroid shots of my characters. I can’t wait to use the word count and timer features for NaNoWriMo. Look for a more in depth review in the weeks to come!