“Amateurs sit and wait for inspiration, the rest of us just get up and go to work.”
Stephen King
One strategy for improving at something is to have data, information, to help develop an understanding of what you are doing. When it comes to writing there are numerous metrics that I use to look at what I’m doing. One of those is simply tracking the time that I spend on writing and related tasks. For that purpose I’ve started using an app Timeular and it’s eight-sided tracker.
“The first draft is just you telling yourself the story.” - Terry Pratchett
I’ve used Novlr since October 2015. Not always consistently, but I’ve come back to it this year following the Novlr 3.0 release back in December 2019. It brought a bunch of big changes that I wanted to touch on along with how Novlr 3.0 fits into my process.
“If there's a book that you want to read, but it hasn't been written yet, then you must write it.”
- Toni Morrison
I use a variety of tools to organize my time and tasks. One of those is Trello, the popular list / Kanban tool. There are many use cases for the popular tool. Writers have used to it organize and plan novels, track the development of projects, organize marketing campaigns, and much more.
I first started using Trello regularly while pursing my master’s degree. This is a short look at how I’m currently using the tool for my writing.
“Story is honorable and trustworthy; plot is shifty, and best kept under house arrest.”
Stephen King
I enjoy writing into the dark. I like discovering my story through my characters. I've written books with nothing but a title and a vague concept, having fun the whole time. Or at least most of the time.
Every writer is different. I'm not a writer that sits down and plans out a book down to detailed beats before writing it. If it works for you, that's great. Use what works. No matter what your style of writing, I think that Plottr 2.0 can help.
I don't have a computer. A computer's a typewriter. I already have a typewriter.
- Ray Bradbury
I don't know if Mr. Bradbury would approve of a Freewrite or the forthcoming Traveler. I've written about both before and thought it was a good time to revisit and kick off this series of blog posts about the tech tools I use in my toolbox. It isn't necessary to read those earlier posts, but you can read about the Traveler or my earlier experience with the Freewrite.
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