Wednesday's Word Count...Late

I know, I know. I didn't get my Wednesday's Word Count up this week. I'm sorry. By the time I remembered, I didn't think it was worth it since I had a spotlight to post. And well, I'd pretty much thrown in the towel on NaNoWriMo, and it's never fun to say, "I'm giving up."

Current word count: 22,903.

Goal last week: 20k.

Accomplished: 7,663.

Words 'til finish: 27,097 / 9,032 words a day until Nov 30th.

Goal this week: 2,100.

Comments: Some unexpected (but good) things came up this week and I got a whole lot busier than I expected to be. I knew I wouldn't be able to write my 20k, and I knew, if I didn't write that 20k, I'd never be able to catch up. So I decided to let it go rather than stress myself out. Instead, I focused on my secondary goal of 25k this month and 25k next month. That leaves roughly 2k for the next three days, which I can definitely do, and I feel so much better with that number than say, 27k.

What I have to remember is, it's still a lot more than I probably would have written without NaNo, and for me, that's still a WIN.

With three days left, how are my fellow NaNoers doing? And, most importantly, how was everyone's Thanksgiving? I hope it was full of thanks and good times!

Initial Paragraphs - No Indentation?

In the comments from Sunday's post on manuscript formatting, Sharon asked:

I'm curious about the last entry under chapters...Why don't you indent the first paragraph of a new chapter?

Thanks for the question, Sharon! Gives me something to blog about.

The way I understand it, in writing, an indentation denotes the start of a new paragraph, a sort of pause, setting it apart from any preceding text. When a paragraph is preceded by a header or title, this sort of denotation isn't necessary. It's obvious where the paragraph begins.

That said, this is not a hard-and-fast rule AT ALL in creative writing. If you take a look at several books on your shelf, you'll find that some authors indent their initial paragraphs and some don't. Essentially, it comes down to a matter of style, and it's so inconsequential you needn't really worry about it. I doubt any agent or editor really cares which you do on initial submission, and if they do have a set preference, it's obviously an easy fix.

Does anyone else want to weigh in on this, or provide more concrete information?

(If you missed it, don't forget to check out today's writing tip, too!)

Writing / Research Tip Tuesday

Today's tip comes to you from Elise C. and features a great, free program to play with. Check it out!

"I'm using this great plot mapping system right now that is free to download called Dia. Here is the link to download it. http://sourceforge.net/projects/dia-installer/ It can be used for anything you need to map and it's all customizable including shapes, colors, arrow placement. It's really fun to fiddle with."

Thanks Elise! I had trouble downloading the program from your link, but this one worked great. Dia seems like a lot of fun (and an absolutely awesome outlet for my procrastination skills) but so far I'm a bit overwhelmed. Can't wait until I have more time to play with it.

Does anyone else use this program? Have any tips or tricks to share? If you download it, please come back and let me know how you like it!

How Do I Format My Manuscript?

There are a lot of different ways to format a manuscript, and a lot of different opinions on how to do so.  I've decided to share the way I do it, and then I'd like to open up the comments for others to share their preferences.  Note:  This is using Microsoft Word.

***

General Page Formatting:

• 1-inch margins all around (under File -> Page Setup).
• Double space to "exactly" 24-25 pt (under Format -> Paragraph -> Line Spacing).

Title Page and Page 1 Header:

• Different first page header (under File -> Page Setup -> Layout tab - Click "Different First Page" under "Headers and Footers." Exit).
• Add left sided header including full name, address, and contact information (under View -> Header and Footer - align left).
• Add right sided header including word count (under Format -> Tabs -> Tab Stop Position 6" aligned right, tab over to right side of page).
• Title in capital letters centered roughly halfway down (about 12 Enters).

Page 2 and On Header / Slug:

• Click on page 2 and create a left-sided header as before.  Include last name / title of work.
• Tab right as before and add page numbering by clicking the # button.

Chapters:

• New page for each new chapter by using a page break (Ctrl / Enter OR under Insert -> Break - Page Break).
• Chapter title centered in capital letters eight Enters down.
• Text begins two enters after chapter title.
• First paragraph of each new chapter not indented.

Text:

• Times New Roman font.  12 pt.
• 1/2 inch indent (standard tab) for each paragraph.
• 2 spaces after period.  Note: This is a habit of mine.  I think the standard is 1 now).

Scene Breaks:

• Enter down twice from text, center ** or ## symbols and Enter twice again.

***

I developed this standard based on Cynthea Lui's article "How to Format Your Manuscript" (she explains a lot of this better than me), Nathan Bransford's post "Formatting Your Manuscript," and my own preferences.  How do you format your manuscripts?  Any tips, tricks, or links you'd like to share?

Wednesday's Word Count

NaNoWriMo, day the eighteenth!

It's kind of funny. Yesterday felt like the longest day ever while it was happening, and now I'm wondering where it went! Here's my word count update...

Current word count: 15,270.

Goal last week: 15,000.

Accomplished: 7,987.

Words 'til finish: 34,730/2,894 words a day until Nov 30th.

Goal this week: 20k? Gulp.

Comments: I think I did pretty good. I wrote several, though not all, days this week and feel like I'm finally letting go. I've settled into the story and I'm finally loving the great reveal that happens with each paragraph, sentence, word. I think I need to write about 20k this week if I want to get back on track, and you know, I'm kind of up for the challenge. Let's see what I can do! Anyone else want to buckle down and try to catch up this week?

And on that note, how are you doing? What are your word counts up to? How is the week going? Do share!

Writing / Research Tip Tuesday

Another Tuesday, another great tip. This one from frequent reader and commenter VR Barkowski. Make sure to stop by and visit her blog. She posted another great research tip there yesterday that you might not want to miss!

"The Seventh Sanctum website is crammed with all kinds of random generators plots, characters, names, ideas. It's also a whole lot of fun. I won't mention how much time I've wasted with the quick story idea generator. :)"

What a fun website, VR! I've certainly lost some time to it since you sent this tip in. Thanks so much! And hey, everyone, I'm getting low on tips again, so if you have one you want to send in, please do!

agentspotlight(at)gmail(dot)com

Agent News: Gwendolyn Heasley

Slightly old news, but in case you missed it...

Gwendolyn Heasley, author of the upcoming YA novel CONFESSIONS OF A TEENAGE RECESSIONISTA, joins Artists and Artisans as an agent, focusing on young adult.

"She's actively seeking authors of Young Adult manuscripts of all genres, specifically manuscripts that have a sharp voice and vivid settings."

Check her out on the Artists and Artisans web site, and the Guide to Literary Agent blog.

Best to all who query!