I *think* My Computer Is Working Again So Tomorrow I'll Post The New Countdown In The Morning.

I *think* my computer is working again so tomorrow I'll post the new countdown in the morning.

Only 2-ish days til Ominous/Outline October!

While I'm talking about writing I do want to rec two INCREDIBLE writing apps that have helped me immensely as a writer with ADHD

Stimuwrite is a little program that you can customize with all sorts of really rewarding instant tactile feedback, for example sound effects every time you hit a key, emoji notifications and balloons when you hit your custom goal (which can be as low as you want for low energy days), and neat animated backgrounds.

4thewords turns writing into an RPG and you can kill monsters via word count in order to complete quests and progress through what I personally find to be an interesting and fun storyline. It comes with all the RPG trappings like loot, gear, even custom housing (win more stuff for your house by writing).

I cannot stress ENOUGH how amazing both of these have been in terms of my writing productivity as someone with pretty severe executive dysfunction issues. Usually I use Stimuwrite for the instant feedback and then copy and paste those over into 4thewords for the gamification.

Both are small indie projects, Stimuwrite is pay-what-you-can-afford and 4thewords is $4/month but they are very good about helping people who genuinely can't afford it.

and AS THE CHERRY ON TOP, Stimuwrite's programmer is a trans woman, and while I'm not sure about the 4thewords team in specific, the game is FILLED with really great rep, they are literally having a lesbian wedding global event going on right now as I type this. So like. I like giving money to them more than giving money to a lot of other projects lol.

Anyway no neither of these projects have told me to write about them or anything I just want to spread the love. Go check them out!!

Stimuwrite

4thwords

1 day left til Ominous / Outline October !

If you need a basic framework to start outlining your novel, you can start with just a few bullet points and slowly expand it from there:

How does your story open, aka, what are the opening scenes?

...

Where does the main plot start is your novel aka What brings your main character into the main drama?

...

What is the climax of your story?

...

How does your story close out, aka, what are the last few scenes?

Now that you've decided on these four base points, you can now slowly but surely fill in the blanks in between each of these!

Decide how your story opens, and how your main character gets pulled into the main plot, then start deciding what happens in between those two points --

-- you're going to need to do some build up, and get your readers invested or interested in your character before they get pulled into the drama, but you also don't want to wait until halfway into your novel to actually start the plot; so, decide what you want your opening chapter to be, and sprinkle in some foreshadowing for the larger plot as you are introducing your characters and setting, then spring into the action in the next chapter or two!

If you need some help visualizing and don't want to draw by hand, I also recommend using a character creator, such as Hero Forge to design your characters and give you some kind of visual reference

appalachia is devastated. towns i loved, towns i visited all the time, are gone. not damaged, GONE. they are leveled to the ground. there is nothing left but rubble and ruin. people are dead. appalachia is poor to begin with and relies on tourism for a lot of its income, and multiple of those tourist locations are just...gone.

my town is okay, but it's flooded and wrecked. trees are blocking all but one way out of our neighborhood. power lines are hanging limp in the roads. we've been without power for over 24 hours and will continue to be without power for likely another 24+. disabled people and poor people are GOING to die from this. gods save appalachia.

the obvious.

The problem w writing fiction is that you'll be like tee-hee I'm going to write a story about a fucked up little scenario that's got nothing to do with anything in real life, just some pure messed up nonsense, and then you finish it and take a step back and go aw rats I made a metaphor again