» More writing spreadsheets for 2012

Yes, alas, time for more spreadsheets... I updated last year's tracker so you can use to track your writing throughout 2012. I made it in three different designs, which you might recognise from my NaNo sheets:

You can download it here if you want to use it. Instructions are included as usual. If you liked one of the other NaNo designs better and want to request that, just leave a comment!

I also made an editing spreadsheet. It's very basic, only one sheet, and it doesn't have as much fancy stuff as my other spreadsheets. But it works for me, and I figured I'd share. It looks like this:


...and you can download it here. It's mostly just a means of keeping track of how much work you've done on a particular draft and how far you have to go.

All you do is fill in your target word count for each chapter in each draft, and then track how many of those you've got done. You can also track scenes instead of words, if that works better - all you really have to do is change the headings to read "scenes" instead of "words".

If you need more than four drafts, just copy the sheet, that way you'll have two rounds of four drafts each. And so on.

Happy New Year, and happy tracking!

» National Novel Finishing Month?

Well, NaNoWriMo came and went this year without a single update from me - because I was too busy writing to blog. That, and my characters were clamouring to be painted, so I started on that, too. If you're interested in seeing some progress shots, I've started sharing those on my Facebook page.

But anyway, now we're into December, and my novel isn't finished. I got to 56,000 words, but I'm nowhere near done. And I'm not alone! A lot of people seem to be using December as National Novel Finishing Month, and I love that idea. I miss being able to update my word count on the site, but I changed my NaNoWriMo trackers so that they can be used for December - you can fill in your word count so far and your target for the end of this month, and it'll calculate your daily targets, averages and so on.

It looks a little different than the preview since I change the headings and added a field to fill in your word count to date. You can download it here, and there's a single-file version too. I didn't update the instructions, but they're pretty much the same, except that you can now fill in your word count to date in the box marked "Written". You can delete any pages that you don't need or copy them into your NaNoWriMo sheet, whatever works for you. So, if you're going to be writing through December as well, I hope this comes in handy!

Aaaaand, I have some news - a book I illustrated was published in November! It's a children's book, "Miro The Dragon" by Theresa Berg:


You can see and buy it on Amazon here (it's even up for a 4-for-3 promo right now). Unfortunately you can't see the pictures inside, but everyone I've shown/sold the books to so far has loved them, so I'm quite proud.

And with that, it's back to writing for me. I hope NaNo went well for everyone - anyone with me for December?

» More NaNo wallpapers - warriors and fairies!

I have a few more wallpapers done - these are new ones, and feature some of my art. The preview images link to the download pages, so work away.

Hope you like them and that they help keep you motivated throughout November!

» NaNo 2011 wallpapers

I've updated some of the calendars I made last year, so that they show the right date. I've also added two new sizes, for bigger screens. Here's the first batch (clicking on each image will take you to the download pages):

Hope you like them! I can change the colours, by the way, so if you want a different colour or size, feel free to ask and I'll see what I can do.

Making stuff for NaNo is almost more fun than actually participating. I've been neglecting my preparation pretty badly. I'm not really ready at all. I have the rough plot worked out, but I have a feeling that there'll be plenty of road blocks and surprises along the way. It's been hard enough to even decide on an idea to begin with...

» Book covers!

I've discovered the joy of making book covers and, typically, got quite carried away with it. I have a request thread going over on the NaNo forums and it's had a pretty good response. I also made some blank covers, "adoptables" if you will, some of which are still up for grabs. They're all in this gallery folder (don't mind the title and the name, I had to write something in them after all). Some examples:

If by some chance you'd like to adopt one, tell me the title and author name to put on it and it shall be done. I've also done a good few requests, and I really like how they turned out so I want to share some of them here:


I'll probably end up making quite a few more before November starts. I still don't have my plot worked out - in fact, I haven't even decided on a story yet. Last week I ordered twelve books on Amazon and they arrived today, so I foresee a bit of difficulty with regards to getting things done. (And I've run out of shelf space, too...)

But I do have lots of ideas. If anyone out there is having problems with inspiration, I have some advice for you. One, spend time on the NaNoWriMo forums, especially Plot Doctoring, Adoption Society, and the Genre Lounges. And two - buy new books. Actually, you don't even have to buy them. Just read the synopses on Amazon and your mind will probably start churning out ideas.

The downside to both of those things is that while they'll probably give you ideas, they'll also steal away the time you need to actually use those ideas. And this, in short, is why we need 36-hour days.