Now that we’ve decided whether or not we have time to do Nano, learned that we have to plan our NaNoWriMo novel, and learned elementary things about story structure, it’s time we started the actual building of the project. I’m going to give you the information for SmartEdit Writer, WriteWay, and Scrivener. I won’t be giving it for Liquid Story Binder because (to be honest), I only had the demo, time ran out, and… I can’t remember how! Today you get how to do this in Scrivener. Tomorrow, SmartEdit Writer, and the day after is WriteWay.
Writeway Pro
It’s one of the best little known programs.
Trust me on this. I’ve written a novel in it faster than I have in Scrivener!
Let’s get to the instructions!
To use WriteWay free, you will still need to register your downloaded Demo version. After installing WriteWay, select “Register WriteWay” from the File menu.When the “WriteWay Registration” form appears, fill-in your name and email address in the fields provided and then always use the following license number: 432D5-A965A-1717B-C5886. Now just click the “Register WriteWay” button and start using WriteWay.
Writeway website
- Download and install Writeway Pro. Follow the directions above to register and have the full version.
- Start a new book, and give it the name of your stellar first NANO novel, whatever it may be. Frankenstein’s Revenge, A Tale of Two Gilligans’, what have you.
- A book properties window will open. Make sure you have 3 acts selected.
- Go to the 4th tab – notecard types/templates. Choose as many as you want – have at least plot and scene sketch chosen. Just double click on the top half the templates you want added. You won’t have ANY time to mess with them once NaNoWriMo stars, so make sure you fill them out prior to November 1!
- Sadly, no shortcut keys in Writeway Pro.
- Add seven chapters to Act 1
- Add fourteen chapters to Act 2
- Add Seven chapters to act three
- Add three scenes per chapter.
- Add the synopsis to the card/template section of each scene.
- Choose a scene.
- Choose Act 1. Enter the note – “12,500”. That’s how many words you need in act 1 and 3. Enter the same note in act 3.
- Choose act 2. Enter the note “25,000”. That’s how many words you need in act 2.
- Choose every chapter and enter the note “1785”. That’s how many words on average you need a chapter.
- Choose every scene and add “585” at the end of EVERY synopsis. That’s how many words on average you need per scene.
- Project notes. I’d type in all 60 plot points in your novel. Don’t have 60 plot points? We’re going to go over why and how in a few days! These will all go here. Enter one plot point per scene. You have 84 scenes, 60 plot points. 30 plot points go in Act 2,15 in act 1 and 15 in act 3. Some scenes will not have a plot point. Don’t worry. As you write, you’ll drop plot points and add others.
- You are now ready to write your NaNoWriMo project!
- Click on the red circle. It will open a window and prompt you “Please enter projected word count.” Type in 50,000 as your project target. Add in your start date (Nov. 1) and your deadline (Nov. 30). It will now tell you your target is 1667 words a day.
Start writing November 1!
Conclusion
This was no doubt a VERY boring blog post to read. Very pithy, how to instructions, etc. Follow these instructions and you’ll be all set to start November 1. DO NOT CHEAT and start writing now! You’re now ready to start Nano, and finish your novel!
And the good news is, once you’ve done it – you’ll look forward to this EVERY YEAR!
