Nowhereland

January is a hard month for many reasons. First is the weather. In Minnesota January is usually the coldest and darkest month of the year. Leaving us chilled and depressed from the lack of sunlight. But it is also the month we set and break our New Year's resolutions. I can weakly say that I have not failed my 2016 goals yet. However, the January doldrums are pulling at me and my motivation to attack my goals is threatened.

Thankfully I have great support that keeps me going and now a new friend in Scrivener. Many writers are aware of this masterpiece of software that allows us wordsmiths to spill our scattered ideas across a word processing document then reassemble them and eventually write the story. The program has folders for places, characters, notes, and research. And my favorite is the storyboard view when I can see a corkboard of my story's main points without having to plaster my studio walls with post-it notes.

After finishing NaNoWriMo in November and having my first very rough draft, I wasn't sure what to do with it. Enter Literature and Latte and their sponsorship of NaNoWriMo. They kindly gave a discount for Scrivener to those of us that met our 50,000 word count goals. When I didn't know where to start with rewriting my novel I looked to the NaNoWriMo winner prizes. I had heard of Scrivener before, but didn't think it was for me. I like the old fashioned clutter of storyboards and post-its. However, much like my decision to enter the November challenge, I decided I needed something more to finish my first novel.

I've only been using the program for about a week and have a lot to learn about all the tools it provides. So far I am very pleased with the structure that it gives my very disorganized novel. I'm able to enter all my notes, ideas, and little darlings without having to commit to any specific order until I am ready to write. For now my novel is disjointed and only bullet points that mark my main plot and subplots. But being the visual person I am, I can see the story coming together more clearly than it has so far.

So while the weather continues to try to slow my progress, I remain faithful to my project and my goals. Writing is never easy and as writers we are often plagued by fear of rejection and criticism. Still our minds and hearts won't allows us to put the pen down. We must write no matter the excuse, bad day or lectures from our internal critics. And while I fight off the winter blues, I am glad for programs like Scrivener that help me stay focused even if a little scattered.