Prepping for Thesis classes

Getting Started Prepping Thesis

OK… I have this week off from school, it’s a moment to reflect and catch my breath. But not really. It’s time to prep for my thesis.

As I start my Thesis courses, I have 29k written already, but of that 29k about 20 of it has been used in previous classes to get the ball rolling. Meaning I have only about 9k of new material. My thesis 1 class requires me to create 20-30K of material in two large drops. This doesn’t seem like much of a problem.

Most of you reading this are probably thinking; “That’s about 30 minus 9 equals 21k. The classes are about 10 weeks long, but the last week is reflection mostly so, 9 weeks. That’s less than 3k a week. No Problem.”

And normally I would agree with you. But you will have noticed that I said it was in two large batches. On the first week of the class I have to apply for which weeks my packets are due. Meaning my first 10-15K might be due on week 2, and my second might be due on week 5. So, I need to actually set myself some deadlines and I need to get ahead.

Other stumbling blocks

The class also requires a work and productivity set up… I actually have a chart but I don’t know if I can share it here. I mean I should be able to share it, but perhaps my school wants those documents as “eyes-only.” Never asked, so I will just describe it and leave it at that.

The class demands digital tools to track and push productivity. The top of the chart is three circles; Processing, Word Tracking, Outlining. All three of these circles are then pointing into a box that says Scrivener. The chart informs you to either GET Scrivener or select three OTHER programs to replace it.

The bottom half of the chart is then a list of 2-3 options under each of those circles. So under “Word Processors” it says MS Word, Google Docs, Etc.

This is a nice segue into an aside…

Outlining: Analog man in a Digital World

I am not a Luddite. I am just not the most technically proficient person, and even that is not quite true as I can be talked through programs and I learn them quickly. But I am highly resistant to learning new programs and sometimes prefer to stay dumb or at least comfortable.

In my last two classes I had to hand in an outline. Gasp! I know… my school does recognize pantsers, but still forces them to try their hand at outlining. I am a hybrid writer who plots out key scenes and moments and then I wander through the writing getting my characters to their needed scenes. I spend an incredible amount of time on worldbuilding and knowing as much about my characters as possible and then I see how they react to the situations I throw at them.

I’m getting off topic. The point of this is that I actually write all of my notes, outlines, characters, maps, etc, all in notebooks and on scrap papers. The only thing I type up is the main draft of the story.

Now, I had to make an outline for the last two classes and it was an interesting experience. But it put me out of my comfort zone. Trying to write my shorthand and notes into a cohesive storyline for someone else to read. Fun. Seeing a list of buy Scrivener or learn to use two other programs along with Word. I’m going with Scrivener.

Scrivener and other Programs

Now, for about 2 years now I have had numerous of my writing friends telling me to get scrivener and get writing on it. The sheer number of people hounding me, I can’t even remember all of them. As a matter of fact, my friend who was with me at the time [We were at NEcon at the time] immediately went out and bought a copy. So, I at least have one very close friend who has 2 years of experience with it to bother as I learn this program.

Going back to the chart I did check out the other programs and most of them are free and they seem really cool. So, one of them was called Trello. Trello is a corkboard program where you can basically outline your novel (or any other project) using virtual index cards. I was tempted to try that out, and I still might.

The other program was called WriteTrack and that was pretty cool as well. It’s a program that tracks your word count, but it also has a front-end interface where you can put in your end goal (both word count and deadline). You then assign a ‘weight’ to each day leading to your deadline.

To explain weight, let’s say you have a couple days you know you won’t be able to write. You assign those days a 0. A day off might be 100, and the other days might only be 50 because you have a day job. The program will then take your world goal divide it over your days and give you a target for each day to make your goal. If you miss a goal or go over a goal, it then automatically adjusts the other days to make up the difference.

But going with All-in-One

But yeah, Scrivener supposedly can do all of this as well. It has a built-in outline program, it allows you to break the whole book down into chapter files, tracks revisions on each part of the document, and allows you to move around your chapters. Technically, Word can also do all of this, but it requires you to make changes to the defaults and the layout of the program. Now I have been using Word for over 22 years, and I freely admit I don’t know how to use a ton of the other features. I’m writing this write now in Word and there are a ton of buttons and menus I have never even tried to look at.

Scrivener out the gate will be showing me how to use these features. It is made specifically for writers who are working on novels. Though it also comes with presets to format for screenplays, non-fiction, and a Misc. category that might be blog friendly. I’ll let you know how I get along with it.

The plan is to get it figured out… realize I’m writing this blog on Sunday so that it comes up today… So, Sunday and Monday are for learning Scrivener and transferring my thesis to Scrivener. The rest of the week will be me trying to get a boost of word count.

Back on the First Topic

We have prepping goals.

I mentioned that Thesis 1 is all about getting 30k done. I must touch on the fact that my whole program is geared toward finishing an 80-100k novel. But I am writing an epic fantasy novel and I am actually aiming for closer to 150k, maybe even more. I need to get my word count flying and I need to be accountable for both my class goals, my personal goals, and because I promised all of you that I would post numbers. I am holding myself accountable to all of you.

There is also the problem that my classes are going to have workshopping and ask me to stop and revise what I’m working on. Revision takes time away from getting the first draft finished. I am one of those writers who used to revise continuously while I wrote. This would lead to me not finishing things, or spending more time revising last sessions work and not getting very far in this session’s writing.

But over the last decade I have made friends with literally hundreds of writers, mostly in the horror genre, and the idea of a “vomit draft” is now firmly entrenched in my mind. Like I said, horror writers, hence “vomit.” The idea is you sit down and just write the whole damn book. You even let typos go by.

Anyone who has participated in NaNoWriMo knows all about this technique. You just want word count and to get to a goal. Then in revision you can make it work as an actual story.

This week’s goals

I want to get 10,000 words added to my novel by Monday. My goal total is 40k in my thesis on week 1. I have already used my writing time to make this blog post of 1500 words… and I still need to keep you guys entertained. The future posts will be on Wednesdays and will probably be about this length or a little shorter for a while until I figure out my timing and schedule.