UPDATE: The 2018 version of these tools are now available here.
In the course of Getting My Shit Together (GMST) for the Nanowrimo 2017 challenge ahead, I’ve created a few templates.
Everyone knows that no real project can begin until you’ve visited the stationery shop. And so it is with Nanowrimo. I went out last week and stocked up on post-its and coloured folders, and today I’ve been productively making their software equivalents.
So if you’re looking for a template for your Nanowimo project – either in Scrivener, to print out, or to calculate your words in Excel, I’ve got you sorted.
Scrivener
I’m a big fan of Scrivener, but I’m aware that some folks find it all a bit daunting. As I always tell people, though, if you stick to the basics, it can be really simple.
For this year, I’ve made myself a template to make it easy to see each day’s progress. Scrivener is designed to break things into scenes, not into days like this, but this is what makes the most sense for me for November. It will be easy enough to fix during editing, when I can turn each chunk into a proper scene and then arrange scenes into chapters.
Looking forward to seeing those progress bars get full!!
Full details about how to download this template are at the bottom of this post.
Paper calendar
But as great as Scrivener is, there are few things more satisfying than looking up at a piece of paper taped to the wall that tells you – at any time of the day – just what your status is. And let’s face it, it’s also a motivator. If you can see that blank day looking at you, it’s time to sit down and write some damn words.
Firewords put out a lovely writing habit tracker a while ago that I’ve been using every month. There’s really nothing like a simple snapshot of where you’re at today and how you’ve gone for the whole month to put everything in perspective.
So I’ve shamelessly ripped off their calendar and re-purposed it for Nanowrimo. It’s a simple PDF that you can print out and paste up wherever you need to – on the fridge, on the wall, on your husband’s face – wherever!
AND it’s available in a range of this season’s most on-trend colours*.
* That’s a lie. It is available in a range of colours, but I’ve no idea if they are ‘on-trend’. See below.
Excel
No nerdy list of nerdy things to help you get through your nerdy Nanowrimo project would be complete without a nerdy excel spreadsheet!
This handy calculator will tell you just how many words you have left, and how many words a day you need to do to stay on track. It’s not super sophisticated, but it should meet your Nanowrimo word calculation needs.
Download tools
Scrivener template
Download the template here and unzip it somewhere you’ll be able to find it (like your Desktop).
Open Scrivener, and open a New Project.
At the bottom of the dialogue box, there’s a button that says ‘Options’.
Click that and Import Templates.
Navigate to wherever you saved the template and select it.
Voila!
(let me know if you need more help with this)
Wall calendars
Choose your colour and download it, baby!
Excel calculator
You can download it here.
If you have any questions about any of these tools, let me know! Hope they prove useful 🙂
