NaNoWriMo on the iPad

I love my iPad. This year, I’m going to do something crazy. I’m going to leave my writing dungeon and get out and about while writing for NaNoWriMo. November weather in Florida is notoriously stunning, so I’m going to attempt to soak in some of that and still get some writing done.

I am pretty handy with my iPad onscreen keyboard, but for this lengthy task, I will be using a combination of bluetooth keyboard with Dragon dictation. Some of you might argue that Dragon is not very accurate, but I will argue right back that the goal of NaNoWriMo is get 50K words of a novel done in November. Once December rolls around, I can start the editing process.

I plan to do the actual writing on my iPad2, and use tools on my phone to help me get past my sporadic and annoying bouts of writer’s block, as well as helping me in the editing process in December, which I will do completely on my laptop.

Here are my favorite mobile apps for NaNoWriMo!

  1. Lists for Writers – Hands down this is my favorite. Yes, I’m biased because I helped make it, but it was born out of our collection of lists from years of working on NaNoWriMo! It has always delivered in time of need!
  2. Story Spark – This app generates scenarios. Most of the time, this app just sparks another idea for the story I’m already writing. However, I have used this to write short fictions to get in the groove or get unstuck.
  3. Name Dice – You can’t beat this free app for realistic name combinations. I use this all the time to create placeholder names when I can’t decide on a final name for a character. You just never know when the perfect name will come up!
  4. Story Dice – Not sure what happens next in your story? Roll the story dice for a random idea/object to weave into your plot.
  5. Spooky Story Dice – This is a special edition of Story Dice with 25+ slightly more sinister die faces included. Great for horror writing or even a lightly spooky tale for kids.
  6. Spy Tools for Kids – This is a new one for me to use with writing projects. One of the tools in this app is a fake ID maker. You can create driver licenses, passports, and spy agency IDs. I plan to use this by creating passports and/or driver licenses for all of my characters. They are really easy to make, and I can save the images to my camera roll to use elsewhere. I might even print them out for fun!

I use a few other apps including Evernote, Dropbox, and Flipboard. If you aren’t already using these all the time, get with the program and get them! Free!

Good luck in November!

Related articles: 9 Packing Tips for Camp NaNoWriMo

Spooky Story Dice Updated

Just in time for some scary storytelling, Spooky Story Dice has been updated to fully support the iPhone 5 / iPod Touch 5th Generation and iOS 7.

Spooky Story Dice is a seasonal and more compact version of our app, Story Dice. It has over 70 pictures to generate spooky elements in your stories! From the “More” menu, users may change the settings to show 1-3 dice on each roll. Great for a middle school or high school language arts or English classroom Halloween activity.

9 Packing Tips for Camp NaNoWriMo

Camp NaNoWriMo Participant 2013 blog header

Camp NaNoWriMo is a spin-off program of the very popular NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month.) In the single month sessions of April and July, you can get some encouragement to get significant chunks of writing done. Visit campnanowrimo.org to join! It’s free!

1. Set a reachable goal (with mini-goals.)

With Camp NaNoWriMo’s lower end goal only being 10,000 words in a month, this is an easily reachable goal for most people. If you have plenty of time on your hands and think you can turn yourself from a couch potato into a writing machine, maybe 50,000 words is within your reach. Once you set your word count goal, it’s very important to have some checkpoints along the way. If your goals is 10,000 words for the month, you need to write 2500 words each week, and around 500 words, five days each week. Print out a blank calendar and mount it somewhere you will see everyday. Cross off each day as you complete your word count, and make a note of your daily word counts.

2. Set up a regular writing spot.

Do you work best at your desk? Dining room table? Recliner? Window seat? Library? Park? If you have one productive spot, take some time to clean it up and refresh your supplies. If you need a variety of places, make a list of those now so you don’t have to think about it later.

3. Assemble resources.

Some writers need paper, pens, dictionaries, thesaurus, etc. Others need a laptop and an iPad or phone with apps. I’ve been in both camps and can do it either way. I highly recommend that if you work on a laptop, that you turn off your internet connection during your scheduled writing time. This will increase your productivity greatly!

4. Schedule time to write.

Gaining skill and mastery requires regular practice just like playing the piano or fencing. When is your brain firing on all cylinders? Early morning? Late night? Find a time and carve it out on your calendar. Don’t skip it. Just do it. Even if you write nonsense for an hour, you might write one great sentence that will help you accomplish your goal tomorrow. Legendary composer Aaron Copland said that he found the greatest time of inspiration to compose between the hours of 8am-4am, Monday through Friday. Get busy and just do it!

5. Get to know your characters.

Who are these people you are writing about? Spend some time making character profiles, family trees, relationship flow charts, and finding reference photos. The more fully you envision your characters, the more easily dialogue will form between them. If you write a brief backstory for each character, that will help you find their motivations for the way they behave with your other characters.

6. Do your research.

Researching setting improves the process by providing a great deal of credible information to draw from. Is your novel set in 18th century France? You might want to study! Is your main character a neurosurgeon? Read up on it! Are your characters from a modern-day Chicago suburb? Get on Google and look at the satellite and street views of some Chicago suburbs! Print out some houses for your characters to live in. Draw a map. Lay out a house design so your action makes sense.

7. Tell no one, someone, or everyone.

I go back and forth on this one. I either tell everyone I know that I’m working on something, or no one, and do it secretly. This is up to you, but make a decision and stick to it. If you decide to keep it to yourself, keep it! This is most difficult to do if you are married or otherwise committed to a significant other (or have a parent living with you.) You can choose to tell that one person only. That seems to be a good choice, but only if that person is supportive and doesn’t cast judgment on you.

8. Determine your reward.

What are you going to do when you complete your goal? Go out to dinner? Buy new shoes? Go sailing? Whatever it is, find a picture of it, put it in a cheap frame, and keep it nearby during camp. When your internal motivation hits a wall, look at your reward for some external motivation.

9. Assemble a writer’s block first aid kit.

I have two kits: physical and virtual. My physical kit contains a dictionary, a thesaurus, story dice, pipe cleaners, unusual pens and pencils, assorted paper, number dice, lists I’ve kept over the years, a couple of current magazines, creativity card deck, and a stress ball. My virtual kit contains: iPad, iPhone. I use brainstorming apps on my iPhone and use my iPad as a sketchpad, notepad, and timer. Thinkamingo has a toolbox full of apps that help me with my brainstorming process, including: Lists for Writers, Story Dice, Name Dice, and Story Spark. Other apps I use for organizing my writing, sketchbooks, and productivity are A Novel Idea, Penultimate, Simple Pomodoro Timer, and Dropbox.

Ann Adair is the President and Co-founder of Thinkamingo Inc and makes mobile apps with her family. She has participated in NaNoWriMo for years and never crossed the finish line. Following her own advice, Ann plans to write at least 10,000 words in April’s Camp NaNoWriMo.

 

 

Spooky Story Dice

Spice up your campfire tales! Bewitch your audience with creepy creativity! Roll the dice to get your creative juices flowing! Make up stories with your kids at the dinner table!

9 out of 10 zombies prefer Spooky Story Dice over  brains!

Great for Halloween storytelling and seasonal writing prompts!

Features:

  • Universal App!
  • High-resolution graphics supporting Retina Display
  • Choose number of dice to roll, 1-3.
  • Realistic dice sounds and still images.
  • 74 pictograms in dictionary; 23 are unique to this Spooky Edition!
  • No reading necessary.
  • Optional game instructions included in app.

Available on the iTunes App Store

Story Dice updated for iPhone

The new 1.1 version of Story Dice is now in the iTunes App Store. This new version has a number of new items for die faces – up to 111 total now. Some of the existing faces were modified to be more recognizable. We also removed the status bar and dimmed the info / settings icon for a cleaner, more distraction-free experience. If you have ideas for additional die faces or any other suggestions, we’d love to hear them!

Story Dice on the iPhone

Lists for Writers notepad is here!

You asked for it, and we delivered! We’ve added a notepad feature to Lists for Writers in our latest update, available today!

What’s new?
The #1 requested item is here! NOTEPAD!
– Tap notebook icon above to view
– COPY or note any list item
– EDIT notepad contents
– EMAIL notepad
– PRINT notepad * (requires iOS 4.2+)
Plus:
– Revised several lists – corrected errors, made clarifications
– Added more occupations
– Added ANIMAL lists! Domestic and general lists, plus list of animal sounds!

Once you select any list item inside the app, you can select “Copy” or “Note.” If you copy the item, you can paste it into any other document or writing app you are using on your device immediately.

If you select “Note,” your selection will automatically be copied and pasted inside a text document in the app. In the upper right hand corner of the app, there is now a notepad icon. Select the icon and it opens the notepad. Here, you can edit the text, and when you select the share icon in the upper right corner, you will have the option to email or print!

This was the #1 requested feature from our customers and reviewers! We love feedback, so please send us a note or comment on our facebook page!

 

Our latest app: Name Dice

Name DiceWe are happy to announce our latest release: Name Dice!

This free iOS app makes character naming easy by providing nearly a million unique names at your fingertips!

How does Name Dice work?

Name Dice randomly generates a first and last name pair from lists of hundreds of names.

Basically, Name Dice makes names. It does NOT make you more creative, write your story for you, make sandwiches, refill your glass, clean your room, or knit you a sweater.

If you are stuck on getting a story idea, or ideas for a main character, Name Dice can help you. Maybe you’re a spy and you need a new identity. Maybe you and your friend want to pretend to be someone else when you go out to lunch. Maybe you are having a sleepover and you and your friends are going to pretend to be celebrities and you need help coming up with a good name. Maybe you are a writing a novel about your mom and you want to publish it under another name so she doesn’t find out about it.

Whatever the reason, Name Dice can give you some ideas for just the right name!

Give it a try! It’s free!


True Confession of a Distracted Writer

“One reason I love this app is that it just feeds my imagination! I roll the dice, see the name, and my mind is immediately buzzing with activity creating a life story for the name. If I don’t like the name for whatever reason, I just roll again! Voila!”


How do I save my favorite name?

The easiest way is to take a screenshot by holding down the home button and the power button simultaneously. It’s a good idea to practice this before you need to use it. After you take the screenshot, you can find the photo in your iOS device’s Camera Roll. You can share the photo on Facebook or your blog.

We hope you enjoy this fun little free app! We’d love to connect with you on facebook and twitter and hear stories about your alter egos!

http://www.facebook.com/thinkamingo

http://www.twitter.com/thinkamingo

 

 

Our New App: Story Dice

Our newest app, Story Dice, is now available on the iTunes App Store. Story Dice can be used in a number of ways. It can be a creative writing prompt for writers young and old. It can be used as a pass-around game where players use the dice to extend a collaborative story. The app includes these and more usage ideas for fun and education.
There is an Android version coming soon, including support for the Kindle Fire and NOOK devices. To be notified when it is available, sign up for our announcement email list or Like us on Facebook.

Meet QI IQ and Improve Your Scrabble or Words With Friends Score

QI IQ - Memorize two letter words for Scrabble and Words With FriendsOur second app, QI IQ, is now available in the iTunes App Store. QI IQ is a tool to help learn which two letter words are valid in Scrabble®, Words With Friends, or Bananagrams. Knowing most or all of the valid two letter words makes it much easier to join your words in higher-scoring positions.

QI IQ lets you rapidly drill words whenever you have a few minutes. It keeps track of which words you’re struggling with and shows them more frequently. We hope you find it useful!