That's the Girl Scout motto, right? Be prepared! I was never a Girl Scout, although I have eaten quite a few Girl Scout cookies, so it seems I am somewhat lacking in this "be prepared" quality.
In less than seven days, I will participate in National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo). This is no leisurely stroll through years of thoughts, ideas, and amazing inspiration. No! NaNoWriMo is the marathon of writers: 50,000 words in 30 days. Ha! I probably haven't written 50,000 words in the past ten years. As a side note, I will not be writing a novel. It is permissible to write whatever you want to write, so I will stick with an inspirational memoir-type book.
Setting intimidation aside, I gathered my journals and notes and scrolled through my FarmMuse blog. I looked over what I had already composed on my computer (but I can't use that, of course) and made note cards of possible chapter titles and what events those chapters might cover.
I had been wondering how I could get all of these thoughts and scraps of paper and computer miscellany organized in one place. Writing almost 2,000 words a day leaves no time for searching through the aforementioned pile of info. Enter Scrivener. It looks like it's just what I need, so I downloaded it the other day for my free trial which lasts through December 7. Perfect!
Two small (?) problems: I now have two-plus hours of tutorial to cram into my little head; then I have to get all my info into the program and hope I can use it to some avail.
Be prepared! All I can say is, come November 1, I will be as prepared as I can be. I will dive into my work with a passion. Book work, that is. The rest of my world may suffer for a month, but ... such is life.