NaNoWriMo - revving up

A screenshot of a section of my Scrivener page; first time I've used the programme for a near fully-to-be-written novel. Current word count, because the initial idea came from a short story, to which I added a couple of other plot lines to see if it would run, is 16K, but much has to be removed as it will become irrelevant.

I've thought my way through this novel - Drink with a dead man - much further than I usually do; most of my novels begin with two or three random conversations, and I proceed, blindly, from there. Despite the fact that DI Luke Darbyshere's first conversation  continues only hours from the ending of the previous novel, I intend each to be capable of being read as a stand-alone.

Each of the lines in the left hand column is a scene, each colour represents a character, or pair of characters which the scene is about, and the tick icon tells me it is 'To Do'. For me, the ability to see at a glance how well mixed different PoVs are (and move them when necessary) is a prime advantage of this program. Central panel is the text, Right-hand one an outline, which can be viewed separately, synopsis fashion, plus notes.

Like many programs, there's far more potential to Scrivener than I use. I do the writing in Word and post in Scrivener at the end of a session as additional back-up. Now, with only days to go conversations are waking me early morning, for which I make a brief note as starting points for when Sunday arrives.

Also a first - I'll set myself a word target of 80K, but am well aware that will not be the final version.

NaNoWriMo 2015 - Drink with a Dead Man

After a two-year break I've signed up again.*
The high-pressure, brain-out-of-gear format does not always work for me but this barely-begun fourth in the DI Luke Darbyshere series has a couple of really large sticking points.
One is the reason behind the main impetus of the plot.
The other is the nature of one of the characters.
I suspect he is a baddy; that his actions precipitated the MC's decision to drop his original identity and that he was behind the summons which forced the MC back into the limelight. But I've not a clue why or how. Or what.
It might be that I hammer out two or three alternative scenarios and in so doing discover what works best. Sounds most plausible.
And I need to weave that around a slow-burn case that Luke Darbyshere is currently working on. One which requires him to liaise with an undercover guy who might - or might not - have an agenda of his own.

*For the record, my 2011 novel - then called Not Wanted on Voyage, now Step so Grave, is almost finished.  Is with what I hope is its final beta reader. Since 2011 it has been substantially re-written no less than seven times. And in-betweentimes has spawned two follow-up novels, Longest Shadows Reach and Commission & Ommission. Both of these are also near ready for publication.

Been playing with covers again ...

This time last week I was in the Book Barn just off the A37 in Somerset, having been dropped off, with my daughter, for some 4+ hours of browsing and buying.
We both had lists (J's had 56 titles) but soon found it was easier to just scan each shelf in the hope (expectation) that those of interest would somehow make themselves known to us. And with every book just £1, the temptation to take a punt on something that looked of potential interest was rife.
What did surprise me was the speed at which I rejected books. And, even more shaming, on what little evidence I did so.
Banal blurbs, too-general (and therefore non-gripping) opening paragraphs saw books immediately returned to shelves. (On my return home I immediately rechecked the first paragraphs of mine for oomph.)
But books that looked lovely were given a second chance; a further check and often went into the basked on wheels so thoughtfully provided.
Book covers do seem to be going through a bit of a renaissance at the moment. Lately I found Denzil Meyrick's series different and appealing, and Caffeine Nights has a signature which appeals. There are others which I can't bring to mind (and some, like the latest Rebus ones, which I actively dislike) but all in all enough of an impetus to send be to the drawing board to re-hash my as-yet-unpublished DI Luke Darbyshere series (the fourth of which has yet to be written).
This is the initial result. Images need re-sizing to match each other and maybe colours need more differentiation between titles, but the final two I AM pleased with.