I wrote up an essay/article over at OpenFiction about how the model of an open source project like Linux can be applied to the writing of fiction. It really describes the model I'm aiming to take with Inheritance next month and going forward with it. If you're interested in open source writing, fiction and non-traditional publishing, check it out.

A reader emailed me this morning asking if they could change the amount of time between automatic saves in Nanonotepad. This is a good question because saving every 10 minutes is just an arbitrary interval that I came up with. I used it mostly because my writing tends to come in blocks of 1-3 hours. However, the reader said that she leaves her writing open all day. Since the default would result in 144 copies per day getting saved, I can see how that would be irritating. Fortunately, it's pretty simple to change.
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I wanted a quick "percentage complete" goal meter for my Nanowrimo project page . I came up with a quick solution using no graphics: just CSS and HTML. I did use tables, but mostly to build it quickly. It's just as possible using straight CSS and divs instead. The final solution can be put into static HTML (for sharing with other Nanowrimo participants) and easily used in straight PHP as well.

Default colors:


Overriden colors:

It only takes a few minutes to make something similar from scratch.

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I think I've worked out how I'll approach November's non-billable hours. The hours that clients pay for are, as always, not really on the table for much modification. The rest is going to be split between writing on this site and writing my novel.

What I expect is that posting volume on this site will drop overall and carry a decidedly writer-centric bent to the posts. If there's a guest blogger who would want to carry on the PHP/web development topics bit during November, :letmeknow:. As for the book itself, I've decided to write it in the open and invite collaboration during the editing and rewriting phases (starting in December or January). The final novel will be available for free. I've set up a landing page for all of the actual ongoing Nanowrimo stuff. The manuscript itself will be there as well as the ways you can participate in refining the rough draft that I come up with during November.
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First, I'm all signed up for Nanowrimo all official-like. It's starting to feel like a reality instead of some far away "someday" kind of thing. Nov 1 is now visible on my monthly calendar with a big red circle around it.

Second, I've been thinking about book beginnings and story beginnings. Last year, in December, I looked through the results of some people's novels and noticed something that frustrated many of my own attempts at fiction early on. I had a professor offer me a solution to it and thought I'd share.
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