NaNoWriMo madness is nearly upon us!

In less than 36 hours, the madness that is NaNoWriMo will be in full swing.

Are you ready? I'm not. I wish I had about another week or so to finish plotting and researching. This year, I've decided to tackle a Historical Fiction novel, so I've had to do more research than in past years. It should be a fun change of pace though.

I'm bummed that the 1st is a Monday, because that means that I will not be able to attend the local kickoff party at midnight. I've got one of those oppressive day jobs that prevents me from writing into the wee hours of the night. It really gets in the way of my noveling, let me tell ya.

I'll also be working on some major updates to My Writing Nook during November, with plans to release them in December. There will be much joy for iPad users, and iPhone users will get some love as well. There might even be something in it for Mac users, hmmm? More information to come in the next few weeks.

So basically, November is going to be total madness. How will I fit it all in? Well, I think I've got that figured out. I'll just forego sleep. That'll work, right?

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How JK Rowling plotted her novels

For those of you busy planning, plotting, and preparing for NaNoWriMo, I thought I'd share this interesting glimpse at how JK Rowling did her plotting for the 5th Harry Potter book.

After getting 50K words into my last NaNovel and then having absolutely no idea how to end the thing, I can really appreciate the attention to detail that she put into her outline. Ya gotta love her "retro" spreadsheet - cutting and pasting must have been a pain, though.

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Updated Android app in the Market today

I just published the 1.3.0 release of My Writing Nook for Android devices to the Android Market. This release greatly improves landscape writing mode for devices with on-screen keyboards, and updates the color scheme to match the iOS apps.

I have also added auto-correction to the editor, which should provide a boost to your productivity.

I'm planning several more enhancements in the coming weeks, but I wanted to get these useful improvements to you as soon as possible.

Enjoy!

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A totally rad endorsement from an 80s icon!

I want my AppTV

OK, this is a trip, so I have to share. As someone that grew up in the 80s and can remember the early days of MTV, I was surprised to receive an email today from non other than former vee-jay Adam Curry.

Apparently, Adam has moved from the small screen to the very small screen, and hosts a daily review program for iPhone/iPod touch apps. It's called Adam Curry's Big App Show, and Adam was writing to tell me that today he reviewed My Writing Nook. Whoa. Wha'choo talkin' bout, Willis?

I grabbed the Big App Show app from the App Store (it's free) and, well, there was Adam superimposed on my app.

Adam could have done his homework before reviewing the app, because he gets a few things wrong (the app does NOT sync with Google Docs - it syncs with the web app at http://www.mywritingnook.com) and he can't figure out how to rearrange documents in the doc list (by using document groups), but overall he gives it a pretty good review.

I can't complain too much. I mean, my app just got reviewed by an MTV vee-jay. That's just totally rad, y'know? I feel like such a rock star. I think I'll go destroy a hotel room or something. Hasta la vista, baby.

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My Writing Nook Anniversary - plus an iPad update

Today is the one year anniversary of the My Writing Nook iPhone app. The past year has been very satisfying - it's great to see that so many of you are enjoying the app. Thanks for your support and encouragement throughout the last year - you've helped to make My Writing Nook the best novel writing app on the iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch.

I'd also like to announce that the 1.0.7 release of My Writing Nook for iPad is now available in the App Store. This release includes the same delete synchronization and document conflict resolution features that I described in my previous post about the latest release for the iPhone/iPod touch. Enjoy the silky smoothness of the latest release.

Happy writing!

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iPhone app update - less conflict, no zombies, more stealth

I'm pleased to announce that version 1.8.3 of the iPhone/iPod app hit the App Store this evening. It's chock-full of enhancement goodness, just in time for NaNoWriMo. My Writing Nook continues to be the best novel writing app for the iPhone/iPod touch.

Dark & Stormy night mode just might turn you into a plot ninja

Turn on dark & stormy night mode for the ultimate in stealth writing. This feature has been brought over from the iPad version of the app, and switches the interface to display white text on a black background. The ultimate in distraction-free writing, or just spooky? You be the judge.

There were a few rougher edges that existed in the previous versions of the app, and with the 1.8.3 release, those edges have been polished and made smooth.

Kills zombie documents dead!

The first enhancement is delete synchronization. If you wanted to delete a document in previous versions of the app, you would need to delete it on both the device and the web app. This was awkward, and led to many questions about documents "coming back from the dead."

With delete synchronization, you need only delete a document in one place. There are no more zombies in My Writing Nook. If you want zombies in your app, you'll have to look elsewhere.

Conflict resolved

When you make changes to a document in the app and on the web without synching, you create a document conflict. This means that since both versions of a document are changed, the app doesn't know which one to keep.

Previous versions of the app would simply do nothing, since I believed that this was better than possibly choosing the wrong version to keep. But while this protected your data, it was admittedly a bit clumsy.

With the 1.8.3 release, My Writing Nook will now detect a document conflict and will inform you of the fact by adding an alert icon to the appropriate row in the document list. Tapping on this alert icon will bring you to the conflict resolution screen, which will allow you to view both versions of the conflicted document and decide which one to keep. You no longer need to go to the web app to resolve doc conflicts - you can do everything from your iPhone/iPod touch.

Retinawesome

While this update is all about smoothing out the rougher edges, it's also about sharpening. I've gone through and updated all the graphics for the retina display on the iPhone 4 and latest-generation iPod touches. Now the icons and graphics are really sharp. Handle with care, lest you hurt yourself. You've been warned.

With this update, My Writing Nook becomes even easier to use. They said that it couldn't be done, but when have we ever listened to them?

iPad users - don't fret! A similar update for the iPad version of the app should be hitting the App Store in the next few days.

Enjoy the update, and if you have a moment or two to spare, please leave a review in the App Store.

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Summer Update

First off, sorry for the lapse in time since my last posting. Such opening sentences are often death knells for blogs, but I want to assure you that isn't the case here. I haven't been resting on my laurels. I've been busy planning and implementing new features for My Writing Nook, and unfortunately this blog has suffered as a result. I plan to get back to a more regular updating schedule once I get this current batch of enhancements out the door. There have been lots of exciting developments in the publishing landscape, and I am looking forward to discussing them in future posts.

So what have I been so busy at work on lately? Well, I've been listening to your helpful feedback and comments, and have been working on improving the rougher edges of the apps, while at the same time building in some of the most-requested features. The future is bright for My Writing Nook, and it will continue to be the best app for writing on the web or on the go with your iPhone, iPad, or Android device.

For both the iPhone and the iPad apps, there are vast improvements in the detection and resolution of document conflicts. You'll soon be able to resolve such conflicts right from within the app. I'm also adding delete synchronization, so previously deleted documents won't keep coming back from the dead. No more zombie docs!

For the iPad app, I'm working on full-screen landscape mode, which should be cause for much rejoicing, since it is one of the top requested features. It's a fairly large change, due to how the frameworks work, but is well worth it.

The Android app will be brought up to similar levels of functionality as its iOS brethren. As a solo developer, it can be tough to keep several apps aligned with respect to feature sets, and the Android app will be getting some necessary TLC.

Don't worry - I haven't forgotten about the web app. You'll soon be able to download all your documents in one fell swoop, instead of one at a time. Easy backups!

I'm also rethinking the organizational features of the app - trying to maintain the ease of use while enhancing the flexibility and functionality. It's a tricky balancing act, and I want to make sure that I get it right.

My current plan is to have new releases out in plenty of time for NaNoWriMo preparation. I'm excited about the coming enhancements, and I hope you will be too.

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New version of My Writing Nook for iPad now available

I'm happy to announce that a new update of My Writing Nook for iPad is now available in the App Store. I'm really excited about this update, since I've added some helpful and fun new features. My Writing Nook continues to be the best app for writing on the iPad.

Always-visible word count - previously the word count was not visible when the on-screen keyboard was showing. Now you can see how prolific you are at any time.

TextExpander touch integration - boost your productivity with TextExpander touch snippets. You'll need to have the TextExpander touch app to take advantage of this feature, but it's well worth your while if your writing lends itself to using repeatable blocks (for example - this would be great for screenplays).

Finally a bit of fun. I've added something called Dark and Stormy Night mode. This changes the color scheme for the app to be black with white text. Get your stealth on and become a plot ninja!

I hope that you enjoy the new features. As always, this is a free upgrade for those that already own My Writing Nook for iPad.

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Attention Indie Authors - Apple wants your books

Apple is now allowing Indie Authors to submit their books (in EPUB format) to the iBooks store. They're offering the same deal to authors as they do to app developers - Apple takes a 30% cut and the author gets the rest. That's a pretty sweet deal.

There are some criteria that need to be met before a book will be accepted (needs to be valid EPUB, you need to have an ISBN, etc), but I think that this is great news for Indie Authors.

Here's a link to start the application process:

http://itunes.com/sellyourbooks

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Why I created My Writing Nook

A friend just sent me this picture, which she took outside Grand Central Terminal in New York City. I think it is a perfect example of exactly why I created My Writing Nook.

The unfortunate author's phone number has been photoshopped out. I hope that he or she got their manuscript back.

Don't let this happen to you! Write your novel with My Writing Nook!

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