Friday, March 12, 2010

Dr. Wicked's WRITE OR DIE


Keep writing. Write every day. Use your writing muscles so they develop, not atrophy. Writers hear variations of this often. And we SHOULD write every day. But some days, I sit at the computer and type Chapter 12 or 14 or 17. And sit. And think, OK, now what? I look at the plot outline, review my main plot points, go over the synopsis I started. But I still wonder, right now, in this chapter now what?

This never happens in Chapter 1 or 5, or Chapter 27 or 30. Those are beginnings and endings, not saggy, baggy middles. I KNOW I have to force myself to type something. I know I can't edit a blank page.


Here's how to make yourself type: Write or Die, a wicked device if there ever was one. Take a peek:

WRITE OR DIE



Say you want to type 100 words in the next 10 minutes. Plug those values in, At the most extremes level of Consequences = Kamikaze Mode and Grace Period = Evil, you get only one pause. You start typing, but if you pause too long, your words start disappearing! The dang thing backspaces on you! You have to move forward. No editing here, no time.

The lovely green background turns pink, then darker and darker until it's angry red if you pause too long.

In less stringent modes, you get polite reminders that you've stopped typing, rather than backspacing. The background will turn red if you stop too long, but you don't lose your precious prose.

If you want to save what you've done, you have to copy and paste, before it all disappears. If you let all your words disappear, it will take you down to one word at the strictest levels The lowest time limit is ten minutes, the longest two hours! You can type in any number of words.

It's fun to play with and can help get you over a hump!

2 comments:

  1. I bought the desktop version of this program which disappeared from my computer in early February. My email to Dr. Wicked to request another copy has gone unanswered.

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  2. I am now officially insane. *LOL*

    That was way cool! Thanks for the link.

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