Time Management For Writers: Nanny For Chrome

Time is precious. Often we don't have long to write, but it doesn't take long.

Consider the case of Peter V. Brett, the author who wrote The Warded Man on his half hour commute to and from work using his cellphone. Peter remarked that:

I like to write on the subway. It is peaceful when the internet goes quiet. Takes getting used to, but now it is very natural. Anywhere I can put on headphones and not be bothered by anyone for thirty minutes or more works now. (One Novelist Composed His Best-Selling Novel on a Cellphone – While Commuting to Work on the Subway Every Day)

How much time do we waste on the internet each day? For myself, I'm sure it's at least half an hour.

Nanny For Chrome: Mind Your Time

Nanny for Chrome can help us make the most of our time. Just tell her which sites you'd like to limit your time on, YouTube and Facebook for instance, and specify when and for how long you're allowed to view them.

Once your viewing time for a site is up, Nanny blocks it. Yes, you can change her settings to allow yourself more time, but you'll need to type in a 64 character long string of random text. Not easy to do!

Want to try it out? It's free! Here's a link to Nanny for Google Chrome.

I think this would come in handy for NaNoWriMo. I have next to no free time these days so even an extra 20 minutes would be welcome.

Photo credit: "On the Doorstep, Valparaiso" by geezaweezer under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0.

Peter V. Brett Wrote Bestseller, The Warded Man, On The Subway

Peter V. Brett wrote The Warded Man, a novel which went on to sell 100,000 copies in 17 countries, on his commute to work.

[Peter V. Brett] wrote The Warded Man aka The Painted Man on the ‘F’ train riding from his home in Brooklyn to Time Square where he worked in medical publishing. Using his HP Ipaq 6515, a phone similar to a BlackBerry, he followed up with another book before quitting his day job to write full time.

Released as The Painted Man in Great Britain in 2008, Brett’s debut novel, The Warded Man, arrived from Del Rey Spectra in 20o9, and went on to sell 100,000 copies in 17 countries. The follow up, The Desert Spear, released in 2010 and is currently on bestseller lists. Four books are planned altogether in this Demon Cycle series, with the next chapter, The Daylight War, scheduled for a February 2013 release [...].

How did he do it? PVB says:

I write on Docs to Go on my iPad. It syncs wirelessly with my desktop, and I work in Word there. Shift back and forth constantly. Always, always music, though selections depend on my mood. I like to write on the subway. It is peaceful when the internet goes quiet. Takes getting used to, but now it is very natural. Anywhere I can put on headphones and not be bothered by anyone for thirty minutes or more works now.

. . . .

Now, the producers behind the Residential Evil Hollywood films franchise have taken an interest, calling a planned trilogy “the next Lord Of The Rings.” Brett has signed a lucrative deal and discussions and plans are underway to start filming later this year.

British producer Jeremy Bolt said the first film would have a budget of up to $100 million and be shot in 3D with director Paul W.S. Anderson attached. He couldn’t believe the book was typed on  a phone.

All information and quotations are from: One Novelist Composed His Best-Selling Novel on a Cellphone – While Commuting to Work on the Subway Every Day. Thanks to the Passive Voice Blog for the link.

* Sigh * I love reading success stories but they can be a tad demoralizing. In any case, The Warded Man seems like a great book--I wonder why I haven't read it all ready!--and I'll keep my eyes open for more news of the movie(s).

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