14 December 2010. One of the curses of having a technical background is how it can interfere with writing. When I'm feeling a little off my game, I can turn to the easier task of writing a block of software that gives this site more functionality. I can research more into the field to retain currency. I can do anything but write.

Sometimes, however, having a technical background can be good for writing.

When I started my first novel, I used LaTeX, a typesetting language I picked up in law school. I had a makefile that allowed me to compile it into PDF format to publish. It even did wordcounts or let me print a 8"x11" draft; double-spacing and all. I say started, because I stopped. But, that's a separate blog article.

This time, I've learned Ruby. I've also learned to take the easier path. And, I have a Mac. So, I use TextMate to draft, instead of Vim. It has a few macros that really speed up my typing—though I compose at 16 WPM regardless of a typing speed of 80 WPM. Instead of LaTeX, I use Markdown. Empowered by a Ruby gem, I can compile the many files that compose my novel into a PDF or HTML. I can also do word counts. I'll talk more about formatting in a later entry.

To keep Scintilla together, I had to deconstruct it. I have four main viewpoint characters. I put each of their story lines into separate directories. This helps me ensure each story stands alone. It lets me live up to a principle: “Each viewpoint character should be written as if the story is all about him.” It also helps me quickly find a scene when I need to ensure some consistency between two viewpoints.

Rather than write last night, I added to my Ruby gem. Specifically, I added a manifest ability. In the project's configuration file, I now have a manifest that breaks the novel into chapters, with scenes listed in the order they appear in the chapter.

The advantage of this approach is this: I can keep my character story lines in their separate folders. When I want to create the novel, the resulting output stitches the stories together. It means there's only one file that ends up in two places.

This approach has a disadvantage. I have to manually build that manifest. Sure, I have a Rake task that builds a notional manifest, but it takes time (twenty minutes last night) to get the scene order right.

In the weeks ahead, I'll talk more about the software I use to create my novel.