FAQs

[pigfender]

Can I use a pen name instead of my real name?
Yes. In the previous books you will see a mixture of real names and pen names. I’m not telling you which is which.

[pigfender]

Where can I read previous years’ books?
There is a post on this very forum with all the relevant links. Let me know what you think!

[pigfender]

Will sections be edited?
Work on the assumption that you're responsible for all your own editing, including spellchecks, grammar checks, making sure you've remained consistent against your brief.

Depending on how close to the deadline you submit your chapter I will either:
1) Skim it and let you know if you’ve grossly deviated from the brief, or
2) Just chuck it in there and hope for the best.

We are relying on everyone's self-editing to ensure the book is readable so you should be confident of your writing standard before signing up.

[pigfender]

I’ve read my brief and I’m panicking. Is this normal?

Does everyone else have the same reaction every year when they get their brief?

Mine goes something like this:

1. THAT genre... but I don't know anything about THAT genre. I have never written in THAT genre before. Mental wards? I've only ever seen them under heavy sedation! Space ships? I would only go on one under heavy sedation! And now [omitted to keep the surprise]. I don't even [omitted], let alone [omitted].
2. Alright, I've seen [insert TV show]. How hard can this be? Just copy what they did, but don't suck so much.
3. Ok, I can do the paragraphs, but how in hell am I meant to tell how those kind of people really speak? I don't hang out with those kind of people. My dialogue is going to sound about as natural as a badly acted TV soap.
4. Is that all you want me to write? I am meant to stretch that one measly paragraph into at least 1500 words of something someone would actually want to read? I can't do that. I need more information. Give me more information. What happens next? Give me the story dammit, I can't write under these conditions. I give up!
5. Walk away from the computer*.
6. Return 5 minutes later, re-read everything. Eh, its not so bad.
7. Begin writing, have a ball, send it off, and forget how much I hate that first 15 minutes by the next year.

Anyway, should be fun. I love [omitted]. Some of my best friends are [redacted].

Matt

* Or write a post on the forum instead.

[pigfender]

What if I’m in a different timezone?
All of the deadlines are in UK / London time. So if (for example) you are living in France (which is an hour ahead of the UK) you’ll get your brief at 1am instead of midnight. Some people believe this system gives the Australians an unfair advantage.

[pigfender]

Why can’t I know the rest of the story / my place in the story?
A very famous person once wrote:

Restraint enhances creativity… There is far more creativity in creating something interesting out of a length of string, a balloon, a piece of chewed chewing gum, a bucket of wet concrete and the last third of a disintegrating 1970′s “penny banger” paperback western found in a dumpster behind a secondhand bookshop than being given free access to all the resources you could possibly want.

That person was Nom. Of course, he was actually trying to make the case for more information at the time, but we’ll ignore that for now.

[pigfender]

Do I have the first chapter?

By the way, if you don't want someone to know they are writing the first chapter, you shouldn't leave “things that have already happened” blank!

Every year several people email me and tell me that they think they have the first chapter. One of the implications of the ‘minimal information’ and ’only aware of what's going on in your chapter’ principles is that you will only have received something in that section if you need to know it... either to avoid major continuity issues, or to prevent you repeating something from an earlier chapter.

As such, there will be several sections that have nothing in the “Things that have already happened” section. That doesn't necessarily mean that yours is the first chapter, it just means that (other than what is mentioned in the “General Background” and other information) there is nothing that you necessarily need to be aware of to write your section.

In other words, plenty might have happened in the book, or nothing. You might be the first chapter, you might be the last... but there's a 23 out of 25 chance you're somewhere in the middle!

[pigfender]

Do I have the last chapter?
Actually, nobody has ever asked this.

[pigfender]

Can I ask for more information on the day?
Yes! There will be a post where we all hang out on the day and banter. It’s a good place to ask general questions that will benefit everyone, like “What city are we in?” or “Why is everyone so short?”.

You can also email me (rog@pigfender.com), or send me a message (“PM”) through the forum.

[pigfender]

Is there a place I can hang out and banter during the day of the event?
The forum will be open for virtual hanging out. The potential for an actual real life hang out is being considered.

[pigfender]

How will I receive my chapter brief?
At midnight UK time on the morning of whatever Saturday the event is on you will receive an email from rog@pigfender.com containing your full briefing pack.

[pigfender]

Why does pigfender continue to do this every year despite moaning about how much he hates it?
Blackmail.

[pigfender]

Can I see the Scrivener project used to create the books, please?
Yes. The links to the .scriv files are in the same place as the other book formats, here.

[pigfender]

How are the books compiled?
Using the magic of Scrivener! In fact not only are the ebooks (epub, mobi and pdf) all generated using Scrivener’s compile function, but so are all the information packs sent round to participants.

Downloadable compile settings for both Mac and Windows will be made available for the 2014 NiaD onwards.

[pigfender]

Are the books produced using the Mac version or the Windows version of Scrivener?
We've used both over the years...
The Dark - MacOS v2
Lunar520 - Windows
Made Man - Windows
Section 7 - MacOS v2
Marshal Law - MacOS v2
3 Ghosts - MacOS v2
Start Wearing Purple - MacOS v3 (beta)