Kris Johnson's Blog…sort of.

NaNoWriMo Progress Bar

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Kris Johnson

I saw that Codeshaman has added a NaNoWriMo progress bar to his blog and I liked the idea so much that I swiped it. I have no idea what the mechanics of his bar might be, but the code behind mine will do the following:

  • Prior to 1 November, display a countdown to 1 November. Note that I didn’t account for the time difference between Willoughby and my server location (Chicago), so it’ll be an hour off.
  • Beginning on 1 November, display a progress bar and a daily target line. The progress bar visually represents the percentage of completion, while the target line displays the ideal word count based on writing 1,667 words per day. Target word count is also displayed numerically beneath the progress bar.
  • Upon reaching the overall target word count (50,000), remove the daily target line (and corresponding target word count) and display a message indicating completion.

That’s the theory, anyway. I’ll be the first to admit that this little widget is extremely kludgy. Most of the CSS that makes it work feels like a big, fat, inelegant cheat.

Oh, and of course it doesn’t look quite right when viewed with Internet Explorer. The real kicker is Opera. The version I’ve got (7.0, which I paid for) shifts the whole blasted sidebar about 500 pixels to the right, way off into Never-Neverland. Maybe I should download the latest version. I hear there’s no advertising on the free version these days.

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6 responses to “NaNoWriMo Progress Bar”

  1. Codeshaman Avatar
    Codeshaman

    Nice bar, though, KJ. I got lazy or I’d have done something similar with the countdown.

    The CSS doesn’t bother me so much. I stole it from another site, and it was one of the only decent pieces of code out there. Could have written my own, but why re-invent the wheel?

    Hm. Me? Defensive? 🙂

    Reply
  2. KJToo Avatar
    KJToo

    Nice bar, though, KJ.

    Thanks. If I can figure out how to do away with this little “feature” before the writing begins, I will:

    Select all or part of the “T-minus…” text and, with your mouse button still held down, drag the cursor beyond the lower border of the bar. Woosh! Goodbye, text. To get it back, click inside the bar, hold your mouse button down, and drag the cursor up beyond the upper border.

    Kludge in action!

    Reply
  3. Thagg Avatar
    Thagg

    The progress bar visually represents the percentage of completion, while the target line displays the ideal word count based on writing 1,667 words per day. Target word count is also displayed numerically beneath the progress bar.

    So, until 01 November you do nothing? No practice or warm ups, like some wind sprints or jumping jacks? Also note the family tendency to overanalyze the hell out of something.

    What is the advantage of paying for a browser in this day and age? Especially one that works so well?

    This new preview thingy – I haven’t decided if it’s a neat addition or a pain in the whatever. Now I can watch my pathetic typing in two locations at once.

    P.S. GO FOR IT! You’ve definitely been honing your skills with this blog. Even if I got no clue at times what you’re talking about (due to unfamiliarity with subject matter), it is always entertaining. Sometimes even educational.

    Reply
  4. KJToo Avatar
    KJToo

    This new preview thingy – I haven’t decided if it’s a neat addition or a pain in the whatever. Now I can watch my pathetic typing in two locations at once.

    It’s kinda weird, isn’t it? I didn’t actually realize that the plug-in was working until I saw your comment. I’m not sure I like it, either.

    On the other hand, it does generate a pretty accurate preview…

    So, until 01 November you do nothing?

    Well, there’s a NaNo kickoff meeting on the 30th of this month, and we’ll probably do some writing exercises just to get into the flow of things. The rules basically state that you can create characters, make an outline, create background notes and such ahead of time; you just can’t write any of the actual novel itself.

    Since I don’t have any idea for a plot yet, I thought I’d create a couple of characters and see if they come with a story attached.

    Reply
  5. KJwon Avatar
    KJwon

    Hmmmm; the word count seems to be stuck on 0 …

    Reply
  6. KJwon Avatar
    KJwon

    Hmmmm; the word count seems to be stuck on 0 …

    OK, next time I’ll engage brain before putting mouth in gear… I promise.

    BTW; the preview doo-dad is kinda neat …

    Reply

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