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McAnally's (The Community Pub) => Author Craft => Topic started by: Mickey Finn on December 21, 2009, 03:15:29 PM
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This is a place to post nifty software for writers.
This is my favorite so far:
http://www.ravensheadservices.com/
Great for organizing, very configurable, works on Mac & PC, website has great demos and the download is fully functional to try out yourself (except you can't actually save work).
Mac users apparently have something else that's extremely kickass but will never be made for PC.
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Mac users apparently have something else that's extremely kickass but will never be made for PC.
That might be Scrivener: http://www.literatureandlatte.com/scrivener.html (http://www.literatureandlatte.com/scrivener.html)
That's it! - Mickey
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That might be Scrivener: http://www.literatureandlatte.com/scrivener.html (http://www.literatureandlatte.com/scrivener.html)
That's it! - Mickey
Along with this(for Macs), there's also Jer's Novel Writer which has similar features, though not the corkboard, and also has a sidebar where you can use/customize margin notes for editing and such.
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For the stuff I've written, the tools for outlining, story boards, and first drafts have always been yellow legal pads, a box of rollerball pens, and PostIt notes for rearranging things. Ideas just seem to flow more freely through a pen on paper, for me, at least. Once it's actually out of my head and in my hands, then the PC word processor can do the spell checking and final editing and revisions. Kind of old fashioned, I guess, but when I first started writing research papers and short stories, I had an Underwood manual typewriter, and I only wanted to have to type up the final revision once.
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I like it!
I've actually decided to start writing the novel that has been stewing around in my head for almost 20 years, and I want to go about it in a business-like way. In the past, I've just started writing and "discovered" the story as it came out, but that's never really worked to get a finished product for me. I get lost in the story, editing, revising, etc.
I'm thinking of trying the suggestions in Jim's blog, but I wonder if there's other suggestions you all might have for me?
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Oh very cool!
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I like it!
I'm thinking of trying the suggestions in Jim's blog, but I wonder if there's other suggestions you all might have for me?
Linkage to this?
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Linkage to this?
http://jimbutcher.livejournal.com/ (http://jimbutcher.livejournal.com/)
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I like it!
I've actually decided to start writing the novel that has been stewing around in my head for almost 20 years, and I want to go about it in a business-like way. In the past, I've just started writing and "discovered" the story as it came out, but that's never really worked to get a finished product for me. I get lost in the story, editing, revising, etc.
I'm thinking of trying the suggestions in Jim's blog, but I wonder if there's other suggestions you all might have for me?
I've yet to actually get anything finished, mostly because I'm always finding myself distracted by family/work/exercise/reading/etc, and find it difficult to isolate myself and ignore everything enough to focus. I've tried some of the suggestions on the blog, up to getting my b/f's mom to help make my own version of the story arc(will post a pic tomorrow), and I've been trying to follow my b/f's idea of writing from beginning to end to just get the story out, instead of going back and rewriting then moving on. I tend to do the discovery sort of thing, too. Probably not very helpful in the way of suggestion, though, huh?
About the best thing I can suggest, which I need to do myself, is just write. Find whatever program/paper/thing works best for you, block yourself off from everything if you can, and write. And try not to let yourself get distracted too much. I find that I start to get something like stir crazy when I go a long time without writing, and then have trouble getting back into it.
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One of my worst problems in the early days was that I'd get an idea, and as long as I could write straight through, I could follow it. As soon as I stopped and went to sleep, I couldn't get it back.
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Another writing tool that my writing partner turned me on to by google.
www.mywritingnook.com IT's free and saves your work to an online server you can access from any PC.
They also have an iphone app. IT may not be the most SECURE thing, if you're worried about copywright or privacy, but at least it puts it somewhere that A) you can access from any computer if you aren't near your usual harddrive. and 2) you can use it as a backup server then should lightning or virus strike you won't lose your work.
Starbeam... I have the same problem. I've been working on my major fiction for almost two years now, and between my toddler, keeping the house running, and the times I just lose all creative desire. It is SO hard to keep up on it.
Honestly my biggest fear isn't that I won't get it done, it's that I'll get my first book published, and never be able to finish the rest of the series.
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This looks incredible, if it takes off: http://offthebookshelf.com/
PC demo: http://links.mkt230.com/ctt?kn=13&m=4391826&r=Njg3NTMwMjk0S0&b=0&j=MTU0NzkzNTYwS0&mt=1&rt=0
Mac Demo: http://links.mkt230.com/ctt?kn=12&m=4391826&r=Njg3NTMwMjk0S0&b=0&j=MTU0NzkzNTYwS0&mt=1&rt=0
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SCRIPTWRITERS: http://scriptfrenzy.org/eng/overview
Writer's Resources
Writing Software
Library
Script Examples
Intro to Screenwriting
How to Format a Screenplay
How to Format a Stage Play
Intro to Playwriting
Intro to TV Writing
How to Format a TV Script
Intro to Comic Books
How to Format a Comic Book
Finding Local Writers
Flyers For Downloading
Writer Maps
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Why you shouldn't use MS Word to Write a novel: http://shevdon.com/tools-for-writing-1
(Note: It's not Anti-Word or Anti-MS, just the reasons why Word is dangerous for novel writing)
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So what *does* he recommend?
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Dunno, but you can see what others use above. ;) Scrivner if on a Mac, and my pref on PC is WriteItNowv4
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Gotta plug yWriter here. Simon Hayes is a published author and an experienced programmer. He does a bunch of software that he provides for free. I've been using yWriter for a while now, not just for novels but also for organizing short stories and story ideas. It has become my 'virtual idea rolodex'.
http://www.spacejock.com/yWriter5.html
-Matt
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Gotta plug yWriter here. Simon Hayes is a published author and an experienced programmer. He does a bunch of software that he provides for free. I've been using yWriter for a while now, not just for novels but also for organizing short stories and story ideas. It has become my 'virtual idea rolodex'.
http://www.spacejock.com/yWriter5.html
-Matt
it looks great so far - I like it. I just wish it has spellcheck, though. :)
Found another one: "RoughDraft" found here: http://www.salsbury.f2s.com/rd_download.htm
It doesn't work for me, though. But maybe you guys'll like it or something.
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yWriter does have a spell check, you just have to download the dictionary file separately. :)
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yWriter does have a spell check, you just have to download the dictionary file separately. :)
just found it. :D enjoying it now. thanks!
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This is what I use and I love it...
http://www.blackobelisksoftware.com/
Liquid Story Binder. It looks and acts a lot like that Mac OSX Scrivener. It's also well supported and has regular updates. Plus..once you buy a license, all future updates are free. Has quite a few neat little features.
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If anyone is interested, I've updated the writer's resources section of my site to be a Fiction Writer's Virtual Toolbox: http://www.jrvogt.com/writerresources.htm (http://www.jrvogt.com/writerresources.htm). It's got 150+ links to writing craft and business resources, covering everything from developing novel plots to querying literary agents and more. My hope is it can be a decent hub for writers in various stages of their careers.
If anyone has suggestions for links to add to the mix, please let me know. Thanks!
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I tend to use the "snowflake" method of writing to get me started and keep me going and somewhat organized.
http://www.advancedfictionwriting.com/art/snowflake.php (http://www.advancedfictionwriting.com/art/snowflake.php)
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I tend to use the "snowflake" method of writing to get me started and keep me going and somewhat organized.
http://www.advancedfictionwriting.com/art/snowflake.php (http://www.advancedfictionwriting.com/art/snowflake.php)
Okay, I'll bite. I'm tired of my excel sheets, running out of room, finding them, renaming them etc. I've just germinated a delightful character in a not-so-delightful plot, designed for tears and joy. So I'll start it from scratch and let you know how it goes. I'll download it tonight. It looks like I can only download onto one computer...
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Dunno, but you can see what others use above. Scrivner if on a Mac, and my pref on PC is WriteItNowv4
They are supposed to be coming out with Scrivner for Windows.
I love this thread.
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They are supposed to be coming out with Scrivner for Windows.
I love this thread.
Yup, beta starts sometime later this month. Discount for completely NaNo. For the discussion of it--http://www.jimbutcheronline.com/bb/index.php/topic,21272.0.html (http://www.jimbutcheronline.com/bb/index.php/topic,21272.0.html)
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http://writeordie.drwicked.com/
Scrambling for a deadline (or for Nano) and you're not the type who could focus? try this. :D
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It's pathetic (and, if you know me, predictable), but I cannot use Write Or Die. I get resentful. I'll stop if I want to! Don't you beep at me! FINE! TAKE ALL MY WORDS! SEE IF I CARE! SCREW YOU, I'LL GO PLAY HEARTS! And then nothing gets done.
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It's pathetic (and, if you know me, predictable), but I cannot use Write Or Die. I get resentful. I'll stop if I want to! Don't you beep at me! FINE! TAKE ALL MY WORDS! SEE IF I CARE! SCREW YOU, I'LL GO PLAY HEARTS! And then nothing gets done.
LOL xD
It's...not really good for people who multi-task, either. >> i tried writing a paper in it to get things done but I had to speak to some friends on the messenger and when I remembered I was writing it already ate half my paper -_- taught me never to use kamikaze mode.
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OooOOooO: http://www.literatureandlatte.com/videos/Fundamentals_Win.mov
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My personal tool-kit would be Writer's Cafe (http://www.writerscafe.co.uk/) and CeltX (http://www.celtx.com/), doing the actual writing in Open Office (http://www.openoffice.org/). The former is cheap (about £20 last time I looked), but has a pretty feature-rich free version, while the latter is free and open-source, with some paid services available. Best of all, they are both multi-platform; you can install under Windows, MacOS or Linux and they work just as well.
The most important tool I use (ignoring OpenOffice) is probably Dropbox (https://www.dropbox.com/referrals/NTg5NzMxNDk?src=global0), a synchronisation service which is very useful for backing up data. I once lost the first 10,000 words of a novel to a hardware issue, so I always make sure I have my important files backed up safely these days. It also has the advantage of synchronising my half-finished stories on my Linux laptop with my Windows desktop PC, so I can write on either one without having to use a USB stick or try to send them over the network.
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Not a tool, but a resource example:
MickeydotFinn Michael A Finn
Ron Moore's original BSG Series Bible made available to download free http://io9.com/5743142/ Interesting for film students and fans
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Thought I'd toss these out...no idea how helpful they'd be, as I don't own them:
http://www.writersdigestshop.com/category/master-box-sets?et_mid=89829&rid=3113249
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Trboturtle pointed these out, looks interesting:
http://www.michaelastackpole.com/store/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=2&zenid=d30c86aba96d9e5fe2742371d8513e8d
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I have friends who do movie CGI work and they use Corbomite to remotely back up their files. (Very, very large files)
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Another resource:
DEAD ROBOT SOCIETY: Podcasts of Writers Talking about Writing:
http://deadrobotssociety.com/
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If you're into writing scripts try JM Strazynski's book on Script writing. Very good.
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For ANY scripts...TV to comics to Film.
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Hi all,
There is also WriteWay: http://www.writewaypro.com/ They have a 30 day demo version, standard version and professional version. I've started using this. Nice character window, research window, and future book idea window. I copied most of JIm's blog post into the future book idea window so the info is readily available no matter which book I'm working on.
Scrivener for windows is in beta : www.literatureandlatte.com/scrivenerforwindows/ (I had some problems with the link, the site might be down.)
By way of introduction, I'm another wannabe writer, living in New Mexico. I'd like to write hard sf, but the research takes a long time.
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Ilona Andrews explains a bit about bestseller lists and where sales fall:
http://www.ilona-andrews.com/2011/04/20/when-to-buy/
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Also some interesting information on eating Brussel sprouts. ???
Thanks again to everyone that has posted here. I have found some amazingly helpful tools.
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It's her blog ;)
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I was kidding about the Brussel sprouts. I love her (and her husband's) work and thought the blog was amusing. Thanks for pointing it out.
I just discovered this and thought it looked like an interesting resource although I haven't explored it very thoroughly yet: http://www.writingexcuses.com/2008/02/ (http://www.writingexcuses.com/2008/02/)
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Yes, Writing Excuses is a very good one. Every so often I'll go back and listen to all of them from the beginning.
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For genre writers--http://bookcountry.com/ (http://bookcountry.com/)
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I would like to say thanks to Mickey and everyone else who posted here. I had no idea that word wouldn't work very well for writing. (this may have something to do with my highest word count so far being 12k) And I had no idea that there was such a considerable selection of other programs to choose from that could do so much for my writing. This is the coolest thread I've ever read. Anywhere.
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I love writing excuses. Lot's of good information there.
Personally, I use Scrivener for Windows (new Beta available till Nov 7)
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For indie authors interested in the quickly growing e-reader market, try www.smashwords.com site their free format guide is very helpful as is their free marketing guide. The finished product is also easy to translate to Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing and Createspace. This will get you online for all the major readers Kindle, Nook and I-Pad and more.
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Figured I'd link-Scrivener for Windows (http://www.literatureandlatte.com/scrivener.php?platform=win) is now available for purchase.
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hi i did niot know how many there were out there to help with wrighting
i have to say that I may still stick to hand wrighting the plot brain storms and carictor profiles but thats just me
i am old fationed for someone who is of my geniration (15-25)
and then no one but me can read it. due to my scedual my laptop is not always near me when i get a good idea so they get joted down to
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Hand-writing's fine, if you don't mind typing it up later. You wouldn't be the only writer to do things that way. But seriously, you need a spell-checker. Badly. Very, very badly. Even if you're severely dyslexic (one of my last bosses was, to the point of illiteracy) there are software programs that will help figure out what you're trying to say, or you can use Dragon to dictate to. It'll get some words wrong, but far fewer than you have wrong in just that small post.
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1. i am dislexic
2. my site is not 20,20 my any means
3. my nots are notly when i cant acses my laptop or ideas for carictors that i am unshore of
4. english is a stupid language but the only one i know (they have been trying to teach me to spell since i was 3 i am now oldenuth to leave egucation under english law)
5. i have the most amazing frined ever who reads and spell checks every thing that i type up for me (note vision and dislexia)
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i have dragon but with my siblings music in the background it dose not pick up my voce clearly enuth and i am kinda lazy to loud it though i do dictat longer peaces and i apoligies if my spelling afends any one
;D
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Your spelling doesn't offend anyone cenwolfgirl so don't worry about it.
Hand writing notes is a good way to keep track of ideas when you don't have access to your computer.
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thanks nice to know aome one agrees with me
due to above sight not being that of most people my age i like to draw what i have to describe to get an idea of how to describe it in words
my frineds argue i like to doodle
but thats of topic
and realy isent wrighting kind of a persanle what ever you find works for you thing?
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You're absolutely right cenwolfgirl - it's personal and what ever works for you.
Doodle if that works, take hand notes, work on the computer however you can.
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i wont to respond to that with somthing clever but am kinda shocked
few people actualy say things like your right to me
so thank your for agreeing with me!
;D
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i wont to respond to that with somthing clever but am kinda shocked
few people actualy say things like your right to me
so thank your for agreeing with me!
;D
You're welcome but anyone should agree with you. Writing is a personal thing and you do what works for
you.
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Ok, Ive downloaded the trial version of Writeitnow and it seems like a very interesting program. Still not sure about committing to the cost, small as it might be, for a program that I will only use for what is currently a hobby. Having just written that I feel kind of stupid saying it as I spent $700 on my helm for heavy weapons fighting in the SCA!! Anyway, I just wanted to thank everyone for the different options for programs and the info about using MS Office. Hadnt really considered the fact that it wasnt created for novel sized documents but for the stage I am currently at, it will work for now.
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Ok, Ive downloaded the trial version of Writeitnow and it seems like a very interesting program. Still not sure about committing to the cost, small as it might be, for a program that I will only use for what is currently a hobby. Having just written that I feel kind of stupid saying it as I spent $700 on my helm for heavy weapons fighting in the SCA!! Anyway, I just wanted to thank everyone for the different options for programs and the info about using MS Office. Hadnt really considered the fact that it wasnt created for novel sized documents but for the stage I am currently at, it will work for now.
Scrivener and WriteWayPro are a few dollars cheaper than WriteItnow and ywriter5 is free, so you could try those.
OTOH, if you get words on the page with Office, don't fix what isn't broken.
Good luck with the SCA fighting.
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Brandon Sanderson's Creative Writing course on I believe genre writing is being filmed and being made available on Youtube for those writers who can't/don't want to take his classes at BYU: http://www.writeaboutdragons.com/home/ (http://www.writeaboutdragons.com/home/)
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Just another note to sing the praises of Scrivener. Pretty versatile and convenient once you get the hang of it. No more lost gems of ideas or great snatches of dialogue, for one thing...
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I haven't taken the time to read all of the posts here so does Tools include books and workshops??
and Paynesgrey on your coexist pic. I recognize them all except for the S and the i
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I haven't taken the time to read all of the posts here so does Tools include books and workshops??
and Paynesgrey on your coexist pic. I recognize them all except for the S and the i
I believe there is another thread for books, but don't have a link handy.
To get you started:
On Writing by Stephen King
Techniques of the Selling Author by Dwight Swain
(Jim's blog posts are the free 15-20 page condensed version)
Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott
Paynesgrey sig:
C - Deathstar
O, E - Enterprise - Constitution or Galaxy class, I can' tell.
X - x wing fighter or maybe a starfury from B5
I - sonic screwdriver from Dr Who
S - from the S in the Farscape logo.
T - Firefly / Serenity.
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Thanks MClark
I wouldn't have recognized the S from Farscape, I've only seen one episode. And I don't recall ever seeing the sonic screwdriver up close like that. Oh well.
But I believe the Enterprise is the Original one. That is a standard drawing of it.
I believe there is another thread for books, but don't have a link handy.
To get you started:
On Writing by Stephen King
Techniques of the Selling Author by Dwight Swain
(Jim's blog posts are the free 15-20 page condensed version)
Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott
Paynesgrey sig:
C - Deathstar
O, E - Enterprise - Constitution or Galaxy class, I can' tell.
X - x wing fighter or maybe a starfury from B5
I - sonic screwdriver from Dr Who
S - from the S in the Farscape logo.
T - Firefly / Serenity.
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Thanks MClark
I wouldn't have recognized the S from Farscape, I've only seen one episode. And I don't recall ever seeing the sonic screwdriver up close like that. Oh well.
But I believe the Enterprise is the Original one. That is a standard drawing of it.
The sonic screwdriver for the i has the Stargate as the dot.
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;D
Back on the topic of Tools For Writers...
http://jimbutcher.livejournal.com/
I'd like to suggest everyone read (or re-read) Jim's livejournal on writing. I know everyone has a different style, different thought process, etc...
But I've found that what he says works.
I'd read the entries as they came out, and hadn't given them much thought until I started working on a totally original story recently. And I sat down again and sloooowly read them over, thought about my work, the things that just didn't feel right (write?), the bits that clomped instead of singing, or why this or that just didn't carry the weight I wanted it to. And there was much palm unto the face, and much speaking of "Oh, shit! That's what's missing!"
Those livejournal entries have given me a great deal of food for thought, and tools for analyzing (and correcting) some of the more blatant rough spots in my project. Things were wrong, or maybe just not quite right, but I didn't know what I was missing.
Give it a read. Think about what the man's saying, and think about the things in your work that are giving you trouble. You fix even one rough patch, one bit that didn't sing the story in your head, and you'll find your motivation surge like a fat man's cholesterol at oktoberfest. Or the 4th of July. Or Thanksgiving. Or whatever holiday involves nommy food people who don't want to die shouldn't eat.
You get the picture.
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I've printed 'em out and keep 'em in a binder for easy reference. Reminds me, I should add the one from Nov. It's also what gave me the idea to make this--
(http://farm5.staticflickr.com/4020/4664526863_6048de397b_m.jpg)
Although I haven't updated the cards in a really long time. That's still from the first craptacular draft. Probably update it once I finish this draft-easy to move things around and find the subplots, then.
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On Compelling Realities:
I have often been called a 'knowledgeable' person, because if I don't know something, I dig into it. However, there is a fine line between being 'knowledgeable' and being educated. Many times I have hit walls creating a believable reality due to the fact I have lived a very sheltered (not easy, mind you) existence. I have spent most of my life in a rural Wyoming area.
So my question is; if a writer is ignorant of certain facts, where does one go to make their realities as believable as possible? What resources do writers who don't know use to know? One of the things I like about Dresden is that Mr. Butcher sets a very convincing background in Chicagoland. He conveys a myriad of nuanced details that gives you the distinct impression he's spent a lot of time there. How can I write, say, a murder mystery in New York, if I've never been there before? And have it ring of the nuanced information Mr. butcher presents in Chicago to provide the best read for the audience; particularly those living in Chicago who are in the know. So say, if I try to say the Adirondacks has Redwoods, and they don't, then anyone reading my work in New York knows I've never been there before. (I'm not working on this, but it's a scenario.)
Obviously, one can use field guides for much of the fauna and foliage, but what about actually seeing and knowing the place? What about street locations and buildings associated with them? (I assure you Google Maps isn't the best option; I googled our town and the images are over a decade old. :O)
In other words; what resources have helped many of you when faced with this sometimes seemingly insurmountable dilemmas?
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On Compelling Realities:
I have often been called a 'knowledgeable' person, because if I don't know something, I dig into it. However, there is a fine line between being 'knowledgeable' and being educated. Many times I have hit walls creating a believable reality due to the fact I have lived a very sheltered (not easy, mind you) existence. I have spent most of my life in a rural Wyoming area.
So my question is; if a writer is ignorant of certain facts, where does one go to make their realities as believable as possible? What resources do writers who don't know use to know? One of the things I like about Dresden is that Mr. Butcher sets a very convincing background in Chicagoland. He conveys a myriad of nuanced details that gives you the distinct impression he's spent a lot of time there. How can I write, say, a murder mystery in New York, if I've never been there before? And have it ring of the nuanced information Mr. butcher presents in Chicago to provide the best read for the audience; particularly those living in Chicago who are in the know. So say, if I try to say the Adirondacks has Redwoods, and they don't, then anyone reading my work in New York knows I've never been there before. (I'm not working on this, but it's a scenario.)
Obviously, one can use field guides for much of the fauna and foliage, but what about actually seeing and knowing the place? What about street locations and buildings associated with them? (I assure you Google Maps isn't the best option; I googled our town and the images are over a decade old. :O)
In other words; what resources have helped many of you when faced with this sometimes seemingly insurmountable dilemmas?
That is a good question. A novel I just finished revising takes place in Boulder, Colorado. I never been to Colorado much less Boulder. So I asked on a different writing forum I belong to and found someone who lives there who was dealing to share and put up with my questions. And since this is fiction I made up a few things. Like a certain Hotdog Palace and apartment complexes. But I put in real highways, clubs and such. Another novel takes place where I live. So I am putting in places, roads, highways, ranch areas that are real. But I also included a couple of made up dance clubs. I know there a few here but I'm not involved with dance scene here or anywhere.
Laura Resnick has studied New York and put in a few things that are real but added an off broadway theater and local characters.
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I would think that an online forum like this one would be a gold mine for finding out about places you've never been. Some time back someone asked a question about a location, I believe it was a high rise in Hong Kong, and got several replies from people that knew the area. That is probably the best option. Contacting the Chamber of Commerce of a town orcity or the Department of Tourism if they are large enough might get you more information. Inevitably you are going to get something wrong if you are writing about somewhere that you don't know. If it's small enough and your story is good enough, most people are going to overlook it or even feel special that they noticed something that no one else did. Occasionally you will get a troll. I remember reading a comment from someone, I believe it was on Twitter although I don't remember for sure, that was outraged because Jim had written about the neighborhood that they lived in and they thought it was falsely negative. I think most people just ignored them as a troll.
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I would think that an online forum like this one would be a gold mine for finding out about places you've never been. Some time back someone asked a question about a location, I believe it was a high rise in Hong Kong, and got several replies from people that knew the area. That is probably the best option. Contacting the Chamber of Commerce of a town orcity or the Department of Tourism if they are large enough might get you more information. Inevitably you are going to get something wrong if you are writing about somewhere that you don't know. If it's small enough and your story is good enough, most people are going to overlook it or even feel special that they noticed something that no one else did. Occasionally you will get a troll. I remember reading a comment from someone, I believe it was on Twitter although I don't remember for sure, that was outraged because Jim had written about the neighborhood that they lived in and they thought it was falsely negative. I think most people just ignored them as a troll.
M-m-mr. Butcher got something wrong?! QQ My dreams are shattered. LOL JK Yeah, some people just have way too much time on their hands to get ticked off over such small nuances like that. Sometimes it's even good for a laugh. My mom loves the Dick Van Dyke murder mystery, Diagnosis Murder. We just started giggling when they proudly pronounced the Capital of Wyoming... Casper. XD The replies to this have been very helpful. (Y) Thanks guys!! (Other posters feel free to add more though, as I'm an insatiably curious beast, LOL)
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Occasionally you will get a troll. I remember reading a comment from someone, I believe it was on Twitter although I don't remember for sure, that was outraged because Jim had written about the neighborhood that they lived in and they thought it was falsely negative. I think most people just ignored them as a troll.
Of course Butcher gets Trolls, haven't you read his first story???
Clears throat and ducks. :)
Anyway, I'm not sure if Butcher got that neighborhood wrong, it could be just one person's prejudice since they lived there.
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My point exactly.
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Next to Jim Butcher's Livejournal, I have found THE most invaluable writing resource around:
http://www.scribophile.com/ (http://www.scribophile.com/)
Here's how it works:
You critique other people's works to earn 'Karma'. When you have enough Karma, you post your own work (In segments if your work is over 3k words. Makes it easier to critique.) This necessitates everyone getting critiqued at least once, and usually more than that due to the spotlight system. It's free to join, and you have two slots to upload works, but if you pay the $9.00 a month for Premium, you can have unlimited slots. Either way works fine. (There are a few extra perks with Premium, but nothing you absolutely have to have. It just gives you more options for streamlining critiquer responses to get the most information out of them.)
I wish I had known about this back when I was submitting my writings. Awesome, AWESOME site!!
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Scribophile looks interesting, but I would actually suggest Book Country (http://bookcountry.com/). It's a critique/discussion community for genre writers, set up by Penguin, but completely separate from them. The process there is that to post your work, you review/critique 3 pieces, and then your work will be public. You can post as much or as little as you want, and different people can view different amounts--nonmembers can see about 3000 words, members can see about 10,000, I think, and I believe contacts can see all of it. Plus, when they were setting up the site, they spoke with agents, editors, etc, to make sure posting wouldn't change first publishing rights or chances of getting picked up, or anything.
They will not allow anyone under 18, though, but on twitter, they've linked to http://writeonteens.com/ (http://writeonteens.com/) for anyone under.
Oh, one of the main people behind it is Colleen Lindsay, who used to be an agent and has worked for several of the publishers.
The big thing I consider a good reason for going there--two authors have been picked up--Kerry Schafer and Michael R Underwood--both with at least 2 books contracted. Underwood's book, Geekomancy, came out from Pocket Star this past Tuesday so it could be hyped at SDCC.
Which reminds me, I should review some stuff so I can start putting up my draft.
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Scribophile looks interesting, but I would actually suggest Book Country (http://bookcountry.com/). It's a critique/discussion community for genre writers, set up by Penguin, but completely separate from them. The process there is that to post your work, you review/critique 3 pieces, and then your work will be public. You can post as much or as little as you want, and different people can view different amounts--nonmembers can see about 3000 words, members can see about 10,000, I think, and I believe contacts can see all of it. Plus, when they were setting up the site, they spoke with agents, editors, etc, to make sure posting wouldn't change first publishing rights or chances of getting picked up, or anything.
They will not allow anyone under 18, though, but on twitter, they've linked to http://writeonteens.com/ (http://writeonteens.com/) for anyone under.
Oh, one of the main people behind it is Colleen Lindsay, who used to be an agent and has worked for several of the publishers.
The big thing I consider a good reason for going there--two authors have been picked up--Kerry Schafer and Michael R Underwood--both with at least 2 books contracted. Underwood's book, Geekomancy, came out from Pocket Star this past Tuesday so it could be hyped at SDCC.
Which reminds me, I should review some stuff so I can start putting up my draft.
:O COOL!!
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One item I did pickup, and actually use, is called ‘ginger’. It’s supposed to be proofreading/grammar software. It's not perfect by a long shot but it does call attention to potential problem areas. It doesn't handle profession or trade specific jargon well, but it catches stuff my brain would skip over. This one you might find worth trying and it's free.
It's free and you can get Ginger Here (http://www.gingersoftware.com/)
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I came across this blog via a link on the Passive Voice Blog (http://www.thepassivevoice.com (http://www.thepassivevoice.com)) In this entry, the blogger lists several paid/free editing software that you might find useful. The post is at http://virginiaripple.com/paid-and-free-editing-software/ (http://virginiaripple.com/paid-and-free-editing-software/) I've tried the two free ones, and while they won't replace a human editor, they should help eliminate some of the more obivious problems.
Craig
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Just started the scrivener for windows trial - it is awesome.
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Here's a tool for your terrorist thriller / post apocalyptic genres:
http://nuclearsecrecy.com/nukemap/
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Hello everyone. I just joined this forum as suggested by my friends. I have been trying to write a novel for years now with no real progress. I was amazed to find that there was so many resources out there. I found this post very helpful and I hope to find the right tool out of the many that were posted on here.
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Are there any good apps for android that might help?
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Three that help me.
Dropbox, to access my files by phone. Save to dropbox in .rtf.
Coolreader to read those files.
Ivona text-to-speech, and I have the phone read my the story on my headset at work. Lets me catch things that the eye would miss but the ear picks up on. Great for listening to regular ebooks too.
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(I'm glad there's a bit of a nubie alert along with these post saying I'm new to all of this...)
I'm not sure if this goes here or not, especially since it's not necessarily a tool for writing but rather perhaps more for marketing. But I got iMovie for the iPhone (it's probably available for android and microsoft as well -- I don't know how useful that link is here).
With it I was able to easily put together this trailer for my book. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zny7-KgW8CI&safe=active
I'm still very new to all of this, but all of the reaction that I've gotten back so far has been extremely positive.
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That might be Scrivener: http://www.literatureandlatte.com/scrivener.html (http://www.literatureandlatte.com/scrivener.html)
That's it! - Mickey
I read this post a while back, and I can't tell you how much it helped me. I'd only worked on short stories before, and wanted to work on a book. Doing it with MSWord was looking like a headache, so I came here to see what others used. I checked out Scrivener, used it for the trial period, and have been hooked ever since.
I'm still working on the book, and Scrivener (for the PC) has been a tremendous help. I love the layout, and the way the manuscript works, it makes everything easy. I've got character templates set up, and the story broken into different acts/folders with a new text page for each chapter.
If anyone is just getting started, I'd recommend taking a look at Scrivener. It's probably not for everyone, but I'm fairly disorganized, and its helped keep me going.
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I read this post a while back, and I can't tell you how much it helped me. I'd only worked on short stories before, and wanted to work on a book. Doing it with MSWord was looking like a headache, so I came here to see what others used. I checked out Scrivener, used it for the trial period, and have been hooked ever since.
I'm still working on the book, and Scrivener (for the PC) has been a tremendous help. I love the layout, and the way the manuscript works, it makes everything easy. I've got character templates set up, and the story broken into different acts/folders with a new text page for each chapter.
If anyone is just getting started, I'd recommend taking a look at Scrivener. It's probably not for everyone, but I'm fairly disorganized, and its helped keep me going.
This is fantastic. Glad it helps. Now get back to work on that novel ;)
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This is fantastic. Glad it helps. Now get back to work on that novel ;)
That I am. My post was my celebration for completing my first draft. Alas, now comes the hard part.
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I read this post a while back, and I can't tell you how much it helped me. I'd only worked on short stories before, and wanted to work on a book. Doing it with MSWord was looking like a headache, so I came here to see what others used. I checked out Scrivener, used it for the trial period, and have been hooked ever since.
I'm still working on the book, and Scrivener (for the PC) has been a tremendous help. I love the layout, and the way the manuscript works, it makes everything easy. I've got character templates set up, and the story broken into different acts/folders with a new text page for each chapter.
If anyone is just getting started, I'd recommend taking a look at Scrivener. It's probably not for everyone, but I'm fairly disorganized, and its helped keep me going.
I've been preaching gospel on Scrivener to everyone I know on facebook. Seriously... that program has saved me soooo much grief, between backing up every 5 seconds and letting me instantly compile a manuscript into kindle, nook, or any other format... can't recommend it enough.
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Heyla PG.
Is Scrivener expensive and how much room do you need
on a computer for it?
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It was like 30 bucks when I got it, might be up to 40. Pretty compact and efficient program. Dropbox is free.
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Sounds good.
What's DropBox?
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Not to be taken seriously, but maybe this would gnerate a few thoughts.... ;D
http://kaction.com/ (http://kaction.com/)
Craig
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Sounds good.
What's DropBox?
Dropbox is a free cloud drive, I can save to it from any of my computers or phone, then retrieve docs from the other devices.
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Right now Story Bundle has a Nanowrimo Writing Tools bundle out. It includes twelve different books about writing. You can find it here: http://storybundle.com/nano (http://storybundle.com/nano) Check it out. It has a 35 days and a few hours left as of the time of this post.
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This may be a good place to post Facebook accounts of people you may wish to follow to hear good stuff about writing publishing and conventions and such. Note that the personal accounts of authors I'm tossing out there I'm merely assuming they're go "Another follower! Yay! Approved"....this isn't a coordinated effort.
Also note personal accounts will of course contain politics, random stuff, etc, not just writing info.
Aaron de Orive (Screenwriter, Author, major writer for both Sony & Bioware Star Wars MMORPGs) https://www.facebook.com/adeorive?fref=nf
Dead Robot's Society (Podcast on writing): https://www.facebook.com/groups/drspodcast/
Me: https://www.facebook.com/Michael.Ashleigh.Finn
Tex Thompson (Author doesn't QUITE describe her...force of nature?) https://www.facebook.com/texianne?fref=hovercard
Ryan Marshall Maresca (Fantasy Author): https://www.facebook.com/marshall.maresca?fref=tl_fr_box&pnref=lhc.friends
Jayme Lynn Blaschke (Science Fiction/Fantasy author) https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=29628984&fref=nf&pnref=story
Mel. White (scientist, helped create the internet, did Duncan & Mallory...basically a jack of all trades) https://www.facebook.com/melwhite99
Rhonda Eudaley (Redhead of the Apocolypse, small press, short stories, just got a novel out, weird fiction and urban fantasy) https://www.facebook.com/reudaly
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For our aspiring self publishing writers, this blog post gives links to resources/guidelines on what reasonable rates should be for various publishing freelance work (editing and such)
http://www.victoriastrauss.com/2016/03/18/how-do-freelance-editors-get-paid/