More on my journey

I have been incredibly remiss on sharing my personal story about writing and getting published. I hope to remedy that this month by posting regular updates.

My daily vlog for April showed me that I can complete a challenge, so this month, I will be writing regularly and posting on this blog to let readers know about my journey, my frustrations, my successes (hopefully), and even setbacks.

What sort of story can I make of myself? I often wonder if I were a character in a book, would ‘she’ be a hero or villain? Would people care to follow along in her adventures? Does she even tackle her problems to overcome adversary and find her destination? That sort of shook me a bit.

No more excuses. Its go time! Carpe Diem! Tally-ho! And all that. I need to share more about my writer’s journey, and let my readers hop aboard to join in the ride.

I haven’t decided on details on how often to post, or what I’ll be posting exactly, but I will share more in future posts.

Wish me luck!

“Sharon mentally took inventory of the proper grammar, story lots, characters, and other tools she’d need on her journey. Time, creativity, and other abstracts intermingled with the inner editor, unceremoniously shoved into the inner pocket. His muffled protests went unnoticed, while the creative muse sat on the top, close to the ear, to whisper ideas and share her magic.

Taking a deep breath, the would-be author set fingers in the proper placement on the keyboard. “Let’s begin.” She whispered….”

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Chapter by Chapter program

In my “Daily Vlog Challenge”, I talked about the Chapter-by-Chapter program I use for compiling a novel. Its works similar to a ‘master document’ but without the bugs and issues, and helps organize scenes/chapters into single documents that also works with  ‘find-replace’ function for all files.

This program is free, works with MS Word 97 and later, and can work with Super Notecard as well.

Here is my video-

I’m thinking of also doing a video on the yWriter novel writing program I’ve used in the past, in case readers might be interested. If so, post in comments, or mention a program you’d like to see, or another topic.

Technorati Tags: chapter by chapter program,writing,author,novel,fictions,programs,ms word

Top 10 Things I Learned About Writing (includes video)

I’ve been working on this April Daily Vlog Challenge I put to myself, to vlog every day. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to talk about just one subject, but I decided to pick a few days out of each week to talk about writing.

The video “Top 10 Things I Learned About Writing” includes that which I discovered as truths to the writing process.

They are;

1. Doubt is part of the writing process.
2. You don’t need to start at the very beginning of a novel.
3. Good spelling, grammar, and punctuation are the tools of our trade- don’t underestimate them!
4. Learn the writing rules to better understand when and where you can break them.
5. Feedback is essential to the writing process.
6. There is no secret (no special trick) to writing.
7. Rejection is a part of the publishing process.
8. Self publishing is quickly losing its stigma as a publishing cheat.
9. Different genres of writing often have different rules.
10. Final drafts are crap (and should you shouldn’t expect them to be perfect)

In the video, I go over a bit more depth over each, but bear in mind that I’m still getting used to the vlogging medium, and a bit nervous still about presenting myself. I’d appreciate ideas, comments, feedback (constructive), and hope you enjoy the video.

 

WordPress Tags: video, writing, author, publishing, frootbat31, blog

Writing beyond your comfort zone

Comfort zones are comfy. They wrap us into familiarity and safety. However, you may find as a writer, you need to explore outside that comfort zone, to delve into the darker side of our selves, or even explore the unknown.

Try these;

- Write in another genre. Jumping into a new genre of writing strengthens the writing muscle, but also allows you to explore the unknown. You learn about new styles, but also new writing rules. For instance, science fiction follows different rules and expectations than romance or fantasy.

- Write a character that is nothing like you. Pick qualities that you feel are opposite or even conflicting to your own qualities. You can learn about motivation and write outside that comfort zone. Trying to make a character the protagonist give you a challenge as well.

- Don’t skip the parts you normally skip. I tend to avoid the gruesome scenes, or fight scenes. To write outside my comfort zone, I would expand my repertoire to include these less-than-likeable scenes.

- Push your limits. Write scenes that make you scared, angry, or uneasy. This will translate to your readers. Its about provoking feelings, to get the reader emotionally invested in the story.

See where these type of exercises can lead you, and don’t stay within your comfort zone. Be daring! Get out there and write some awesomeness!

Technorati Tags: comfort zone,writing,fictions,character,tips

Short story vs novels

I like the idea of writing short stories compared to novels. Either provide authors challenges as well as rewards, and today, I’d like to discuss them;

Short Stories

Challenges:

- Short stories are condensed plots. They quickly get to the point, and move along.

- Short stories tell the story within 10,000 words. For some plots, this can be a real challenge. Every word counts.

- Short stories offer hurdles in getting published, unless a magazine, or anthology.

- Short stories don’t earn as much as novels, but with the Internet and e-publishing, I think we’ll see changes in that regard.

Rewards:

- Short stories, obviously, don’t take the amount of time and rewrites as novels.

-Short stories have fewer characters to remember and wrangle.

- Short stories generally have one main conflict and perhaps an internal subplot.

Novels

Challenges:

- Novels range from 50,000 – 150,000 word story. This takes more time in drafting, rewriting, and editing the manuscript.

- Novels include a number of plots. This includes the main conflict, internal conflicts, and a series of subplots from various characters.

Rewards:

- Novels offer more space and time to draw out the story. You can explore, in depth, character and plot development.

- Novels earn more money, if and when you’re published.

- Novels offer a greater range of choice with word counts. Novellas run about 50,000 words, while novels run around 75,000-150,000.

I have a number of stories that expanded into novel length. I believe this is why short stories do not explain every little thing; its not necessary. You only include vital information to move the story along.

What’s your thoughts? Do you prefer short stories or novels? Have you written both? What tips or advice would you give would-be writers on the subject? Leave in comments.

How to write a short story

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Top 10 things you should know about word processors

Here are some of the most important things you need to know about word processors, as a writer;

1. Backup. MS Word and Open Office (and I’m sure other programs) offer a setting to back up your work. I highly recommend turning this feature ‘on’. You can set for certain times, such as every 5 minutes. This enables writers to automatically backup while they work.

Backup in MS Word (recent versions). You may need to look up your specific version of MS Word

How to create backup copy in Open office

2. Automatic saves. I know the word processors also provide the feature of automatically creating saves in timely increment. I think the default setting for MS Word is 10 minutes, but as a fast typer, I can lose quite a lot in 10 minutes. I changed it to every 5 minutes. This saves your work automatically while you work.

Autosave in MS Word

Autosave in Open office

3. Templates. Word processors offer tons of templates from the manufacturers but often times you can find users upload these to share on the Web. I’m including some links to writer-related templates; (Check your program version)

Book Manuscript and short story templates for MS Word.

Book manuscript template for Open Office

4. Find and replace feature. The find/replace feature works in nearly all word processing. You can find and replace just one event, or find all words and change as you desire. I’ve also used this feature, to find spacing or even symbols in the manuscript.

- Click Ctrl+F which will open a box to type in the word you wish to find.

Find and replace in MS Word

Find and replace in Open Office

5. Hotkeys or Keyboard shortcuts. I use these a lot when I type because it takes time to reach for the mouse to click and drag things. With hotkeys, you find the same commands do the same thing, and your hands stay on the keyboard. You can save, print, cut/copy/paste, highlight, insert auto text, change formatting, and so much more.

Hotkeys for MS Word

Hotkeys for Open office

6. You can change default settings for font and file format. Some writers find their word processor has the Ariel font as their default. Its better to change this to Times New Roman or Courier. Even Georgia and Bookman works pretty well. And why? Its to help make reading easier for the reader (or editor/agent).

The font size should also be 12 point.

How to change default font in MS Word

How to change font in Open Office

You should also think about the default save format of your document. Most settings for writers include RTF (rich text format) or DOC (MS Word), or TXT (text). Avoid using the default DOCX format.

Change other formatting settings in MS Word

7. Header and Footers. These are essential when formatting for submission. Each page should  include your last name, title, and page number. I find for my writer’s group, we also ask for email address so feedback can be sent to the author.

Headers in MS Word

Headers in Open office

8. Macros. Macros are programmable actions the program will do by assigned keys. For instance, in my journal document in MS Word, I was sick of adding the date, day of the week, and ‘goals’. I created a Macro which adds all of this with the simple Ctrl+PageUP key combo. Very handy.

Macros in MS Word, Macro for Windows XP

Macros for books

Macros in Open Office

9. Dictionary and Thesaurus. Did you know MS Word and Open Office include a built in dictionary and thesaurus? You can even edit words to include character names, settings, or odd words you’ve made up for your story. The thesaurus also helps the writer to find words that mean the same, if you’re at a loss for the right word.

How to remove a word in MS Word dictionary

Custom dictionaries for MS Word

How to use MS Thesaurus

Open office dictionaries- information about Openoffice dictionaries, how to install new ones, add thesaurus and more.

10. Spellcheck and grammar checking. I must preface this feature with a warning that programs are STUPID, they only do what they are programmed to do, and cannot use words in context. That being said, these features should not be the final method used in checking your writing.  The grammar also includes settings for formal and informal styles. For instance, you can choose the program to check for words like contractions (you’re vs you are). In some styles of writing, this is important.

Check spelling and grammar in Office

Top 10 tips for mastering MS Word’s spell check feature

Choose how spell check and grammar check work in MS Word

Spellcheck for Open office

I don’t think Open office has a grammar checker but you can find some online

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