I know… the Writer Wednesday is a bit late, but I find this site only today… The Writer’s Forensics Blog offers a number of posts on the strange and dark area of forensics.
If you write crime or even scenes of death, you should know the facts about it. This is where the blog comes in; corpses, murder, blood….its all there.
Take a look at the Links for Writers page, which is extensive as it is informative. I might find inspiration to write a murder mystery…
Filed under Author, Blog, Handy Links and Resources, Links, resources, Writer, Writer Wednesday
Here are some apps I use and how I use them as a writer;
Iphone also includes in the IOS already;
Voice memo- This is great to talk your way through scenes, store character profiles, or take notes.
The Camera can easily take pictures you can use later for scenes, or take photos of potential characters, or snap a picture of clothing/objects you want to use in your novel.
Some tips to use phone apps and writing;
What apps do you use? Post in comments.
Filed under Handy Links and Resources, resources, Writer
If you’re a blogger, or better yet- a writer and a blogger- consider submitting your blog to Amazon Kindle Publishing for Blogs and adding a badge to your site.
Its easy with Newstex, which also offers a graphical button for Blogs on demand. Their Kindle badges are eye-catching, free, and I found pretty easy to add. Simply insert as HTML snippet or widget.
I’ve added this blog as well as three others, and make a little money without marketing much at all. More people subscribe through email or ‘follow’ me, but some people enjoy reading via their Ipad or Iphones.
My tips for writer/bloggers who want to publish their blogs;
What do you think? Do you think you’ll publish your blog, or are you satisfied at your blog stands now? Post in comments.
Filed under Blog Mention, Friday Fun Tip, Handy Links and Resources, Links, Publishing, resources, Writer
Nothing takes the place of actual feedback on your writing. You should know that feedback generally involves three stages from the initial impression of the manuscript, to plot, theme, and other elements, to the final stage of grammar and punctuation.
This is where I like Paperrater.com. Don’t get me wrong- no program really offers 100% accuracy in this area. Why? Mainly because it doesn’t recognize that sometimes, its ok to break the writing rules. Sometimes, its okay to use passive voice, or slang, or informal language.
As always “Know the writer’s rules to understand when you can break them”.
That being said, the site offers a nice FREE service where you can cut and paste large section of writing and have the service rate it. You get a handy report that breaks it all down as well.
I’ve looked at a site called grammarly.com as well (which seems to be down right now), but I find their free version limits the words you can have checked, and then you find fees start to accrue.
Post in comments your thoughts on automatic, robot-driven paper checkers, or your own experiences with this type of service.
Filed under Editing, Handy Links and Resources, Links, Review, Writer
So I caught my son’s cold this weekend, and just as I assured myself that it couldn’t feel worse, it does. Whatever plans this weekend were cancelled, and I remained housebound, blowing my nose, snuffling like a walrus, coughing, aching, and cursing my bad luck.
I’m finding, however, this lack of being able to do much of anything tends to clog up the creative juices. I was on such a roll last week, too. I nearly finished reworking a short story to publish, and had two more ideas for short stories ‘in the works’. That, too, came to a screeching halt.
Darn you, stupid cold germs!
So I offer a few links to interesting articles instead of anything creative or interesting on my part;
PaperGrader- online analyzer of your writing. I love using these things to see where I’ve gone wrong, and more often than not, where I’ve gone right.
Kindle Blog Publisher- want to add your blog to Kindle? Its easy, free, and you can earn a bit of money without being obnoxious about it.
Kindle-singles publishing site- If you have a story read to publish, check out this site. Remember to read through guidelines.
Free printable blog planner- I use Evernote and a MS Word spreadsheet to organize myself, but this is handy too.
Writing Tips at OpenLearn- tons of interesting and informative articles on writing.
Querytracker- find agents and publishers for your work.
Filed under Editing, Handy Links and Resources, Links, Publishing, resources, Writer
You find them in various places, handing out by authors, editors, and publishers like some tasty tidbits of sage knowledge, but the reality is that, for the most part, writing rules are more guidelines than laws for writing.
You should learn writing rules to know when and how to break them.
There’s a certain logic to some rules. Don’t start with backstory, don’t start with a prologue, don’t slow the writing down with too much description. These type of rules are making easier reading for the reader.
Other rules are based on cliché. For instance, don’t start a story with the weather. This is because of the number of stories already who went in that direction so now it’s a predictable method of starting a story. As you want your story to stand out, you want to avoid predictability and cliché.
If, however, your story includes a family wiped out from a hurricane, then writing about that is pertinent, even essential, to the plot. You would then consider starting the story about the weather.
Find out why the rule was setup in the first place. Rules offer purpose, and reason as to why they are rules in the first place. Take for instance the rules to formatting your manuscript; you need to generally have double spaces, 1-inch margins, in Times New Roman font (or Courier). This is necessary if you’re publishing with a brick-and-mortar publishing company. The double spaced, 1-inch margins allow for editing and notes by an editor/agent. The type of font helps for readability.
If, however,you are self-publishing, the only formatting you need to know is how to format for that specific self-publishing medium. Ebooks would look pretty silly with double spaces. Some allow for various fonts. They have guidelines, so make sure to follow them when publishing.
Don’t get overwhelmed with the rules. If you look up the many lists of ‘writer rules’ suggested by authors, editors, and publishers, you can find yourself a bit overwhelmed by them all. You might also notice the number of books in print already that breaks every one of them. This is why you learn the rules to know when to break them.
Take it step by step and write through the process. You have a story to tell, and focus on finishing before you rein in your creativity with rules.
10 Writing Rules You Can’t Break…and How to Break Them
Writing Rules: 10 Experts Take On The Writer’s Rulebook (By Writer’s Digest)
What are your thoughts? Learn em to break em, or do you feel you should follow them as law?
Writer’s Prompt:
In the picture, consider if it was a book cover. What titles can you come up with to illustrate what the book is about?
Filed under Friday Fun Tip, Handy Links and Resources, Links, Prompt, Writer
:: 
:: 
:: 
:: 
:: 
:: 
:: 
:: 
:: 
:: 
| A Writer's Journey Ring Owner: S. Poffinberger Site: A Writer's Journey |
||||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Get Your Free Site Ring by Bravenet.com |
||||
