Wednesday Writer: Diary of Ehmdav

I happened upon this blog post concerning Fallout 3, which I enjoyed playing a year ago. The author makes a valid argument to the creative sparks that fly when you play videos games, provide you do a bit of roleplaying.

I admit the post caught my interest since I enjoy playing Fallout 3 myself. I agree, wholeheartedly, that playing video games often spark story ideas, or allows me to wonder on the storyline in the game, perspective of the non-player characters, or asking many ‘what if…?” scenarios, as well.

Many posts bring up interesting topics, written in a witty style;

What, Exactly, Is a Career Woman?

The Sims 3: A Good Game for Writers

Technorati Tags: diaryofehmdav,writer wednesday,authors,blogger,links,publish,fictions,storytelling,gaming

Hibernation for writers

This time of year, after daylight savings time, I tend to go through a phase of wanting to curl in beneath the warm covers (preferably an electric blanket) and hibernate for a few weeks. Feeling constant exhaustion seeps into my day to day routines, hindering creativity but more so, it saps motivation.

So to cheer myself up…and I hope you enjoy this as I do;

Source: blog.grammarly.com via Sharon on Pinterest

Source: qsprn.com via Sharon on Pinterest

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Source: tatteredcover.tumblr.com via Sharon on Pinterest

Source: j6design.com.au via Carrie Chwierut on Pinterest

 

Technorati Tags: links,writer,edit,funny,pinterest,authors

Writer Wednesday: The Book Designer

The Book Designer is an interesting web sites that offers a number of blog posts on all things design for books. This includes ebooks as well printed books, from the cover to even the interior.

Check out the “10 Quick Tips To Get Your Manuscript Ready For Publication”.

Their Articles page includes a massive amount of links for all sorts of publishing and design information.

Technorati Tags: Writer,Book,Designer,Check,Quick,Tips,Manuscript,Ready,Publication,links,Technorati,Articles,authors,ebooks
WordPress Tags: Writer,Book,Designer,Check,Quick,Tips,Manuscript,Ready,Publication,links,Technorati,Articles,authors,ebooks

Sick as a walrus but some handy links

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.

Typealyzer.com- Psycho analyze your writing

I found this site, Texalyzer.com, rather interesting. Since I maintain different blogs, and try to write with different styles, I input the different blogs I maintain. When I input three different blogs, they each got a different report.

A Writer’s Journey-

The independent and problem-solving type. They are especially attuned to the demands of the moment and are highly skilled at seeing and fixing what needs to be fixed. They generally prefer to think things out for themselves and often avoid inter-personal conflicts.
The Mechanics enjoy working together with other independent and highly skilled people and often like seek fun and action both in their work and personal life. They enjoy adventure and risk such as in driving race cars or working as policemen and firefighters.

Frootbat31’s Roost- my personal blog

The entertaining and friendly type. They are especially attuned to pleasure and beauty and like to fill their surroundings with soft fabrics, bright colors and sweet smells. They live in the present moment and don´t like to plan ahead – they are always in risk of exhausting themselves.
The enjoy work that makes them able to help other people in a concrete and visible way. They tend to avoid conflicts and rarely initiate confrontation – qualities that can make it hard for them in management positions.

Learnthepc.net blog- My business blog

The organizing and efficient type. They are especially attuned to setting goals and managing available resources to get the job done. Once they have made up their mind on something, it can be quite difficult to convince otherwise. They listen to hard facts and can have a hard time accepting new or innovative ways of doing things.
The Guardians are often happy working in highly structured work environments where everyone knows the rules of the job. They respect authority and are loyal team players.

As you can see, they vary greatly. One might think they are written by different crazy people but I hope this illustrates how, as a writer, you must write towards your audience.

Try it, and post your results.

Technorati Tags: anaylyze writing,blog,writing,author,styles,voice

Tuesday Tip: Writing Distraction Free

I admit I get distracted from writing. The lure of pretty much anything tugs me from my concentration and I end up multitasking a frenzy of activity that really doesn’t go very far. This led me to the subject of ‘distraction free writing’ and how that works.

Distraction free writing offers the writer a very basic text-only area to type out the words. No toolbars, buttons, or graphics to distract you from your goal.

As I write in MS Word I have six toolbars up, with a browser open to Dictionary.com, Evernote, and a cup of Hazelnut coffee at the ready. So when I find a number of web sites or programs that offer nothing but a text area in which to type, I sit staring at the emptiness feeling a bit lonely.

For myself, its not toolbars, or extra programs that distract me. Its phones ringing, doorbells, family needing something, pets wanting attention, a busy schedule, and a never ending list of things to do. No amount of ‘distraction free’ environments will trick me into thinking I should be writing with so much to do.

What I need is the fortitude to get it done, to simply focus on what is important, what takes priority. As one member of my group pointed out “You shouldn’t have to drag yourself to write”, and I agree. Writing shouldn’t be the dreaded chore of churning out words.

Writing should be the joyous escape of the mundane, to explore the ‘what if’ possibilities of our imaginations. And as so many published authors often share as a tip; you write without that inner editor…and just write.

My best writing time is at night- no distraction of phones or people at the door, or my son, pets, or husband to bug me. I can even leave my email alone.

Which just goes to prove you need to first focus on what distracts you subsequently deciding on how to remove those distractions.

Five Best Distraction Free Writing Tools covers some programs and services that provide distraction free writing.

SimpleText provides an example of a web based, distraction free environment. As does the Write or Die feature, that includes a timer to get you writing.

Technorati Tags: writing,nanowrimo,writer,author,procrastination,writer’s block