9 Helpful Tips for writing:
LEARNING ALL ABOUT SCRIVENER
By Natalie Bright
Re-typing 15,000 words for Book #2 of a middle grade adventure series set in the Wild West into Scrivener this week. At present, I write everything in Microsoft Word, including this blog post. It’s going to be a huge learning curve to retrain my brain.
SCRIVENER
“Scrivener is a powerful content-generation tool for writers that allows you to concentrate on composing and structuring long and difficult documents. While it gives you complete control of the formatting, its focus is on helping you get to the end of that awkward first draft.” http://www.literatureandlatte.com/scrivener.php
I heard about Scrivener when I discovered a great podcast for indie authors: thecreativepenn.com Thriller author, Joanna Penn and several of her guests, claim to have greatly increased productivity by using this writing software.
Here’s what I really like about Scrivener:
The price! Only $40.
The ability to see my entire novel in a notecard format on the corkboard view. Each notecard can be labeled by chapter or scene, with notations for that scene or plot point. Attached to that notecard can be images, links for research, and the scene or chapter manuscript itself. Since I’m adding a mystery element to the WIP book, it helps me plan where I need to take the story.
I also like the project outline view which shows chapter and word count.
Image Credit: Tinted index cards on the corkboard view from http://www.simplyscrivener.com
Editing Your Story made Easy
Scenes rarely come in sequential order. My writing brain has never worked that way. If you’re like me, elements of your current work in progress can hit you at the worst possible times. My brain is a swirl of images as the story plays out in my head. It’s usually coming faster than I can stop whatever I’m doing to jot a note. I’ve scribbled notes on lunch napkins, bank deposit slips, and grocery check-out receipts. Everything else in my life is structured and planned, but I’ve never been able to write a book from point A to point B to point C and so on.
With Scrivener, it’s really easy to find the place where that additional imagery or dialogue needs to be added. I can gather up all of my notes, and using the corkboard view, I can find right where the edits will fit. No more scrolling through a 60 page Word doc or sifting through stacks of printed pages trying to find a particular scene.
I’ll keep you posted on how this goes and what I’m learning.
Is anybody out there using Scrivener? Please share your thoughts, tips, likes, or dislikes.
Writing onward…
POST CARDS FROM THE MUSE
The List
By Nandy Ekle
The best place in the world to find inspiration to write is from those who have proven themselves to be brilliant geniuses, masters in the field. Here is a list of those authors who, when I read their work, I forget to breathe.
Stephen King
JK Rowling
Neil Gaiman
Nora Roberts
James Patterson
Diane Setterfield
Terry Brooks
Piers Anthony
Anne Rule
Janet Evanovich
Mary Stewart
Dr Seuss
Moe Willems
JA Applegate
RL Stein
Ray Bradbury
Gillian Flynn
This is by no means exhaustive as I’ve had 50 years experience as a reader. And I’m always looking for new masters and stories to get lost in.
Tell me whose work gives you goosebumps, thrills, and makes you swoon with joy?
Congratulations. You have just received a post card from the muse.
MacGuffin
by Adam Huddleston
Last week, I presented a blog concerning a plot device known as the “red herring”. This week, let’s quickly look at another: the MacGuffin.
The term, often incorrectly attributed to Alfred Hitchcock (though he did use it often), refers to a main goal that the protagonist is pursuing in a story and which may or may not be important to the overall plot. I retrieved these examples from Wikipedia: the meaning of “rosebud” in Citizen Kane (1941); the NOC list in Mission: Impossible (1996); the Rabbit’s Foot in Mission: Impossible III (2006); the Heart of the Ocean necklace in Titanic; and the mineral unobtainium in Avatar (2009).
Hitchcock did have an interesting quote concerning the MacGuffin:
“It might be a Scottish name, taken from a story about two men on a train. One man says, “What’s that package up there in the baggage rack?” And the other answers, “Oh, that’s a MacGuffin”. The first one asks, “What’s a MacGuffin?” “Well,” the other man says, “it’s an apparatus for trapping lions in the Scottish Highlands.” The first man says, “But there are no lions in the Scottish Highlands,” and the other one answers, “Well then, that’s no MacGuffin!” So you see that a MacGuffin is actually nothing at all.”
I hope this adds to your writing vocabulary!
Outtakes 241
More Gods and Myths
by Cait Collins
I have this habit of buying books by my favorite authors and keep stacking them in the bookcases, on my desk, and on the floor until I find time to read them. Things have started slowing down, so I’m attacking the stacks. And I must say I’ve found a gem — MAGNUS CHASE and the GODS of ASGARD THE SWORD OF SUMMER. Rick Riordan has done it again by creating teen characters and pitting them against the Norse gods.
Magnus Chase is a homeless teenage boy living in Boston. His mother is murdered, he’s lost touch with his two uncles, and his father is the Norse god, Frey, the God of spring and summer; the sun and the rain; harvest; abundance and fertility. Only Chase is unaware of his demigod status until his 16th birthday. The day he died and was carried to Valhalla by the Valkyrie, Samirah al-Abbas, better known as Sam.
Chase, Sam, and Chase’s guardians Hearthstone and Blitzen have eight days to rebind Fenris Wolf, stop Ragnarok, stop Loki, and save the nine worlds. Odin is missing. Thor is, well not what I expected, and giants run amuck. Chase must make nice with the Sword of Summer and learn to control it. It’s a big job but someone has to do it. The story is told with irreverent humor as befits a teenagers and misfit adults. It’s a great read and good fun. Trouble is I’m going to need a Guide to Norse Gods and Goddesses before the series is done. Some of the names are similar, the families confuse me, but I know Riordan will lead me through the mazes and bring me out on the other side.
I’ve been a big fan of Riordan’s since reading the PERCY JACKSON and the OLYMPIANS series, and THE HEROES OF OLYMPUS series based on Greek and Roman mythology. He also wrote the popular KANE CHRONICLES, a three-book series with the gods of Egypt. What I have appreciated about these books is Riordan’s ability to teach mythology without preaching mythology. I remember my high school literature classes and the groans when the Greek and Roman Mythology books were handed out. There was no spark to the lessons. The readings were as dry and dead as desert sands. While I did well in the subject, I can’t say I enjoyed it. Now I eagerly await each release. Greek, Roman, Egyptian, or Norse, mythology is a blast.
What if I Fail as a Writer?
Rory C. Keel
So you want to be a writer but you’re afraid of failure. Perhaps your dream is to write a novel, publish an article in a magazine, or write a famous screenplay but the idea of failing keeps you from ever starting. Putting the “cart before the horse,” as they say, can skew a person’s thinking.
Here are five steps to help realign your thinking so you can achieve your dream of success.
Achieving any goal is like walking up a staircase, it has to be one step at a time. Honestly assess where you are in your writing skills. Do you understand grammar and sentence structure? Perhaps you’re farther along and need to work on story telling or plotting?
By knowing where you are on the staircase of writing, you can know what your next step is. That next step is success.
2. Reaching the next step can be difficult.
Famous authors such as Stephen King, Charles Frazier, Larry McMurtry, J.K. Rowling didn’t reach fame in one day. It takes hours of putting one word next to another, days of sitting in a chair, months of research and rewriting, and sometimes years of waiting for a project to be noticed. Take one step today and another tomorrow and you will be successful.
3. You will run into obstacles.
Have you ever walked through the house in the dark to get a drink from the kitchen and stubbed your toe on the coffee table? Immediately you scream OBSTACLES!
Understand there will be hindrances to your writing such as finding time to write, family members that need attention, or even the need to make a living and pay the bills.
That’s life. These things still exist for famous authors, they have just learned to prioritize and deal with them.
4. Surround yourself with other writers.
By surrounding yourself with other writers, you set yourself up to succeed. Learn from others who have what you want. Success is a level small or great not a final ending. So when you associate with those who desire to write and have a mindset to accomplish goals, you become motivated to move along with them. Famous authors haven’t reached the pinnacle, they only have a greater level of what you can achieve in a small step tomorrow – SUCCESS!
5. Never, ever, give up on your dream.
“Lots of people limit their possibilities by giving up easily. Never tell yourself this is too much for me. It’s no use. I can’t go on. If you do, you’re licked, and by your own thinking, too. Keep believing and keep on keeping on.” — Norman Vincent Peale
AUTHOR RIGHTS
By Natalie Bright
One of my 2015 writing goals was to find a home for a self-published eBook about grief based on our experience of dealing with the loss our first born son. A small press expressed interest. While I waited for the contract, I schooled myself on understanding the rights that I’d be willing to relinquish for a traditional publishing deal.
What are You Willing to SIGN AWAY?
Publishing companies have to make money. I totally understand how this big business works. They are able to make money via manuscripts produced by writers. It’s a fascinating and frustrating industry, mixing the creations of our hearts with hard, cold finance, but that’s the reality.
Consider the prestige of having a publisher choose YOU. It is very exciting and does wonders for your ego, and then consider what you might be giving away. In my research, I learned that some publishers take rights that they never exploit, and perhaps never intend to. For example, a small, local press may not have the resources to sell your book in multiple languages so why would you grant, transfer and assign all of your foreign rights?
Here’s a sample list of possible rights already owned by you as creator and that are associated with your work:
Hardback editions
Paperback editions
Electronic rights
First world English rights
British, European, or Australian rights
Translation rights, or language rights
Exclusive use rights
Publication or sale by book clubs
Reprint rights
Publication in digests
Publication in condensations
Publication in anthologies
Publication in compilations
Serial rights
Dramatic, multimedia, television, and motion picture rights
Internet distribution rights
Archival rights
eBooks, Kindle, Nook, and other electronic distribution rights
Audio, mechanical, and visual reproduction
Computer programs
Microprint
Microfiche
Microfilm editions
Syndication rights
Permission rights for quotations, excerpts, illustrations
Merchandising rights
Any media hereinafter created
Resources
For more information, there’s a great article at writing-world.com by Marg Gilks, “Rights: What They Mean and Why They’re Important.”
Check out thecreativepenn.com for several excellent podcasts with Joanna Penn on this topic and loads of other topics relating to Indie Publishing. Her FREE Author 2.0 Blueprint is full of helpful information.
POST CARDS FROM THE MUSE
Mysteries
By Nandy Ekle
Of all the genres of stories, I really think mysteries are the most fun. You start by introducing your character and the inciting incident, which is usually a crime. Then the rest of the story is like a jigsaw puzzle. The reader is busy trying to put the puzzle together, and when the final piece falls into place, they are either surprised because they didn’t see it coming, or they’re satisfied because they knew it all along.
But, when you stop and think about it, every story is a mystery. It has to be. If your reader opens a book and knows the whole backstory, the whole future story, and everything in between, what fun is that? Even a tale we call predictable is still a mystery. If it’s done correctly, the reader has to go all the way to the end to prove they are right.
One of the ways to keep ‘em guessing is giving clues that might or might not lead them in the right direction. Now, I do not mean lie to your readers, because we must always be honest. But we can cross some signals.
We know that in real life, there are not clear-cut, all good points or all bad points. Every person has strengths and weaknesses. Heroes have flaws and villains have good points. And what we perceive as good or bad is not always the truth of the situation.
If you have a character named Bob who is short and balding, growing thick in the middle and wears bottle bottom glasses, what do you think about him? What if I told you he is middle-aged, been married 20 years to the same woman, and has three children who love and respect him? But the other side of the story is a new talent has shown up, and because of this he is gone most evenings, telling his wife he is working late. When he comes in he smells like cigarette smoke, perfume, and he’s so tired he can barely stay awake. What do you think about him now?
So, in the final scene, when he jumps through a plate glass window during a hostage situation in a restaurant, followed by his secretary who as become his assistant, and together they rescue the hostages and seize the real bad guys, is that what you were expecting?
Did you notice that his wife is one of the hostages that he saves?
Congratulations. You have just received a post card from the muse.
Red Herring
by Adam Huddleston
Just thought I’d throw another literary device your way. You may have heard the phrase “red herring”. A red herring is defined as:
something, especially a clue, that is or is intended to be misleading or distracting.
The use of red herrings in writing can be quite effective in harnessing the reader’s interest. It also enhances the overall experience by providing surprises along the plotline. One word of advice however: make sure your red herrings are real. What I mean is, keep your writing sharp, clear, and free of mistakes in the plot that accidentally lead the reader in the wrong direction. This can aggravate the reader and pull them out of the story.
Happy writing!
Outtakes 240
Why?
By Cait Collins
Your new novel is really coming along. You love your characters and they are beginning to gel. And then you realize you have four characters whose names begin with an “S”, three with names beginning with “C”, and two guys with names beginning with a “T”. Why do we get fixated on certain letters of the alphabet? Is it lazy or just happenstance? The more I think about it, the less I understand the quirk and the less I think it matters.
One of the first lessons I was taught in my creative writing classes was to avoid naming multiple characters using a single letter of the alphabet. While I grasp the concept, execution is not as easy. I’ve noticed that even multi-published authors follow the pattern and it works. So why stress over it? This is especially important when you’re one third of the way through the story and your deadline is looming. .By this time you are committed to the characters. You know them inside and out. And if you change the name to conform to a rule, do you risk losing the essence of the person?
Here’s my take on the situation. While I don’t recommend having multiple characters whose names begin with the same letter, you can still make it work. The trick is to make each character so memorable the reader overlooks the similarity in the names. The only time it matters is when you can’t tell Daffy, Donald, and Daisy apart.
Wordsmith Six 