Find the Perfect Name with Scrivener

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Find the Perfect Name with Scrivener

By Rory C. Keel

For several years now, I have been using the Scrivener writing program to do my writing. For me, it is the greatest program that allows me to outline, storyboard, edit and write all within a neatly organized package.

With all the bells and whistles, it would be hard to list them all or explain how to use them in one blog. However, I do want to share some of the interesting features this wonderful program holds.

Have your ever written a story with a character that needed a better name? You know, the Bob or Sally that would really make your story a bestseller if they had a better name.

Well, Scrivener can help you find that perfect name. Tucked neatly away in the Writing tools is a built-in name generator.

Here’s how you find it. Above the tool bar find the word “EDIT,” follow down the menu until you see the word “Writing Tools.” When you place your curser over the word a side menu should appear, and at the bottom you should see the “Name generator.”

With the click of your mouse or scroll pad, the Name Generator should appear in a small window.

The first decision you will need to make is how many names do you want the program to generate? You will see a scroll bar numbered from 1-500, simply slid the marker to number you want to choose from.

Next you will notice the small gear button near the bottom of the window, click it. At this point, you need to make several other choices, such as do you want MALE or FEMALE names? You can set alliteration options, number of forename or surnames, initials, and obscurity level of the names.

You will also find a menu to choose the ethnicity of the name you wish to find. Once you check the appropriate box or boxes, find the long button on the previous menu that says “Generate Names,” and click. The blank screen will suddenly fill with names from which to choose the right name for your character.

I hope you find the perfect name.

Roryckeel.com

Podcasts for Writers

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Podcasts for Writers

By Natalie Bright

Every morning during that first cup of coffee and then while I’m getting dressed, I’m listening to news about story craft, social media, or the publishing bizz. I’m late to this party, but feeling happy and amazed about discovering the world of podcasts.

Here’s a few of my favorites:

The Creative Penn Podcast

  • This podcast has taught me so much about social media and really inspired me to keep writing. Indie published authors are very saavy about the bizz and passionate about writing.

The Self Publishing Formula Podcast

  • This is a new show on the block with a bestselling indie author and a newbie author working on his first book. Their live broadcast from the London Book Fair was excellent.

Writing Excuses

  • Useful information in a 15-minute format. Perfect for your daily commute.

The Writing Renegade: The Podcast for Indie Writers

  • Discussions on writing, editing, publishing, marketing, interviews with successful authors, and more.

Authority Self-Publishing

  • Marketing, writing and Kindle publishing tips for authors

The Genealogy Gems Podcast with Lisa Louise Cooke

  • This because I write historical novels and I’m also working on my family genealogy. Practical tips for historical research. The resources and links are invaluable.

Happy listening WordsmithSix friends!

Meet the Author – Melanie Miller

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Meet the Author

 

Since the creation of WordsmithSix as a critique group, we have evolved in many ways. While every member is like family and brings their own valuable insights to the group, sometimes there are changes. Some of our members have moved on in their life’s journey, however their contributions continue to influence our writing forever. Others have filled the empty chairs and have started their journey into the world of writing.

Each member of WordsmithSix is excited about our writing journey. For the next few weeks we will dedicate a Sunday blog to letting our readers know a little more about who we are. Each author will be asked a few questions to help you understand their desire to write and what motivates them. Maybe their answers will influence you in your writing.

This week we want to highlight a young writer who has been a recent guest at our critique group. She has a great talent and we are sure that you will be seeing her writing in the near future.

Please welcome Melanie Miller.

Hello!

  1. When did you start writing?

I started writing in High School. My first attempt at writing a novel began when I was only a sophomore.

  1. Why did you choose the genre you write?

I write Young Adult Fiction because I love reading it, and I want to write something that my younger brother will enjoy.  Young Adult has some of the most fluid and dynamic characters–seeing how these characters grow and change makes me happy.

  1. What’s the best thing you’ve done to help your writing?

I went to the West Texas Writing Academy in 2015. Being there connected me with a bunch of writers and help me see that my writing aspirations were fully within my grasp.

  1. What’s your writing routine like?

Procrastination. I find that I am most inspired to do creative writing whenever I have something else that needs to be done. Like taxes. But normally, I will drag my self out of bed at six in the morning and write until I have to go to class.

  1. How do you reach that personal place that allows the writing to flow?

I usually go somewhere where I put on my headphones and sit with no distractions or friends trying to talk to me. After ten to thirty minutes of gutting out the words, things start to flow.

  1. Are you an outliner?

I don’t think I can be impartial when answering this. Whatever answer I come up with would be muddied by by own egocentric bias. Still. I would like to think that me and my writing style are different, but then again, who wouldn’t?

  1. What has been your biggest writing challenge?

Finding the will power to actually write. Actually sitting down and writing is the hardest thing in the world. There are a hundred-thousand distractions, especially if you work on a computer.

  1. What are you working on currently, future?

I am currently writing the first draft of my first novel. I also have tentative plans for two more books using this same world and main character. I also have several other commenting worlds and storylines that I plan on exploring in the future.

  1. What advice would you give to new writers?

Forge connections with writing groups. Once you get yourself in a strong writing group, it gives you reason and motivation to writing, even if that motivation is only to not be embarrassed by bringing in shoddy work or no work at all.

  1. What’s the most positive thing you could tell writers today?

The publishing business is becoming more and more accessible. With ebooks and online publishing, it is increasingly likely that your book will be published in some form or manner.

The Constant Reader

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POST CARD FROM THE MUSE

The Constant Reader

By Nandy Ekle

Anyone who reads Stephen King recognizes what a “constant reader” is. If you haven’t heard this phrase before, it’s the term of endearment Mr. King gives his fans, especially those of us who have been around since the 1970s, when Carrie came out, followed by Salem’s Lot, and then The Shining.

So what is it about his work that we crave? Some of his stories are unbelievable, some border on absolute silliness. But I find myself devouring even these as if they were coated with the fudge syrup I pour generously on my ice cream.

Well, I can tell you exactly why this genius’s words keep me glued to the page. And it’s exactly what I just said. He’s a genius with words. When a writer can make you gag with disgust after one sentence, that’s talent. If, after reading a page or two from a book, you find yourself hiding all the alphabet letters from the refrigerator, you’ve been immersed in greatness. If a hotel becomes a living character in a novel, and standing in the door of the hotel makes you feel like you’re shaking hands with a celebrity, that’s the work of a word genius.

My personal favorite Stephen King book is The Shining. In my opinion, this book is a masterpiece. I’ve read it more times than I can count, and I find a new layer every time I open the cover. The last time I read it I noticed something I had never noticed before. The first three or four chapters are back story. However, he does not info dump on us, the readers. What he does is place us inside the characters’ heads. We see, hear, feel, taste, smell, everything they do. And it’s in this state we learn why the characters are the way they are. And it is so real that it took me 30 plus years to analyze it.

In some places during the reveal of this backstory, Mr. King writes continuously without the interruption of punctuation. I believe the absence of commas, periods, and even spaces between words gives the feeling of swirling, as going down a drain.

And that’s incredible.

So, hear’s to you, Mr. King from a consummate Constant Reader.

Congratulations. You have just received a post card from the muse.

MacGuffin

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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!

Late for Work

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Outtakes 242

Late for Work

By Cait Collins

 

I just love authors whose stories almost make me late for work. I have this routine of getting up an hour early every morning so that I have 45 minutes to relax and read a good book. I know I have a good book when I look at the clock and realize I have thirty minutes to get ready for work. I know it’s a great book when I get home after ten hours at the office and grab my novel before starting dinner and read until bedtime or until I finish the novel.

I just finished reading Nora Roberts The Obsession.

Imagine being eleven years old and rescuing a woman who had been kidnapped, raped, tortured, and marked for death. Imagine learning that your father, a deacon in his church and a family man, is also a serial killer. What if you learned your grandparents and uncle had not deserted you but were pushed away by your father? And what if your mother could no longer deal with life and escapes? Where would you go? What would you become? And what if your father’s terror followed you? Photographer Naomi Carson lived the nightmare and now has settled into a new home in the town of Sunrise Cove, Washington. For the first time in her life she begins to grow roots. And she finds friendship and love.

Until the nightmare begins again.

I enjoy the way Ms. Roberts weaves the romance into the story without allowing it to overcome the tale. The crimes and the chase challenge the lovers, but their personal strengths and commitment are weapons against the killer. The author uses the beauty of the ocean views, the dark forests, and the old house that is under renovation to provide the backdrop for the action. The dialogue enhances the characters and the plot. She drew me into the story and allowed me to walk the bluff, hike the forests and work alongside the renovation crew. I had to force myself to close the book and go to work.

I have been a Nora Roberts fan since purchasing my first novel some fifteen years ago. I enjoy her contemporary romantic suspense and her paranormal and fantasy romances. Her books take up substantial space in my library and I eagerly wait her next release.

 

9 Helpful Tips for writing:

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9 Helpful Tips for writing:

  • Avoid difficult words, which the reader might have difficulty in understanding
  • Avoid moralizing
  • Don’t force your point of view on the readers. In other words, let the characters say what you want to say
  • Don’t inform, show
  • Include the five senses (hear, smell, touch, see, speak) to rouse the reader’s emotions
  • Avoid unnecessary details
  • Be innovative
  • Use active tense, not passive
  • Read your text aloud and listen for jarring notes

Roryckeel.com

LEARNING ALL ABOUT SCRIVENER

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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.

Untitled

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…

 

 

 

The List

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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

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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!