A great post on Scrivener

I love Scrivener. I find it amazingly useful and very friendly to use. I love how I can write different scenes and then move them around. It has features that just simply just make writing so much fun.

But it can be an intimidating program to use at first. So, I loved this post on how-to for those curious about Scrivener.

https://writersinthestormblog.com/2019/03/scrivener-split-screen-magic/

It’s in the site: Writers in the Storm, a great site for writers anywhere with great articles. If you’re at all interested in writing, check it out.

About Amy’s Courage

The second book of my series already has a title. Unfortunately, it has little else.

Don’t get me wrong, I’ve written the book. But it’s a first draft and like all first drafts, it’s ugly. Really ugly.

I’ve been struggling with the editing. Really struggling. I kept opening up the draft, shuddering with horror and basically closing it again. I thought about settling and just doing a mediocre job but I hated doing that.

Then I read D. Emery’s excellent post Good News and Bad News, and I felt so validated. D. Emery writes about being stuck writing his second book, Darkness Revealed. He puts eloquently into words exactly what I feel.

“Darkness Revealed is much more obvious about the philosophy aspects, and that takes a lot of thinking to get right. I need to craft philosophical ways of thinking and explaining the situation behind the Darkening, and they need to be logically sound.

And I don’t have the mental capacity (and barely the time) to do that right now.

…I realize that’s a disappointment for the people eager to read the sequel, but as I said with my retrospective post, quality is first, quantity will come with time.”

He could go ahead and write a mediocre book but his integrity won’t let him and I admire that in him. In fact, that’s what I want for my book too.

D. Emery’s post gives me hope. I hope that, like he wrote, ‘quality first, quantity will come with time’. For a beginning writer like myself, hope is a wonderful thing.

Balance

I just read this wonderfully honest post by Crystin Goodwin and it really hit me, I spend more time working on my blog than I do on my WIP. Hm…

There’s a good possibility that the reason I’m not working on my book is not that my blog takes up my time. I could find more time for my WIP but I’m procrastinating because it’s editing and to quote a friend, my first draft is ‘eye searing’ bad. Reading it is actually painful.

But Crystin’s post brings up a great question, how do you balance writing on your book vs. writing on your blog? Should we post every day? Should we only post when we have high-quality posts? Should we write first and then blog?

I’d love to hear what works for you.

Why some TV shows rock

Some shows on TV are awesome. Big Bang’s popularity went through the roof with watchers and Modern Family was unknown one day and famous the next. It got me thinking, why are they such a hit? Well, there’s the acting, which is really great but, in my humble opinion, I think it’s the writing.

Check out this post on this exact subject for Modern Family.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1442437/reviews

“…Witty, dry, smart, outlandish, silly, clever, cute, sarcastic, subtle, not-so subtle. HILARIOUS.” That has to be the writing.

And look at this other review, this time for the Big Bang:

http://ca.ign.com/articles/2007/09/28/the-big-bang-theory-pilot-review

“The writing in this episode was some of the best we’ve seen in a standard sitcom in some time — it’s very smart….If the writing remains at the level seen in the pilot, we’re certain the show will continue to be worth watching.”

I find this fascinating. If good writing can help elevate a show, it can certainly do the same for a book. And good humour is very hard to write well.

I like to add humour into my books. I like to think it adds a little something to help the reader keep interested. Sitcoms like the Big Bang and Modern Family are great teaching tools because of their amazing writing.

So really, I’m not watching TV. I’m researching. 😀

Writing an Author’s Bio

An excellent post filled with great tips for authors! Thanks so much, Winter!

Ranting about perfection

I’ve always been driven. Even as a kid, I always tried harder. The problem isn’t that I need to try harder, the problem is that I want perfection. I stare at the scene I’ve written and shake my head in despair. Absolute garbage! Delete button, here I go.

I found this article by Joe Bunting titled The Myth of Perfection on The Write Practice. It was actually really helpful because he starts by saying: you’re never going to be perfect. For me, that was great news because it set me free. I can accept it and try to do a good job, not a perfect job.

When I look forward, I get overwhelmed. I think of the odds against me and they seem insurmountable. It helps if I look back. Once, I didn’t speak English. I wrote and didn’t believe I’d ever get published. I’ve written a book, I have another on the works.

Maybe I need to embrace Good Enough and kick Perfection in the butt.

If you could…

I read a fantastic post by Barbara O’Neal on Writer Unboxed. It’s a letter to her younger, writer self. It’s a beautiful letter (read it here), really well written but what inspired me was the concept.

I think the idea originally came from this post in So You’re a Writer. I thought it was a beautiful thought.

Once upon a time, you were a young reader who wrote for fun. Writing for publication was a distant, daring dream you had hidden deep in your soul. You didn’t think of yourself as a writer because you weren’t published. You wondered if you would make it, if you had what it took. You read like crazy and you wrote. Most of all, you loved to write.

What would you say to that young writer? If you could go back in time, what would you tell him or her?

On writing contests

I’ve entered writing contests…and wonder about the entire process.

It turns out, the judges are not paid. They’re volunteers who can be anyone from an editor to a reader–at times not even a reader of your genre. The entire process can be really biased.

At the same time, for a very small fee, you get several readers who will tell you honestly what they think of your writing–with a breakdown. It’s incredibly valuable.

If you’re considering entering one or are simply curious, check out this amazing post by a judge herself, Fae Rowen. She also wrote this other one on the same subject: Writing contests: heaven or hell.

If you have entered and your head is still spinning from a nasty comment, you can check out this insightful post by Inky Tavern on reviews and how biased they are. Though her post isn’t about contests, the concept applies to contests just as well.

If you’ve never heard of them, here’s the biggest one of them all: The Golden Heart Award by RWA and a little one I entered in Canada: The Romance Writers of Toronto: The Catherine Contest.

Coffee and writing

Coffee and writing go hand in hand. I certainly love a hot cup when I start typing away.

Turns out, I’m not alone. This post rounded up a group of famous quotes about this exact point from famous writers. Everyone from Albert Camus to Louisa May Alcott is in there. A big thank you to Writers Write for that great post!

 

How about you? Do you reach for a cup when you sit to write? It’s early morning here, so I’m hoping you have a nice full one. I certainly do. 🙂

Writing just for you

I don’t just write my books, I also write for me. I write to clear my head, I write to process an issue, I write to figure out my ideas, I write to ‘get it out’ and I write for fun.

Like most writers, I started writing when I was very young and the habit has stuck. Writing has helped me deal with issues and loss, it helps me cope with those things today still. When I have a big decision (selling our house!), I sit and write pros and cons. When we lost our beloved Lobo, writing him a letter telling him how much I missed him helped me let him go. Sure, I write my books, but writing is also a tool that helps me ground myself and keep balance.

Of course, I found a post that explains the benefits of writing. And another, and another and another. They claim that writing makes you happier, more intelligent, more persuasive…The benefits go on and on.

Do you write for fun? Do you journal? Would you say it makes you happier? Relaxes you? More intelligent? 🙂