After fading out for about eight months while wrestling with some health issues, I decided to restart a writing blog under a new name. However, when I logged on to Blogger earlier today, I was very pleasantly surprised to find that this blog still existed. Somehow I was under the impression that I had deleted it earlier this year. Clearly I did not, and I am glad.
There is a new spin off from the National Novel Writing Month contest called the National Novel Reading Month, or NaNoReadMo. This new event challenges its participants to read one novel each week -- and comment on it in some manner to family, friends, or others – for four consecutive weeks. While I am sitting this year’s reading event out, it is inspiring me to increase the amount of fiction and nonfiction reading I do, and to begin writing coherent review commentaries on what I have read, with these commentaries to be posted here. Over time, my personal commitment is to develop my review writing skills to the point that one or two a month compare favorably (in terms of writing quality and length) to the reviews found in The New York Review of Books. A second focus will be the writing and posting of shorter, highly polished reviews as well. Along the way, other types of writing , writing contests and other writing-related topics will be explored in this blog as well.
Saturday, December 18, 2010
Thursday, February 25, 2010
March Is Just Around the Corner, and That Means One Thing: National Novel Editing Month
Those who complete the utterly, crazily enjoyable National Novel Writing Month (WriMo) in November likely are already aware of this March follow-up. So, for those who either skipped WriMo last year, or who have otherwise not heard, March of every year is reserved for the editing companion to WriMo. This free contest challenges its participants to complete, and log, at least 50 hours of editing activities on previously written fiction. Most participants use March to begin (or continue) the process of shaping their WriMo output into something that, begins to resemble a coherent, readable work of fiction.
Fifty hours in one month sounds like a daunting total to reach, if not surpass, yet it is not. Spread out over the month, this total will be reached with only 1 hour and 40 minutes of editing activities per day. As with WriMo, there are those who fall short of this total for one reason or another. At the same time others finish well above the fifty hour threshold.
This year, my EdMo efforts will focus on my 2009 WriMo romance novel. To get ready for the editing onslaught that begins next Monday, I have been reading and critiquing what is currently written. So far, I have uncovered enough plot discrepancies, plot holes, dialogue weaknesses and weak or inconsistent descriptions to keep me occupied throughout March. I am not grousing about these discoveries, for this is how a writer learns how to improve her understanding and, ultimately, mastery of the craft.
Last year I took part for the first time, and finished with just over 100 hours for the month. This year, I am planning on logging 120 hours for the month. I am confident I will get there.
For those desiring more information on the National Novel Editing Month, or who are interested in signing up, point your browsers to NaNoEdMo for more details.
Fifty hours in one month sounds like a daunting total to reach, if not surpass, yet it is not. Spread out over the month, this total will be reached with only 1 hour and 40 minutes of editing activities per day. As with WriMo, there are those who fall short of this total for one reason or another. At the same time others finish well above the fifty hour threshold.
This year, my EdMo efforts will focus on my 2009 WriMo romance novel. To get ready for the editing onslaught that begins next Monday, I have been reading and critiquing what is currently written. So far, I have uncovered enough plot discrepancies, plot holes, dialogue weaknesses and weak or inconsistent descriptions to keep me occupied throughout March. I am not grousing about these discoveries, for this is how a writer learns how to improve her understanding and, ultimately, mastery of the craft.
Last year I took part for the first time, and finished with just over 100 hours for the month. This year, I am planning on logging 120 hours for the month. I am confident I will get there.
For those desiring more information on the National Novel Editing Month, or who are interested in signing up, point your browsers to NaNoEdMo for more details.
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
I am back after another hiatus, another NaNoWriMo win, and a laptop change
Two and a half months ago this blog, and my general blog, Random Musings, went on what I thought at the time would be a permanent vacation. When this hiatus began, I was deep into participating in the 11th annual National Novel Writing Month contest and was struggling with an eight year old Sony laptop, and its arthritic keyboard.
By the end of last November, I won the 11th annual National Novel Writing Month contest with a final word count a little over 70,000, a personal best. This year I took on the challenge of writing a romance novel for the first time. This is turning out to be a rewarding challenge. First, it is providing me valuable practice in developing a fragmentary major character description into a three dimensional, believable person. As the writing (and soon the rewriting) progresses, I am learning more about my own personality and motivations. Plus, my main characters are showing me the value of, and need for, reconciliation between family members.
Thanks entirely to a surprise offer from a relative in December, I have retired the Sony Vaio laptop, replacing it with a new Hewlett Packard Pavillion laptop. At the same time that I gained a larger screen and keyboard, this changeover also allowed me to upgrade from Windows XP (32 bit) to 64 bit Windows 7 Professional.
I have never been much of a Microsoft booster. Still, with Windows 7, Microsoft finally has a Windows version that really works. For the first time, I feel like Windows is working for me, rather than against me. For the first time the Internet is a joy to cruse because it is so colorful, and fast. My cable internet provider claims in their ads that their service is “90x faster than dial up.” Finally, I believe it.
So From Both Sides of the Fence is back in production, this time much more likely to stay that way.
By the end of last November, I won the 11th annual National Novel Writing Month contest with a final word count a little over 70,000, a personal best. This year I took on the challenge of writing a romance novel for the first time. This is turning out to be a rewarding challenge. First, it is providing me valuable practice in developing a fragmentary major character description into a three dimensional, believable person. As the writing (and soon the rewriting) progresses, I am learning more about my own personality and motivations. Plus, my main characters are showing me the value of, and need for, reconciliation between family members.
Thanks entirely to a surprise offer from a relative in December, I have retired the Sony Vaio laptop, replacing it with a new Hewlett Packard Pavillion laptop. At the same time that I gained a larger screen and keyboard, this changeover also allowed me to upgrade from Windows XP (32 bit) to 64 bit Windows 7 Professional.
I have never been much of a Microsoft booster. Still, with Windows 7, Microsoft finally has a Windows version that really works. For the first time, I feel like Windows is working for me, rather than against me. For the first time the Internet is a joy to cruse because it is so colorful, and fast. My cable internet provider claims in their ads that their service is “90x faster than dial up.” Finally, I believe it.
So From Both Sides of the Fence is back in production, this time much more likely to stay that way.
Monday, October 12, 2009
Its almost NaNoWriMo time: all writers, start your keyboards!
In less than twenty days, it will be November, 2009. So what? After all, November is merely the month between Halloween and Christmas. Well, for the world’s community of writers, November does mean something all on its own.
November is National Novel Writing Month. Now in its eleventh year, this free fiction writing contest has two simple rules. One, only new words of fiction written during the month of November count. Two, in order to win, write at least 50,000 words during the month of November. Everyone who makes it to the 50,000 mark before midnight local time on November 30 joins the winners circle. Take it from one who made it last year: the more winners, the more satisfying it feels.
I first learned about it for the first time last year, and submitted my registration information a few minutes before midnight on November 1. Thus, I started out with one day completely gone, as far as writing goes. Still, I joined the winners before the 30th.
What goes through the mind of a first time participant? Well, I progressed from “that sounds simple” through “50,000 in 30 days? Am I nuts?” to “I think I might actually be able to do this.”
Somewhere around the middle of the month my thinking changed to “50k in 30 days? No prob.” So, yes, with persistence and patience, even first time participants can join us winners.
People often wonder if it is self defeating for an author to emphasize quantity over quality. After all, only high quality manuscripts ever have a chance at getting published. Actually, every year, the number of nanowrimo manuscripts that become published novels increases. And, yes, some of these manuscripts sells rather well. The New York Times bestseller Water for Elephants first saw the light of day during NaNoWriMo. Who knows? Some year, a NaNo manuscript might break through and win a National Book Award, a National Book Critics Circle Award or a Pulitzer. Hey – we can always hope (and keep writing.)
I will be participating again this year (it is becoming the highlight of my year). Unlike last year, when I started out completely cold turkey – no plot ideas, no genre, no title – this year I have all three already firmly in mind. This year I am experimentally tackling an Avalon Career Romance that gives NaNoWriMo’s local write ins a very positive plug. Since Avalon’s preferred manuscript length is in the neighborhood of the NaNo winning word count, I am mulling over also at least starting an Avalon mystery during November as well.
So yeah, I’ll be there, writing up a storm. Won’t you join me? All you have to lose is a month’s worth of sleep (just kidding.)
November is National Novel Writing Month. Now in its eleventh year, this free fiction writing contest has two simple rules. One, only new words of fiction written during the month of November count. Two, in order to win, write at least 50,000 words during the month of November. Everyone who makes it to the 50,000 mark before midnight local time on November 30 joins the winners circle. Take it from one who made it last year: the more winners, the more satisfying it feels.
I first learned about it for the first time last year, and submitted my registration information a few minutes before midnight on November 1. Thus, I started out with one day completely gone, as far as writing goes. Still, I joined the winners before the 30th.
What goes through the mind of a first time participant? Well, I progressed from “that sounds simple” through “50,000 in 30 days? Am I nuts?” to “I think I might actually be able to do this.”
Somewhere around the middle of the month my thinking changed to “50k in 30 days? No prob.” So, yes, with persistence and patience, even first time participants can join us winners.
People often wonder if it is self defeating for an author to emphasize quantity over quality. After all, only high quality manuscripts ever have a chance at getting published. Actually, every year, the number of nanowrimo manuscripts that become published novels increases. And, yes, some of these manuscripts sells rather well. The New York Times bestseller Water for Elephants first saw the light of day during NaNoWriMo. Who knows? Some year, a NaNo manuscript might break through and win a National Book Award, a National Book Critics Circle Award or a Pulitzer. Hey – we can always hope (and keep writing.)
I will be participating again this year (it is becoming the highlight of my year). Unlike last year, when I started out completely cold turkey – no plot ideas, no genre, no title – this year I have all three already firmly in mind. This year I am experimentally tackling an Avalon Career Romance that gives NaNoWriMo’s local write ins a very positive plug. Since Avalon’s preferred manuscript length is in the neighborhood of the NaNo winning word count, I am mulling over also at least starting an Avalon mystery during November as well.
So yeah, I’ll be there, writing up a storm. Won’t you join me? All you have to lose is a month’s worth of sleep (just kidding.)
“Whatever” is America’s most annoying word or phrase? Get out.
This past week, the Marist Institute of Public Opinion, located at Marist College in Poughkeepsie, NY released the results of a poll on language use. This poll asked respondents which of five words or phases – “whatever”, “anyway”, “ you know”, “it is what it is”, and “useless” – they disliked the most. By a statistically significant margin “whatever” was picked most frequently. Of the 938 people polled, nearly half picked it over the other choices.
In the comments section on their website, most of the comment authors nominated “like” as even more detestable than “whatever.” Many other words and phrases were suggested as well. Even they missed a few that I feel should be defined as verbal graffiti.
Some of the missing words that I find overworked and largely vacuous come from the business world. There are many times when it seems like business people – particularly corporate executives – have decided to invent a business-only language largely divorced from mainstream English. For example:
“Tasked” – no one is “assigned” to a project (or a project team), they are “tasked”. What, corporate drones now have chores to do at work?
“Prioritize” – I know this is a perfectly legitimate word, with perfectly valid uses. However, why does everything have to be “prioritized”? From the way business people toss this word around, I have to wonder: when they go grocery shopping (unless they “task” another family member to do it), are their shopping lists “prioritized?” Probably.
“Conference” used as a verb. Last time I consulted the Oxford English Dictionary, conference was listed as a noun. Its traditional (and most frequent) use is to describe a group of people gathering in one place for a specific reason. So how did it become a verb as in “we will conference about that next week.” Hmmm . . . is “conferencing” the source of all “tasking?”
The world of advertising and entertainment is not exempt from contributing to this list. Some examples:
“Get out!” apparently used in the sense of “I don’t believe you.” I suspect it has other intended meanings that I haven’t figured out yet.
“Absolutely the best” Advertisers love to gush this empty interjection into advertising copy. It is meaningless and a little dishonest because the only way you can label something in that way is if all existing examples of the product (or service) is assembled in one place and evaluated by the same person. In addition, without clarification about the rating criteria used to make the determination, claims like these carry little validity.
“Ultimate” This belongs in the same class as “absolutely the best” and for the same reasons. Through the years I have noticed many products that have been hailed as the “ultimate” . . . until the next “ultimate” comes along.
Many of these examples will be included in American slang dictionaries of the future, because that is what they are – slang. Even though I have always liked Mark Twain’s definition of slang as “language that rolls up its sleeves, spits on its hands, and gets to work”, still there are venues where it is inappropriate. If business executives need to use commonly understood lingo during staff meetings as a form of shorthand that is one thing. When they use it in the media in an attempt to sound erudite, then it becomes as inappropriate as if they peppered the mostly retired non-word “ain’t” into every sentence.
One sentiment is hinted at in the comments to the poll results announcement on the Marist Institute website that I heartily agree with. While on one comes right out and says it, now that a new Administration is in Washington, it is time to retire the tired phrases (and one glaring mispronunciation) of the Bush Administration. In particular his coinages “you’re either with us or against us”, “you’re either with us or with the terrorists” and “axis of evil” all need to be buried in a desert, in a deep, unmarked hole so on one can ever revive them. At the same time, I do hope that politicians will get the pronunciation of the word “nuclear” correct . . . for a change.
On this entire subject of tired, worn out and irksome words, everybody has their own opinions and lists of words (and phrases) they would like to eradicate from English. I have shared some of mine. Now, readers, it is your turn: what verbal utterances drive you up the wall?
In the comments section on their website, most of the comment authors nominated “like” as even more detestable than “whatever.” Many other words and phrases were suggested as well. Even they missed a few that I feel should be defined as verbal graffiti.
Some of the missing words that I find overworked and largely vacuous come from the business world. There are many times when it seems like business people – particularly corporate executives – have decided to invent a business-only language largely divorced from mainstream English. For example:
“Tasked” – no one is “assigned” to a project (or a project team), they are “tasked”. What, corporate drones now have chores to do at work?
“Prioritize” – I know this is a perfectly legitimate word, with perfectly valid uses. However, why does everything have to be “prioritized”? From the way business people toss this word around, I have to wonder: when they go grocery shopping (unless they “task” another family member to do it), are their shopping lists “prioritized?” Probably.
“Conference” used as a verb. Last time I consulted the Oxford English Dictionary, conference was listed as a noun. Its traditional (and most frequent) use is to describe a group of people gathering in one place for a specific reason. So how did it become a verb as in “we will conference about that next week.” Hmmm . . . is “conferencing” the source of all “tasking?”
The world of advertising and entertainment is not exempt from contributing to this list. Some examples:
“Get out!” apparently used in the sense of “I don’t believe you.” I suspect it has other intended meanings that I haven’t figured out yet.
“Absolutely the best” Advertisers love to gush this empty interjection into advertising copy. It is meaningless and a little dishonest because the only way you can label something in that way is if all existing examples of the product (or service) is assembled in one place and evaluated by the same person. In addition, without clarification about the rating criteria used to make the determination, claims like these carry little validity.
“Ultimate” This belongs in the same class as “absolutely the best” and for the same reasons. Through the years I have noticed many products that have been hailed as the “ultimate” . . . until the next “ultimate” comes along.
Many of these examples will be included in American slang dictionaries of the future, because that is what they are – slang. Even though I have always liked Mark Twain’s definition of slang as “language that rolls up its sleeves, spits on its hands, and gets to work”, still there are venues where it is inappropriate. If business executives need to use commonly understood lingo during staff meetings as a form of shorthand that is one thing. When they use it in the media in an attempt to sound erudite, then it becomes as inappropriate as if they peppered the mostly retired non-word “ain’t” into every sentence.
One sentiment is hinted at in the comments to the poll results announcement on the Marist Institute website that I heartily agree with. While on one comes right out and says it, now that a new Administration is in Washington, it is time to retire the tired phrases (and one glaring mispronunciation) of the Bush Administration. In particular his coinages “you’re either with us or against us”, “you’re either with us or with the terrorists” and “axis of evil” all need to be buried in a desert, in a deep, unmarked hole so on one can ever revive them. At the same time, I do hope that politicians will get the pronunciation of the word “nuclear” correct . . . for a change.
On this entire subject of tired, worn out and irksome words, everybody has their own opinions and lists of words (and phrases) they would like to eradicate from English. I have shared some of mine. Now, readers, it is your turn: what verbal utterances drive you up the wall?
Saturday, October 10, 2009
I’m Back after a too-long gap, and while gone I gained some valuable insights
It has been eight months since my last post to the Blog, and I apologize to any readers. While I was away, I uncovered some things that can waylay writers, and some things t be on guard for,
I somehow failed to recognize the warning signs at the time, and that bothers me. Up until the end of June I had been seeing a succession of mental health counselors in an attempt to deal with a variety of psychological issues that are keeping me trapped on Social Security Disability and other benefits. I felt they were helping me move forward with my life, so I kept going. As I continue to discover, they were subtly pulling me in the wrong direction, and were actually keeping me from developing my talents and writerly passions.
This is hard-earned lesson number one: the only person who truly knows you is yourself. All counselors can do is make suggestions and point the client in one direction or another. Ultimately it is up to the client to do the actual recovery work that emerges from the counseling relationship. This is why counselors and other advisors must be chosen wisely, deliberatively and cautiously. The right counselor at the right time can be a great benefit. The wrong counselor, even if the time is right, can be downright destructive.
At the same time, medical practitioners need to be chosen carefully. Keep conscious of the fact that it is the patient (the consumer) who can be said to retain ultimate authority in any physician-patient relationship. At the first sign that your deepest concerns are not being adequately addressed, or are being seen as trivial by the physician, you do have the right to change physicians.
I last saw my primary care physician on March 31. The appointment was a complete downer because the message that came through all too clear is that apropos my primary health concerns, I am entirely on my own.
This is not an admission of pride, or a trumpeting of success. Rather, it is a statement of fact: I need to lose about 250 pounds to get back to a healthy weight level for m frame size and type. This amount of excess weight drives my Body Mass index, or BMI up by quite a bit, which, in turn, makes me an ideal candidate for the most successful form of weight loss (or bariatric) surgery.
However, because of a complex mess of regulations and qualifying criteria, I am also enrolled in both the Federal Medicare program and the Federal-state Medicaid program. For those unfamiliar with these programs, essentially they are publically funded health care plans that function like private health insurance plans.
Unfortunately the operational mind set is the same and is definitely not patient oriented. Numerous examples that underscore this opinion exist, but I will mention only a couple.
Idaho’s Medicaid program is notoriously averse to promoting sound dental health. There are many Medicaid clients trying to function normally in life despite having no teeth at al in their head.
For clients desiring bariatric surgery, Medicaid forces the patient and her doctor to deal with a paperwork and documentation chain that typically lasts two and a half to three years. At the end of this exhausting process, Medicaid reserves the right to still say “no.”
For me, the outcome of this medical appointment threw me into a deep, downward spiral that completely disrupted all creative processes and project progress. Only within the past month have I begun to emerge from this “dark night of my creative soul.” This blog post is one of the key steps I must pursue to fully break free of this lingering negativity.
I somehow failed to recognize the warning signs at the time, and that bothers me. Up until the end of June I had been seeing a succession of mental health counselors in an attempt to deal with a variety of psychological issues that are keeping me trapped on Social Security Disability and other benefits. I felt they were helping me move forward with my life, so I kept going. As I continue to discover, they were subtly pulling me in the wrong direction, and were actually keeping me from developing my talents and writerly passions.
This is hard-earned lesson number one: the only person who truly knows you is yourself. All counselors can do is make suggestions and point the client in one direction or another. Ultimately it is up to the client to do the actual recovery work that emerges from the counseling relationship. This is why counselors and other advisors must be chosen wisely, deliberatively and cautiously. The right counselor at the right time can be a great benefit. The wrong counselor, even if the time is right, can be downright destructive.
At the same time, medical practitioners need to be chosen carefully. Keep conscious of the fact that it is the patient (the consumer) who can be said to retain ultimate authority in any physician-patient relationship. At the first sign that your deepest concerns are not being adequately addressed, or are being seen as trivial by the physician, you do have the right to change physicians.
I last saw my primary care physician on March 31. The appointment was a complete downer because the message that came through all too clear is that apropos my primary health concerns, I am entirely on my own.
This is not an admission of pride, or a trumpeting of success. Rather, it is a statement of fact: I need to lose about 250 pounds to get back to a healthy weight level for m frame size and type. This amount of excess weight drives my Body Mass index, or BMI up by quite a bit, which, in turn, makes me an ideal candidate for the most successful form of weight loss (or bariatric) surgery.
However, because of a complex mess of regulations and qualifying criteria, I am also enrolled in both the Federal Medicare program and the Federal-state Medicaid program. For those unfamiliar with these programs, essentially they are publically funded health care plans that function like private health insurance plans.
Unfortunately the operational mind set is the same and is definitely not patient oriented. Numerous examples that underscore this opinion exist, but I will mention only a couple.
Idaho’s Medicaid program is notoriously averse to promoting sound dental health. There are many Medicaid clients trying to function normally in life despite having no teeth at al in their head.
For clients desiring bariatric surgery, Medicaid forces the patient and her doctor to deal with a paperwork and documentation chain that typically lasts two and a half to three years. At the end of this exhausting process, Medicaid reserves the right to still say “no.”
For me, the outcome of this medical appointment threw me into a deep, downward spiral that completely disrupted all creative processes and project progress. Only within the past month have I begun to emerge from this “dark night of my creative soul.” This blog post is one of the key steps I must pursue to fully break free of this lingering negativity.
Thursday, February 5, 2009
SuperNoteCard: Must Have Software for Any Serious Researcher or Writer
When I was in college, I looked forward to virtually every term paper (or essay) because I always enjoyed the research and writing process. Besides, most of the time I received very good grades. As a result I came to realize that keeping track of research notes on longer or more research-intensive papers could rapidly become cumbersome. Plus, from time to time, invariably near the end of the research process, one of the carefully organized decks of index cards would land on the floor, turning organization into chaos.
Enter Mindola Software, who in 2008 released version 2.8.7 of SuperNoteCard ($29.00 for the full version.) Fundamentally this program takes the humble 3" x 5" index card and moves it to the computer screen. In the full version the number of cards per deck is almost limitless, with multiple decks of cards per project possible.
I have been working with this program for a while now and the more I explore its capabilities and features, the more I find to fall in love with. Currently I am developing a critical essay in which I extend the standard interpretation of JRR Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings to the male to female transsexual’s transition quest. SuperNoteCard is allowing me to both outline my thoughts and notes much more quickly, and without the risk of a dropped or mislaid notecard deck, but it increases the usefulness of each card.
As cards are filled in, color coding them for inclusion in user defined categories is fast and easy, plus the software keeps track of which cards are in which category. With more than one category tag possible for each card, this feature represents a real functional improvement over physical cards. Plus the software automatically keeps track of the cards and card information by category so you don’t have to. Now that is efficiency.
When additional information needs to be added to a card, the software also allows the addition of flags to cards. Each flag has room for moderately lengthy text. Like your categories, the software keeps track of your flags in their own list, which can be consulted whenever needed.
An added bonus is found on the Help tab. Click on “Strunk and White’s Elements of Style” and the software automatically connects you with Bartleby.com, the Internet’s leading collection of books that can be read and explored free of charge on the Internet. This is a very pleasant surprise given that the collection includes a wide range of classic works of literature, science and philosophy as well as classic and more recent reference works.
This last feature has the potential for saving a lot of time and aggravation when, in the middle of a writing project, you discover you need some essential piece of information, or wish for some familiar quote to spice up your text, and can’t find it. With SuperNoteCard help is a click away since Bartleby’s makes the Columbia Encyclopedia (December 2007 update edition) available free of charge, along with its 80,000 plus hypertext reference links. Also, the site has several collections of quotations in addition to Bartlett’s famous collection.
When the current project is finished it can be output to standard word processing software as a Rich Text Format (RTF) file, and it can be printed out as well. As an option, data can be both input into current or new projects or output to disk as .txt files.
Using this software package in conjunction with either Word Perfect or Microsoft Word improves their usefulness on research projects that is quite refreshing and liberating. How? By taking the stress out of background note taking and information organization. Indeed, any project for which recording information on note cards makes sense can be pursued in SuperNoteCard.
In summary, in my opinion, who should consider this outstanding addition to the writer’s software toolbox? Anyone who is at all serious about any form of writing (as well as anyone with an extensive recipe collection.)
Enter Mindola Software, who in 2008 released version 2.8.7 of SuperNoteCard ($29.00 for the full version.) Fundamentally this program takes the humble 3" x 5" index card and moves it to the computer screen. In the full version the number of cards per deck is almost limitless, with multiple decks of cards per project possible.
I have been working with this program for a while now and the more I explore its capabilities and features, the more I find to fall in love with. Currently I am developing a critical essay in which I extend the standard interpretation of JRR Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings to the male to female transsexual’s transition quest. SuperNoteCard is allowing me to both outline my thoughts and notes much more quickly, and without the risk of a dropped or mislaid notecard deck, but it increases the usefulness of each card.
As cards are filled in, color coding them for inclusion in user defined categories is fast and easy, plus the software keeps track of which cards are in which category. With more than one category tag possible for each card, this feature represents a real functional improvement over physical cards. Plus the software automatically keeps track of the cards and card information by category so you don’t have to. Now that is efficiency.
When additional information needs to be added to a card, the software also allows the addition of flags to cards. Each flag has room for moderately lengthy text. Like your categories, the software keeps track of your flags in their own list, which can be consulted whenever needed.
An added bonus is found on the Help tab. Click on “Strunk and White’s Elements of Style” and the software automatically connects you with Bartleby.com, the Internet’s leading collection of books that can be read and explored free of charge on the Internet. This is a very pleasant surprise given that the collection includes a wide range of classic works of literature, science and philosophy as well as classic and more recent reference works.
This last feature has the potential for saving a lot of time and aggravation when, in the middle of a writing project, you discover you need some essential piece of information, or wish for some familiar quote to spice up your text, and can’t find it. With SuperNoteCard help is a click away since Bartleby’s makes the Columbia Encyclopedia (December 2007 update edition) available free of charge, along with its 80,000 plus hypertext reference links. Also, the site has several collections of quotations in addition to Bartlett’s famous collection.
When the current project is finished it can be output to standard word processing software as a Rich Text Format (RTF) file, and it can be printed out as well. As an option, data can be both input into current or new projects or output to disk as .txt files.
Using this software package in conjunction with either Word Perfect or Microsoft Word improves their usefulness on research projects that is quite refreshing and liberating. How? By taking the stress out of background note taking and information organization. Indeed, any project for which recording information on note cards makes sense can be pursued in SuperNoteCard.
In summary, in my opinion, who should consider this outstanding addition to the writer’s software toolbox? Anyone who is at all serious about any form of writing (as well as anyone with an extensive recipe collection.)
Sunday, February 1, 2009
WriteItNow Novel Writing Software: an Outstanding Program at a Great Price
Every writer needs all the help she can get. There are many software packages available today that help with the writing process in one way or another. Some, such as Y Writer, are free. Others often are quite pricy. One of the best is also a very good foundational writing program. Simply put, WriteItNow Novel Writing Software is a very wise investment of $49.95 (for the downloaded version 3.1.0) or $59.95 (for the downloaded version 4.1.0 for PCs.) Currently Version 3.1.0 is available for both the PC and the Mac.
WriteItNow is the product of Ravenshead Services in Scotland. They have been in existence now for twelve years, and it is clear that their software is thoughtfully designed by writers for writers. Their web site is absolutely correct: the software is consciously designed to help a writer sort out all of the details that are involved in writing a publishable novel without getting in the way. I agree with published author Jamie Lankford: this software enhances any writers development of her command of the entire craft of novel writing.
Novice writers might wonder, as I did, why they need a dedicated writing software package when they have Microsoft Word (or Word Perfect, in my case.) Accessability of background and supporting notes and details during the writing process is the major weakness of traditional word processors. In order to have developmental materials available while writing, they need to be kept in a different file, which must be opened up in parallel with the manuscript file. However, the materials must then be searched through for the piece of needed information. This, of course, slows the writing process down significantly.
WriteItNow streamlines this process while slashing look-up time by using tabs to collect related materials. While adding to the text in the Chapters tab, information on Characters, Events, Locations, Ideas and Notes is a very few mouse clicks away. In addition, character development details and sketches are easily organized by character, and each character is assigned its own screen. Shifting from one character to another is easily accomplished through the use of forward and backward arrows at the top of each screen.
When a writer finds herself hung up on either a character’s name, or needs help with character personality development, included modules can generate literally thousands of character names in a reasonable variety of nationalities, In addition, the modules can supply realistic personality description insights based on either the enneagram, archetypes or Myers-Briggs personality theory.
Keeping track of relationships between characters in a novel can rapidly turn cumbersome in a flat word processor. In WriteItNow, relationships each character is connected with, including the nature of the relationship, is rapidly laid out and referred to on its own tab within the Characters tab. Finally, each character’s personality can be graphically summarized in key areas on a separate tab, and rated independently on a scale of 0 - 50.
Developing detailed descriptions of locations is easily accomplished via the Locations tab. Again each location added has its own screen with plenty of room for notes and background information. Navigation between locations is rapidly accomplished either via the use of forward and backward navigation buttons, or by selecting a location from a drop down menu.
Likewise ideas can be accumulated on their own tab and organized in whatever order works best for the writer. A unique feature is the “Generate Random Idea” button, accessed by clicking on the die icon. The software responds to this feature by coming up with a thought exercise involving one or two characters. Such ideas can be excellent ways for getting the creative juices flowing again.
The Notes tab provides the option of adding background information on Ancient Egyptian Gods or Tudor English life characteristics, with additional informational modules available free of charge to registered users at the Ravenshead website. Again, the author is able to organize her notes in whatever manner works best.
When a manuscript is fully written, revised, edited, perfected and ready for the submission process to begin, again WriteItNow streamlines the process. The finished manuscript can be exported to almost any word processing software program by exporting it in Rich Text Format, or RTF. When this is done, all formatting codes are retained in the exported file. In addition the software automatically formats the pages with standard margins of 1" top and bottom, 1.5" left and right. This file can then be opened in your word processor, given a final, more detailed spell checking, and made ready for submission.
Overall, this is an outstanding program at a very reasonable price. It definitely merits serious consideration by anyone serious about creative writing of novels or short stories.
WriteItNow is the product of Ravenshead Services in Scotland. They have been in existence now for twelve years, and it is clear that their software is thoughtfully designed by writers for writers. Their web site is absolutely correct: the software is consciously designed to help a writer sort out all of the details that are involved in writing a publishable novel without getting in the way. I agree with published author Jamie Lankford: this software enhances any writers development of her command of the entire craft of novel writing.
Novice writers might wonder, as I did, why they need a dedicated writing software package when they have Microsoft Word (or Word Perfect, in my case.) Accessability of background and supporting notes and details during the writing process is the major weakness of traditional word processors. In order to have developmental materials available while writing, they need to be kept in a different file, which must be opened up in parallel with the manuscript file. However, the materials must then be searched through for the piece of needed information. This, of course, slows the writing process down significantly.
WriteItNow streamlines this process while slashing look-up time by using tabs to collect related materials. While adding to the text in the Chapters tab, information on Characters, Events, Locations, Ideas and Notes is a very few mouse clicks away. In addition, character development details and sketches are easily organized by character, and each character is assigned its own screen. Shifting from one character to another is easily accomplished through the use of forward and backward arrows at the top of each screen.
When a writer finds herself hung up on either a character’s name, or needs help with character personality development, included modules can generate literally thousands of character names in a reasonable variety of nationalities, In addition, the modules can supply realistic personality description insights based on either the enneagram, archetypes or Myers-Briggs personality theory.
Keeping track of relationships between characters in a novel can rapidly turn cumbersome in a flat word processor. In WriteItNow, relationships each character is connected with, including the nature of the relationship, is rapidly laid out and referred to on its own tab within the Characters tab. Finally, each character’s personality can be graphically summarized in key areas on a separate tab, and rated independently on a scale of 0 - 50.
Developing detailed descriptions of locations is easily accomplished via the Locations tab. Again each location added has its own screen with plenty of room for notes and background information. Navigation between locations is rapidly accomplished either via the use of forward and backward navigation buttons, or by selecting a location from a drop down menu.
Likewise ideas can be accumulated on their own tab and organized in whatever order works best for the writer. A unique feature is the “Generate Random Idea” button, accessed by clicking on the die icon. The software responds to this feature by coming up with a thought exercise involving one or two characters. Such ideas can be excellent ways for getting the creative juices flowing again.
The Notes tab provides the option of adding background information on Ancient Egyptian Gods or Tudor English life characteristics, with additional informational modules available free of charge to registered users at the Ravenshead website. Again, the author is able to organize her notes in whatever manner works best.
When a manuscript is fully written, revised, edited, perfected and ready for the submission process to begin, again WriteItNow streamlines the process. The finished manuscript can be exported to almost any word processing software program by exporting it in Rich Text Format, or RTF. When this is done, all formatting codes are retained in the exported file. In addition the software automatically formats the pages with standard margins of 1" top and bottom, 1.5" left and right. This file can then be opened in your word processor, given a final, more detailed spell checking, and made ready for submission.
Overall, this is an outstanding program at a very reasonable price. It definitely merits serious consideration by anyone serious about creative writing of novels or short stories.
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Fog as Pea Soup
The part of Idaho where I live is properly classified as a high desert as well as a broad valley. Given its topography, this area is not normally prone to fog. Further insulating it from fog is the over 500 foot deep canyon through which the Snake River flows. So the multiple days of fog over the last couple of weeks are unusual. Not that I am whining. After all, I grew up with fog.
Growing up I often heard oldsters describe fog as “pea soup.” Usually this surfaced in conversation as “sure looks like a real pea souper out there.” All of my life I have described fog in this way. (Sometimes, when I feel somewhat irreverent, fog becomes a “sea pouper.”) Lately I have begun wondering where this term originated, and when.
According to Dictionary.com unabridged (which is based on the 2009 Random House Dictionary) provides some illumination. Their second definition lists pea soup as an informal noun meaning “a dense, yellow fog.” Overall, pea soup is identified as originating during 1705 - 1715.
At the same time the term pea souper is defined as a parallel term meaning the same thing as pea soup (“a thick yellow fog”) that arose during the late 1880s.
So those of us who like to link a foggy day with a delicious, nutritious soup can thank the British for developing this meaning in the first place.
Growing up I often heard oldsters describe fog as “pea soup.” Usually this surfaced in conversation as “sure looks like a real pea souper out there.” All of my life I have described fog in this way. (Sometimes, when I feel somewhat irreverent, fog becomes a “sea pouper.”) Lately I have begun wondering where this term originated, and when.
According to Dictionary.com unabridged (which is based on the 2009 Random House Dictionary) provides some illumination. Their second definition lists pea soup as an informal noun meaning “a dense, yellow fog.” Overall, pea soup is identified as originating during 1705 - 1715.
At the same time the term pea souper is defined as a parallel term meaning the same thing as pea soup (“a thick yellow fog”) that arose during the late 1880s.
So those of us who like to link a foggy day with a delicious, nutritious soup can thank the British for developing this meaning in the first place.
Friday, January 9, 2009
NANO? NAN WHO?
From time to time acronyms and abbreviations will appear in these posts. A number will start out NaNo. . . For readers who have yet to encounter this adventure, it all begins in November with the National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo. This delightful and frequently illuminating contest challenges participants to write at least 50,000 new words of fiction in thirty days (or less.) 2008 marked its tenth anniversary competition, and a total of about 119,000 participants showed up. Writer’s Market has recognized NaNoWriMo as one of its “101 Best Writing Websites, 2008.”
Over the years a number of spin offs, extension and imitations have sprung up. Some of these are:
NaNoFiMo - the National Novel Finishing Month (December) - 30,000 words added to a book-length manuscript in thirty days. Like NaNoWriMo I participated in this challenge as well for the first time. Like WriMo I won it as well.
NaNoDecMo - National Novel December Month, basically an independent NaNoWriMo extension. Its motto this year was “100k by December 31: It’s not over until its over.”
NaNoEdMo - National Novel Editing Month, during which the challenge is to invest 50 hours during the month editing a novel manuscript.
There are many others, but the pattern pretty much is consistent among all of them.
FM - Forward Motion This is another website that is its own community of writers. It is a very healthy place for anyone serious about becoming a successfully published writer in time. The community offers an on-going series of on-line courses, opportunities for having your writing output critiqued by other members and for critiquing the submissions of others. In addition they sponsor a wide variety of beneficial writing challenges in fiction, nonfiction and poetry as well as writing marathons.
2YN - Two Year Novel This is a free on-line novel writing course facilitated by the FM Site Administrator. The course splits the novel writing process from initial idea to initial submissions into 104 lessons, paced at one lesson per week. I began this class this month, and regular updates on progress and insights gleaned from this class will appear on this blog.
FFW - Funds For Writers This website regularly appears on the Writer’s Market annual list mentioned above. Here serious writers will find numerous current paying freelance markets, writing competitions and contests, grants for writers and related information. The information is updated on an on-going basis and offers several e-newsletters for interested writers to subscribe to.
Should other acronyms or abbreviations turn up in future posts, I will either define or explain them in a timely manner before continuing.
Over the years a number of spin offs, extension and imitations have sprung up. Some of these are:
NaNoFiMo - the National Novel Finishing Month (December) - 30,000 words added to a book-length manuscript in thirty days. Like NaNoWriMo I participated in this challenge as well for the first time. Like WriMo I won it as well.
NaNoDecMo - National Novel December Month, basically an independent NaNoWriMo extension. Its motto this year was “100k by December 31: It’s not over until its over.”
NaNoEdMo - National Novel Editing Month, during which the challenge is to invest 50 hours during the month editing a novel manuscript.
There are many others, but the pattern pretty much is consistent among all of them.
FM - Forward Motion This is another website that is its own community of writers. It is a very healthy place for anyone serious about becoming a successfully published writer in time. The community offers an on-going series of on-line courses, opportunities for having your writing output critiqued by other members and for critiquing the submissions of others. In addition they sponsor a wide variety of beneficial writing challenges in fiction, nonfiction and poetry as well as writing marathons.
2YN - Two Year Novel This is a free on-line novel writing course facilitated by the FM Site Administrator. The course splits the novel writing process from initial idea to initial submissions into 104 lessons, paced at one lesson per week. I began this class this month, and regular updates on progress and insights gleaned from this class will appear on this blog.
FFW - Funds For Writers This website regularly appears on the Writer’s Market annual list mentioned above. Here serious writers will find numerous current paying freelance markets, writing competitions and contests, grants for writers and related information. The information is updated on an on-going basis and offers several e-newsletters for interested writers to subscribe to.
Should other acronyms or abbreviations turn up in future posts, I will either define or explain them in a timely manner before continuing.
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