This is Just Cool: For Book Worms and Word Nerds

If I ever come across something I think is interesting, but isn't necessarily informative, it goes into a separate folder. Well, for the next week or so, I'm opening that folder and sharing the wealth.

Do you like books? How about free books? Sure, they're a little older, but the Gutenburg Project has made it their mission to gather all books under public domain and put them in once place. You can get all the classics here. This site is utterly amazing. You can download over 30,000 free ebooks to read on your PC, iPhone, Kindle, Sony Reader or other portable device.

If you have too many books to keep track of, try Library Thing. It'll help you catalog everything. If you're like me and you have more trouble keeping track of your to-read list (or you want to find books to add to your to-read list), then Goodreads is the place to go. Another great place to build your list is Flashlight Worthy. It'll help you find books similar to those you already love.

It can be hard to find a good fantasy or sci-fi series (depending on your taste). The Suvudu Free Book Library gathers the first in a series and will let you read it for free to see if you like it.

Do you like oxymorons? Here's an Oxymoron Generator from WritingFix.

Ever wonder where a word or phrase came from? Here's the Online Etymology Dictionary. Etymologies are not definitions; they're explanations of what our words meant and how they sounded 600 or 2,000 years ago.

And the last link for today is Wordle. You can paste a document and it'll create a word cloud for you.

Is Your NaNo stuck?

Okay, so we’re about a week into NaNoWriMo. Stuck yet? Here are a few ideas to get you going and/or motivated.

1) Mind Map. Have a problem? Can’t figure out why a cat keeps popping up in your scenes? Maybe your character received a letter in the mail and you don’t know what it is. (Been there.) Try putting whatever “it” is in the middle of a piece of paper (or a program like http://bubbl.us) and ask yourself questions about it. Write whatever comes to mind. It’s worked for me countless times.

2) Try a Timer. Set it for 10-20 minutes and write NON-STOP until the timer goes off. Write about your problem or whatever comes to mind. Just make sure you don’t censor yourself or edit. When you’re done, look back at what you wrote. Do you understand your problem a little better? Did you discover a new angle or viewpoint or solution?

Did it work?

Moving Right Along in the Novel-Writing Process

I'm done with my hard edit (scribbling in my printed out first draft)! It took me two and a half weeks. The biggest ploblem I had was that there was too much to add. I couldn't write it all in. My muse hates longhand, but she sings when I'm at a keyboard. I have references, hints, action, entire scenes that I want to add to my book, but didn't write in. (Not in any detail, anyway.) So I ask myself: How do I make sure I get everything in?

One thing on my to-do list is to type up a synopsis. Preferably one page, since then I can send that to agents upon request. So, since I've stolen about four days from my work schedule, I'm going to write up that synopsis this weekend (AFTER I get my homework done, of course). I'll type up everything that happens in my book, and in another color, type in everything that I want to happen that's not in my book. (I'll trim it down to one page next month.)

Then, starting September 1, I'll edit my novel on the computer using all the marks and changes I wrote in the hard copy as well as all the additions I put into the synopsis.

Keeping a writing journal has been so helpful. I never realized how many steps are actually involved in writing a novel. So far I'm done with the planning, first draft, and hard edit. Then I have the synopsis, soft edit, quick read-over, query letter, and submitions to agents. And then I'm dependent upon other people to progress much further than that.

It's a tough gig. I only do it because I have to :) (My muse is making me!)

Finding Time to Write

How much time do you spend on the computer? If you're reading this, odds are quite a bit. I'm guilty of spending hours (yes hours) a day on my computer -- on facebook, following blogs (mostly on writing), reading articles on writing and publishing, and reading and posting on a few writing forums. Then there's email and other everyday stuff.

If I took even half of that computer time and put it toward writing (or in my current case, revising), think how much more work I could get done!

So, I'm going to take the next 5 days off from my computer. I shudder to think of what will be waiting for me when I come back -- piles of emails, alerts, messages, posts, articles... but I think it'll be worth it.

What Every Writer Needs to Know About Plot and Structure, Part 2

So, now that you know how plots used to be structured, how does today's writer plot out a novel without repeating the same-old, some-old?

Liz Strauss says the number one thing readers want from writers is for you to use an idea that is intrguing to you.

"If it intrigues you, I’m likely to be intrigued by it too. At the very least,
I’ll be curious about what it was about the idea that captured your interest and intrigued you. "

Read the rest of the article here.

This is vitally important. So many writers are overly concerned about "what's hot", what's selling, or what agents and publishers are looking for. While you should know your markets, don't let trends decide what you're going to write about. There are two good reasons:

1) The trend will most likely be old news by the time your manuscript is ready for publishing. (Getting a book to the shelf usually takes several months after you write it.)
2) If it sells, and you don't love it, you're going to hate being a writer. You'll be expected to write more of what you don't love. This job is way to hard to be worth it unless you're passionate about writing.

Create, Complicate, Resolve: The Keys to Keeping Your Readers Interested touches on the art of gripping your readers without letting them down by "cheating". (We've all seen it before--'and then I woke up.') Her advice:

Create a believable story where actions are followed by consequences. In real
life, situations happen this way, so don't hold back in your stories. It may
seem cruel, but your audience will actually thrive on how much trouble you
can heap on your protagonist while watching him drag himself over broken
glass by his lips to save the woman he loves.

Read the rest of the article here.


In Part 3 of What Every Writer Needs to Know About Plot and Structure, I'll post some freebies and other resources that helped me with plotting.
Part 4 will be on beginnings, middles, and ends.

You can read Part 1 here.

Helpful Software for Writers

Okay, I have scoured the internet and I think I have a pretty good list of helpful software for writers. A special thanks to Sue on the How to Think Sideways message boards. She posted a majority of these links on our writer's forum. (Click to read How Think Sideways has helped me with my writing.)

First, the free stuff:

AbiWord
Bubbl.us web-based mind-mapping software. Good for brainstorming.
Google Notebook - a simple, but effective processor that you can access online and export onto any computer.
Dark Room: much like the mac's White Room, this is a simple processor that eliminates distractions.
Evernote - take a picture of something on your iPhone or Blackberry and sync it with your computer and the web. Pretty cool software.
Journler - journal and organizer (includes audio and video capabilities) (for Mac)

Langmaker - helps with language building (only works on Windows XP or under.)
Lotus Symphony: a word processor, spreadsheet and presentation application.
Page Four - a simple but intuitive word processor. It's like Word, but for writers. Nice little tools and other additions make this worth a look. In my opinion, this is the best out of the free stuff.(for the full version: $34.95, but the free version includes a lot.)
PlotCraft
Q10 - saves in a plain text format and comes with a timer. (Windows only)
Rough Draft
Scripped and Zhura - for script writing (This is a link to a blog that talks about it.)

Storybase Online
Write Sparks ($0 - $77)
Write This
yWriter 4
Writer's Café - has multiple tools including plotcards that you can move around. Great organizational tool. Works on Linux, too. ($45.00 for full version)
Writertopia - has Work in Progress meters you can use for blogs and other websites so others can follow your progress (see my widget).

Microsoft Office Suite has a program called OneNote. It isn't free, but you may find that you already have it on your computer. It's quite nice. You can get a 60 day free trial here, or if you're a student or teacher, you can get it at a discount here.
MacJournal may be on your computer right now, if you're a Mac user.


Now the less-than-free-but-good products:

Book Writer 5.01 ($89.95)
Dramatica Pro ($244.00)
Dramatica Writers DreamKit ($49.95)
IdeaWeaver ($49.95)
Jarte Plus ($19.00)
Liquid Story Binder XE - best creative writing software on the market (for Windows). See my post about it here. ($49.95)
New Novelist ($54.99)
Novel Writer ($61.00)
Power Structure ($179.00)
Power Writer ($129.95)

Story Wizard ($54.99)
Storybase Software ($99.00)
StoryView ($179.95)
StoryWeaver ($29.95)
SuperNoteCard ($29.00)
Text Block Author ($49.97)
Typing Chimp's Character Pro ($69.99)
Typing Chimp's Character Writer 2 ($39.99)
Typing Chimp's QuickStory ($49.99)
WriteItNow ($49.95)
Writers Blocks - great for note card plotting, among other things ($149.00)
WriteWay ($79.00)

And of course, Holly has tons of excellent classes, workshops and clinics! See my review of those here.