Angela Booth's Writing Blog

Love to Write on Your iPad

Writing Kit is one of the many apps that supports markdown. That's in fact one of the reasons I picked it. Once you start to sync things you write on you quickly learn all your neat formatting may get lost. Markdown helps plain text files have formatting.

via www.searchenginepeople.com

I love writing on my iPad, because it doesn't seem serious; I'm more creative because it's not "real" writing.

If you write for the Web, as I do, you'll enjoy Writing Kit. It offers Markdown -- no more complicated HTML code. Try it yourself, you'll like it.

Don't Give Up -- Ever

At one point, [Richard] almost quit writing because he received such a low advance on a book. We were talking about how he might have to give up writing when the phone rang.  Oprah’s producer was on the line. She said she was just in their library looking for a book on stress management and “You Can Be Happy, No Matter What” popped off the top shelf and hit her in the head!

via blog.writingspirit.com

Ready to give up the writing life?

Do it tomorrow, never today.

You never know what's around the corner.

Over the years I've chatted with many writers who were about to give up (one was ready to delete all ten of her unpublished novels from her hard drives) when something amazing happened.

Writing is a journey. Sometimes you're traveling through a desert... Then an oasis appears.

Never, ever give up.

(Read the above article, about four authors who didn't give up.)

If You Hate Social Media

Q: Do you have any tips on how writers can use social media to connect with readers?
A: (1) Be yourself. I know that sounds trite, but that’s really the only thing I can tell you that will help. Don’t try to sound like Colson Whitehead or Neil Gaiman or Judy Blume; just be yourself.
(2) Talk to readers! Thank them for reading your books, re-tweet observations they make.
(3) Make connections. One of the joys of social media has been that it’s given me ‘people’ again – a virtual water cooler where I can hang out and discuss The Bachelor, or the book I can’t wait to read this fall (Jami Attenberg’s The Middlesteins, in case you were wondering).

via www.mediabistro.com

I know that many writers hate social media. We're shy. That's why we're writers, rather than actors.

Consider however that you don't need to be anyone you're not -- you can "do" social media on your own terms.

Years ago (pre-2004) writers fussed about blogging. Of course, blogging is a form of social media too. Writers were told that to blog, you had to do this, and this and this... and you could never do that (whatever the blogger's personal peeve happened to be)...

It was all nonsense.

Blogging was then, as it is now, one thing: instant publication.

So is every form of social media.

Bottom line: writers write. We need readers. We LOVE readers. Yes, you're writing for yourself, always, because writing is a form of discovery. You're also writing for readers.

"Social media" is readers. It's powerful. Use it on your own terms.

Giggle of the Day: "Blush 50 Shades of Crimson"

About half way through the book, I looked up the author to see if she was a teenager. I really did because the characters are out of a 16 year old's fantasy. The main male character is a billionaire (not a millionaire but a billionaire) who speaks fluent French, is basically a concert level pianist, is a fully trained pilot, is athletic, drop dead gorgeous, tall, built perfectly with an enormous penis, and the best lover on the planet. In addition, he's not only self made but is using his money to combat world hunger. Oh yeah, and all of this at the ripe old age of 26! And on top of that, he's never working. Every second is spent having sex or texting and emailing the female character. His billions seem to have just come about by magic. It seriously feels like 2 teenage girls got together and decided to create their "dream man" and came up with Christian Grey.

via www.amazon.com

I haven't read Fifty Shades of Grey, but there are almost 7,500 reviews of the book on Amazon. The reviews are probably more fun than the book...

The above review is wonderful -- it's the most popular one, and it's a hoot.

The reviewer ends her review by saying: "I imagine that they get married, have 2 perfect children, cure world hunger, and live happily ever after while riding into the sunset, as the female character climaxes on her horse causing her to chew her bottom lip and blush fifty shades of crimson. Jeez!"

Trust the Writing Process: Creativity Is Chaos

“The idea for your book seemed so clear. You grabbed the inspiration, made a rough outline, and dove into scribbling your ideas down. Soon enough, your enthusiasm has burbled over into chaos. You lost the thread of logic and your writing just feels like a handful of messy incoherence.

via blogs.psychcentral.com

Writers who complain that writing is "hard" are threatened by the chaos of the creative process. Trusting yourself when you're convinced that your writing is junk seems impossible.

You don't have a choice however. Especially on a long project like a book, have faith. You need to believe that those jigsaw pieces you're writing will eventually create a beautiful picture.

They will.

Keep writing.

Your Novel From Word One to One Hundred Thousand

1. Don’t worry about format until you are finished.

Details like this only stand in your way from writing a great story. Worry about cooking the meal first before concerning yourself with presentation. You can wait until much, much later to adjust your manuscript and adhere to formatting guidelines. And, when you are ready, read this piece on how to format a manuscript.

via www.writersdigest.com

The above article gives you great advice on how to get from the first word to the last word of your novel manuscript.

As the quote says, worry about formatting when your work's done, not before. It's immaterial before you're finished, yet it's the first question many writers ask.

Why?

If your novel manuscript is anything like mine, you have pieces of it everywhere. Most of my pieces are in Scrivener. Others are on index cards and in various notebooks, ready to be transcribed (and rewritten) into Scrivener.

Here's my best advice...

Don't worry about writing a novel.

Write ONE scene. And then another one, and another one. This cuts the process down to size. When you write enough scenes, you end up with a book.

Outline as you go. If you're a "pantser" (someone who can't outline, and likes to explore as you go), outline as you go. That is, complete a scene, and then write a three sentence outline of what happened in the scene.

As you complete your scenes, your outline will grow, and give you ideas for further scenes.

You write your novel one scene at a time, and one day at a time. Worry about formatting when your novel's done.

Writing Apps to Satisfy a Writer's Soul

I absolutely must write by hand. Somewhere out there is a writer who insists on pounding The Great American Novel out with chisel and stone.

I still write by hand, and sometimes I use a word processor, too. But if there’s technology out there that will make my project easier – and dare I say, even better – then I’m going to give it a shot.

via matadornetwork.com

I love fountain pens and paper. I always think better with a pen in my hand. Writing by hand is deeply satisfying.

However, I love apps too. I use several of the apps in Michelle's excellent article "10 apps for creating DIY bestsellers" (follow the link above).

Here's my theory about writing. It's a paradox. It's both the easiest, most natural thing in the world... and the hardest.

Good tools can making writing easier. For example, take Scrivener. Before Scrivener, I dreaded working on a novel because I'm the queen of scenes. I write scenes without knowing quite where they'll go.

Having hundreds of scenes is manageable with MS Word, but it's a challenge. Scrivener makes it easy. You can annotate scenes, experiment by writing a scene from another character's point of view, move scenes anywhere you want them to go... Scrivener makes writing not only easier, but also a great deal more pleasurable. It frees your creativity.

When you find an app which helps your writing, it's deeply satisfying... it satisfies your writer's soul.

Disaster Sells: For Seven Figures

Why it's notable: The book sold for a reported seven figures, and it's been optioned for the movies and has earned early rave reviews.

via www.usatoday.com

Disaster sells.

My favorite disaster novel is The Poseidon Adventure, which was made into a movie of the same name.

What disasters could you write about? Forget global warming -- how about a comet striking the earth, and causing a new ice age?

Scrivener Update Time!

Writing a novel, research paper, script or any long-form text involves more than hammering away at the keys until you’re done. Collecting research, ordering fragmented ideas, shuffling index cards in search of that elusive structure—most writing software is fired up only after much of the hard work is done. Enter Scrivener: a word processor and project management tool that stays with you from that first, unformed idea all the way through to the final draft. Outline and structure your ideas, take notes, view research alongside your writing and compose the constituent pieces of your text in isolation or in context. Scrivener won't tell you how to write—it just makes all the tools you have scattered around your desk available in one application.

via www.literatureandlatte.com

It's Scrivener update time... yes! :-)

Lots of goodies in this update, so open Scrivener, fellow devotee, and get updating.

From the release notes, this is wonderful for me:

"Internal links are now preserved when compiling to RTF format (and to .doc and .docx if using the advanced Java-based exporters)."

It may not impress you, but there are so many goodies you'll find something to be pleased about.

You're a Writer: Get Readers

I had been resisting blogging because I didn’t want to talk about me and my woeful journey. But then I realized two things. One, other people were on that same journey and might like to trade experiences. And two, a blog didn’t have to be just about me. I could use it to spread the word about all the writers I was meeting and their books.

via foreverbklover.blogspot.com.au

Many writers STILL resist blogging. (Sigh.)

I'm fond of telling writers that blogging will change them. It will present them with opportunities they could get in no other way.

It's instant publication: you get readers. What's not to like about that?

Ebook Success for Journalists: Electronic Rights Matter

As Finkle notes, if an article “goes crazy – if you’ve got a huge number of people hitting a story, or buying copies off the newsstand, the way it stands right now, the writer doesn’t collect any royalties.” With an e-book, “if 50,000 people – or, in the case of Jon Krakauer, hundreds of thousands of people buy an e-book for $3, the writer stands to benefit from that in a very real way.”

via www.theglobeandmail.com

Journalism is changing: write a story in two weeks, and sell it. And make money.

Create Your Book Blurb: Get It Done

Blurbs have to do a few things which are:

• tell us something about the protagonist(s) that hint at their personality and deeper character,
• cast a mood or tone so we know if the book is suspenseful, funny, dramatic, romantic -- if it's historical or speculative this might include hints at setting or era,
• set us up for the primary conflict or story problem.

via www.naomimusch.com

Writing a novel? Blurbs in their various forms tend to panic writers.

You'll need blurbs in several lengths:

* Three sentence -- enough to tantalize;

* Two paragraph -- intrigue an editor or agent in your book proposal;

* Description -- "back cover" blurb.

Here's how to end your panic.

1. Start by getting into the right mindset. Read others' blurbs, online, and at the bookstore.

Copy five of your favorite blurbs: hand-write them. You're not copying to plagiarize -- or to use in your own work. This is a mindset trick. You're teaching yourself to FEEL blurb-writing.

Digression: the "copying" trick is a good way to teach yourself any form of writing. Again, you're not indulging in plagiarism. You're copying to get the FEEL of a form of writing in your mind, heart and bones.

2. Describe your main character and her situation in a few words: "perky, ever-optimistic Penny gets fired on the day her divorce is final, and her life goes downhill from there."

3. What's your main character's goal? Describe in a few words.

4. What's the conflict? Who stands in the way of your main character achieving his/ her goal?

Tip: Write your blurb(s) immediately, as soon as you begin your novel. Your blurb may change 100 times as you write, but it acts as a compass, to guide you in your writing.

The big benefit of writing your blurb up front is that it's much easier to do so. I've seen writers who had good reason to panic when they tried to write a blurb for novels they'd "finished." Their blurb was weak because their book was weak.

Writing Gifts You Receive Every Night (and Day)

Let me ask you this: what if you got a package delivered to your house? What if you knew that this gift was made for just you? What if everyday such a package arrived at your door? And, let's further imagine that this gift came in a box that was somewhat challenging to open. This box wasn't instantly accessible. You had to spend some time unpacking the gift.

via www.psychologytoday.com

Do you make the most of your dreams? Sadly, I don't. I wish I did.

I do make use of my unconscious however. It does most of the work for me, as it does for every writer.

Although I'm insufficiently motivated to work with my dreams daily -- I only bother when I have a BIG problem -- I do work with daydreams, especially with my novels.

Here's how. When I'm not sure where a scene is going, or need some help with dialog, I close my eyes, and wait for the picture show to start. The scene may play out in my imagination; all I do is write it down. Often I just receive an image -- that's enough for me to start writing. I describe the image, and before I know it, an hour has passed. The scene is done.

Please share your experiences. Do you rely on your unconscious for your writing?

Great Writing Advice From Lisa Unger

How do you get past writers' block (or the distraction of the Internet)?

A I don't believe in writers' block. I think that's just fear, or perfectionism. In "The Lie That Tells a Truth," author John Dufresne says that writers' block is you wanting to write well right now. But sometimes all you have to do is write. Perfection -- or hopefully something close -- comes in revision.

Now, the Internet -- there's a creativity killer. If you let it, it will just suck you right in, and eat all your hours like a hungry little gremlin. Turn it off! I have a brilliant program called Freedom. I set a timer, and it blocks the Internet for the hours I plan to write. Doing this has the effect of setting an intention. I'm announcing to myself: I came here to write and nothing else.

via www.startribune.com

Lisa Unger writes page-turners, and you can see why -- she's a writer, so she writes.

No excuses for her -- or for any of us. :-)

Are You a Genius At Blogging?

Years ago, I saw a cartoon; a man was speaking to a small boy. He said: “It’s not enough to be a genius, Freddy. You have to be a genius AT something.”

Similarly, it’s not enough to blog — you need to blog AT something. You can make money blogging, but you need to turn your blog into a business.

via www.fabfreelancewriting.com

Professional bloggers make $50,000 a year. However, most bloggers make nothing at all.

If you want to make money blogging, you'll discover how in tomorrow's issue of Fab Freelance Writing Ezine.

I'm publishing an issue from Fab Freelance Writing Pro in the free weekly writing tips ezine, because it's necessary. There's a lot of confusion around blogging.