Blog posts

Home > Blog posts (Page 15)

From idea to final draft Having spilled the beans about my modus operandi regarding my devices, this time, it's my process of using Scrivener from idea to final draft. My Scrivener process: from idea to final draft Writing a novel is not easy. It takes forever and it's easy to lose heart. I have a simple, straightforward, process which helps me to reach the endpoint with my sense of humour intact. Briefly, there are ten...

Spotlight on style Writers, we each of us have our own voice and a style of writing that we employ for particular types of material. What do I mean by style? My writing style varies according to what I am writing and my intended audience. In an email, I might be formal, giving only facts eg of a forthcoming workshop. In a letter, or on a postcard, I might be informal, sharing anecdotes...

TASK RESEARCH The keywords TASK RESEARCH included in a comment indicating that I need to spend time, probably on the Internet, gathering more information. As with other tasks, I set up a collection. When do I tackle the Research tasks? I tackle research tasks when my circumstances dictate that other - maybe more important or pressing - tasks would be impossible or impractical. For example, I save the research tasks for when I'm too...

Every story needs an information highway Within a story, information travels to and fro between characters and, as a witness to these interactions, to the reader. Add to this, the narrator's contribution and you should have a story, one that works. How does logic fit into a story? Whatever your premise, there will be some logic in how you took that premise and turned it into a story. You dreamed up a plot. ...

Global tasks affect the whole manuscript Hence the term. The issue is not confined to one sentence or one paragraph or one scene or one chapter. I have to address all of the manuscripts, from start to finish. Categories of global task Global tasks also fall into two further categories: Big Picture Devil in the Detail Global 'Big Picture' tasks These are tasks that affect the whole manuscript and have to be addressed, preferably, in one hit....

Editing is a series of fixes Those familiar with building terminology will recognise 'first fix' as a stage in which electricians and plumbers and joiners get so far and then leave the site, only to return when work has progressed sufficiently for them to complete their part of the jigsaw. I see editing in the same way. It's a series of 'fixes'. Each round of editing serves to improve the manuscript, taking it...

I use inline annotations while I am writing. Rather than stop to set up a comment or a footnote, I click the annotations icon and type a message to myself, click the button again and carry straight on. I don't let my internal editor interrupt the flow! Annotations: an example This is an extract from my Aide Memmoir novel. While writing, during NaNoWriMo, I needed a few pieces of factual information, but I'd...