Dear Readers,
Much like the organization put towards my lovely vegetable garden to turn the barren soil into a bountiful harvest by learning what plants to place where, I realized my writing needed a new way to map manuscripts. There had to be a system to arrange the plot and characters into an easier format than the paper scrap scribbles laying around the desk, and character notes pinned to the wall. I waste so much time searching aimlessly for one snippet of plot placed beneath a myriad of paperwork stacked around the laptop, floor, on the side table—you get the picture.
The web offers so many choices. I narrowed them to a select few that specifically targeted plot building, character arcs, and scene development, and a program that allows easy access to the files without undo searching.
Purchasing Scrivener would eliminate all the wall tacks because the writing program has a built-in corkboard. Character descriptions are easy to locate, and chapter notes, with a little forethought by adding a one or two sentence description, can turn the data into a synopsis at the click of a formatting button. I shudder whenever an editor asks for one, and having this feature is worth the price alone. The program also formats to several different e-book templates without a big learning curve, and offers free tutorials. For this old girl, tutorials are a lifesaver, and the simplest way I learn about anything electronic.
Although the new program would assist in combining my chapters and notes, I’m still from the old school of writing ideas on paper. I just require a better technique--one that doesn’t form reams of papers as a fortress around the desk. For scene building, I came across this gem, Scene Elements Worksheet by Jami Gold. The format has everything I need to push characters into roles that are more dynamic and can double-check their results against a chart.
Jami Gold also wrote some wonderful writing craft-blogs about Beat Sheets, Writing Resources, and Workshop on Craft, Blogging, and Social Media. From her site, I hopped to the Janice Hardy’s Fiction University, Taking Your Writing to the Next Level Blogs. Once there, I found a plethora of knowledge about Character Dynamics, Plotting, and World Building. Then after writing a first draft, there is an entire section devoted to Editing, Querying, Writing a Synopsis, and Marketing my lovely novel.
Now, with all the help from easier formatting through the Scrivener program, and the wealth of knowledge I’ll learn from my new sources, I will have time to plant a new flower bed around the mailbox. The thought of foxgloves, gladioli, and black-eyed susans to entice the honeybees into the yard to help propagate my vegetables has me ready to download straight away.
Cheers,
Betty Wryte-Goode
Betty Wryte-Goode is a writer, mother, and wife who lives in the Lehigh Valley. Her passions include writing, reading, shopping, gardening, and exploring the internet. Betty is always looking for writing tips, so if you have any you would like to share, please send them to her through our Submissions/Contacts page.