A Mac thing

I just noticed that I can dictate in Scrivener, now that I've upgraded to Mountain Lion. This is very cool. (BTW, Scrivener is my writing program.)

It's surprising how well it works. If you're on a Mac and using Mountain Lion, just click Edit and choose Start Dictation (in any application that supports it). In my first try, it transcribed my words perfectly. I doubt I'll dictate my next book but it's nice to know that I have this option.

Scrivener files may become artistic relics

Will embiggen a bit, if clicked.

I use Scrivener to write. It's a Mac-centric program that's about to be released in Windows format. On the Mac it's been around for a while and it's the best program to write with, bar none.

One thing Scrivener allows you to do is collect research materials. You can include recordings, articles, video, web pages, pastes of anything, photos -- all sorts of things. You just tuck them into the "Research" area of your Scrivener files for the book.

I also toss the detritus from the cutting-room floor there. Scenes I've cut, ideas I decided in the end not to use -- they all end up in in my Scrivener book file.

One day, if a book I write (or a book by anyone who uses Scrivener) becomes hugely popular, I imagine these source files will be of interest. They might sell for a pretty penny in our money-crazed culture. I could see them being bid on at Southeby's in ten or twenty years.

Even if my files don't become sacred relics, if there is a fan base for my books I plan to release cut scenes on the blog, to give people another taste of a book they enjoyed. I see this as a real bonus. I'd love to read more of a book I thought I'd finished long ago. Extra scenes! Sounds hot.

There are no negatives with Scrivener. It's all gravy. If you haven't tried it, you might want to check it out. And if you're on a PC, hang on. I expect there will be a version for you later this year. It is so easy to write with Scrivener. Just open it up, take a sip of espresso and you're writing. It's really that simple. (Well, okay, it isn't; but when you're ready to write, Scrivener can help.)

The only slogan that works

I was feeling worn out today and didn't think I could write.  However, I employed my fabulous mantra -- Drink Espresso and Open Scrivener -- and it worked. It always works.

I wrote the next section of "Ink" today, the book within which my short stories will live. Since there are four short stories to surround, I need five scenes for the "outer" story.  To date, I've done three of the needed scenes and have inserted three short stories within this framework. It's sounding good so far, IMHO. Only one more short story to stick in, meaning I've only got to write two additional scenes and the book is done.

Okay, okay, not the "book", the novella. And is that a sad fate for fiction, or what? If the only thing you can do with short stories is give them away, the novella probably occupies a rung even lower on that ladder. How many readers see "novella" and think, "oh, goodie!"? Uh-huh, it's a bad length.

Nevertheless, I like the idea of writing a book to showcase my short stories. I'll decide what to do with it later.

Thing is, I wrote today, which makes me a major success.

Drink espresso and open Scrivener

 

This is an image from Scrivener 2.0, the best writing software in the world.  For years it was only available for Mac users, and I understand the latest version, which just came out a week or two ago, only runs on the latest Mac O/S, not earlier versions.  If you're on a PC, the good news is they're coming out with a PC version this month, I believe.

That's my motto in the title: "Drink espresso and open Scrivener".  It's the only thing I have to do to start writing.  Truly.  Even on days when I feel useless and I'm convinced I can't write, if I make myself that cup of espresso and click on the Scrivener icon, I'm soon writing.  (I suspect there's magic involved.)

It's a great program, very fluid.  It lets you write how you want, turning the text into clay that you can move around at will.  It's simple to try different scene orders, and then see them as one block of text.  This can be eye-opening (and I've permanently changed the order of scenes like this; it was so easy).

Or you can view a selection of scenes as one large block of text (say, all the scenes with a particular character in them).  This is surprisingly refreshing -- for me, it opened doors that I would have never noticed.  It's one of the best features of the program.  But there's so much more.

You can view your work as titles and summaries on a corkboard, or look at it as files within a chapter structure.  One of the most heroic features is that it saves every few seconds without the writer having to do anything.  This rescued me during several electrical outages.  I didn't lose one word!  It's a writer's best friend.

And when you're done, you can output it any way you want.  It will help you create the manuscript you need for submissions, and you can also output it to ePub, Kindle and other formats.  This is tremendously helpful to me when I give my stuff out to readers.  We have three Sony Readers in the family and I use all of them to give copies of the book to readers.   It's simple and it saves paper.  (My last manuscript was over 400 pages.)

This is my primary writing tool.  If it sounds interesting, you can download a version immediately from Literature and Latte and it's only 45 bucks.  A bargain at any price, as I'm sure you'll agree if you try it.  Plus Keith, the designer, is highly available by email to answer any questions you may have when you actually use it.  He's a pleasure to deal with.  (And no, though both our names are Keith, I have no connection with the product other than using it.)

Tools of the trade.  This is one of them.