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Writer’s Café, The Other Top Writing Tool

January 20, 2013 by 2 Comments

As I am putting my latest book together, I often wonder how many of you use writing tools to help organize your work. The most talked about tool has been Scrivener, which I have looked at a few times and seriously considered purchasing. It’s great Scrivener gives such a generous trial period, because I think generally writers are a cautious breed. And most, I fear, are not a wealthy bunch. The price makes Scrivener a good bargain.

However, the organization and writing tool I use and am heavily invested in with my book is Writer’s Café. To anyone considering Scrivener or a similar product, I would suggest giving Writer’s Café a look. Writer’s Café covers all the basics, such as organization of scenes, lining out chapters, story-boarding,  and character development. The software comes with a ton of options, including the ability to use it on a flash drive.

In fact, if there is one aspect of Writer’s Cafe that has caused me some consternation, it is how many options Writer’s Café actually has, which can be a bit intimidating. Just as a footnote, Writer’s Café is also compatible with Windows 8. I took the plunge and upgraded to Windows 8 this weekend and that was one of my questions. Question answered. It works just fine.

As for cost, Writer’s Café is priced the same as Scrivener, which is $40.00. You can also try it for free with a few limitations. And in case you’re wondering, I have no financial interest in Writer’s Café. Just thought I’d share.

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My social writers and their online presence

May 4, 2012 by 4 Comments

I read and article (complain) not long about writers who develop a social following via Facebook and Twitter mostly, if not entirely, to promote themselves. I would say the blogger was partially right. After all, that’s what authors have to do. Even big publishers expect their signed authors to go out and promote themselves. It can be time-consuming work, which obviously takes away from the true passion of an author.

So, I’m all for the authors I’ve met online who are working hard on their craft and then hoping to share their work with readers. It’s kinda what we have to do.

But . . .

Connections online are not about rising to the top by climbing over as many connections (friends and followers) online as you can get. For many of us, the people we meet online become friends in the true sense of the word as well as resources and best of all, It think, inspiration.

So, to all my inspirational friends, keep on getting your name out there!

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Are you confident in your writing?

April 14, 2012 by 2 Comments

Ever run across an author that makes you sit back and think, wow, that was a great story? I loved the prose. I wish I could write like that!

If you are a writer, you probably critically analyze the work of other authors. And you probably have some favorite authors, those you enjoy so much you wish you had their talent.

Well, their talent is theirs and can’t be transferred to you through any amount of osmoses. In fact, your favorite author couldn’t even give you his or her talent even if they wanted to. Sorry, talent is non-transferrable.

The upside, of course, is that you own your own talent and the ability to develop the skills necessary to make your writing shine.

I have many favorite authors. I used to think I wanted to write like them. I later realized that I was trying to achieve an unrealistic and rather naïve goal. The reality is, I believe I have a unique style and talent all my own that with skill and polish will make me an author many readers will discover and enjoy reading.

Earlier in this post, I spoke about being critical of or trying to emulate other authors. The real issue is, we are often more critical of ourselves to the point we lose faith and momentum in our writing. I say, trust your talent and become one of those authors who makes readers think wow!

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The simplest and best writing trick

April 7, 2012 by 4 Comments

I’m always ready to find that magical nugget of advice that will help me crash through my writer’s blocks. Sorry, I have to refer to writer’s block as blocks, because I have more than my fair share. So what’s the best advice?

Simply write
Yes. I wish I had some clever advice no one has ever discovered. But the simplest and most effective way to get past that wall is to write. It doesn’t have to be great prose. It doesn’t even have to be good. Let’s not even worry about quantity. (While I like the idea of word count goals, sometimes life just gets in the way for me.)

A while back I made a resolution to write something on my projects every day, whether it was a good day or not, or I was too tired, or I only had a few minutes to write. I wrote, and I continue to write daily.

Secondary and diversionary projects, not such a bad thing
Further, I resolved to write on my main project every day, despite my many writing diversions. I confess, I have a few projects I have started, and on any given day, some generate more creativity and productivity than my main project. Since our minds often work in mysterious ways, I figure it’s not such a bad idea to write on a project where the creative juices are flowing, build up some momentum, and then use that momentum to meet my writing goal on my main project.

Sometimes forced writing is better writing
The whole idea of having to force ourselves to write even when creativity has taken a hiatus suggests that whatever hits the page is going to be crap. I disagree. I have learned that some of my better writing occurred when I was trying to fight through  writer’s block. Could it mean that our best writing doesn’t come without some hard work and frustration? I think so. I submit that inspiration isn’t synonymous with easy. It doesn’t magically appear for a few lucky authors as soon as they sit down to write.

Rather, inspiration is the result of hard work, self doubt, persistence, education, and experience.

 

 

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