From memory, the middle's always irksome. The excitement and novelty's weeks in the past and the light at the end of the tunnel can't yet be seen.
As Churchill said: keep buggering on.
As Churchill said: keep buggering on.
What are you working on right now?
- Thread starter Mouse
- Start date
AlexH
Well-Known Member
Yesterday, I finally finished editing a flash at the longer end of the scale (1,350 words) I'd been sitting on since November. It was only my third submission this year, which I'm hoping to drastically improve on. It'll be the fourth submission soon, as it's been rejected already (I like the quick rejections).
The other two submissions were for the Writers of the Future contest, for which I have another draft to finish by the end of this month. Hopefully, I avoid the 25-hours without sleep for deadline day, though that did lead to my second Honourable Mention in the contest. Still a rejection though!
The other two submissions were for the Writers of the Future contest, for which I have another draft to finish by the end of this month. Hopefully, I avoid the 25-hours without sleep for deadline day, though that did lead to my second Honourable Mention in the contest. Still a rejection though!
double post
Passed the 30K mark today on the new WIP. That's 45 days of writing according to Scrivener...
Trollheart
Nothing Wicked This Way Comes...
What's the screenshot from? That looks pretty cool.
Edit: D'oh! I see it's Scrivener. Good idea for me to read the whole post perhaps in future...
Edit: D'oh! I see it's Scrivener. Good idea for me to read the whole post perhaps in future...
Last edited:
Yup, it’s Scrivener alright; I’d be lost without it. Been using it for about eight years now.
pH
I need to
Whenever you need me, Kerry.
Btw I don’t think it’s so different on a Mac ?? I’m not sure but I’ve not heard that. In any case I’m sure we can sort it out.
pH
Weekly update: I'd say I'm around a fifth of the way in, maybe a quarter, who knows? A touch under 37k anyway
Just that screenshot is useful to see how you utilise Scrivener.Weekly update: I'd say I'm around a fifth of the way in, maybe a quarter, who knows? A touch under 37k anyway
View attachment 66450
View attachment 66449
Great progress, too!
It scares me so much!
Then I probably shouldn't tell you that I'm 37,779 words into the sequel to Knife Edge, which I began writing at the end of May, only I don't have the fancy charts and graphics that @Phyrebrat uses, since I'm still struggling to get to grips with Scrivener!
That’s grand! It’s the graphics that scare me....
You two crack me up
I'm not sure I go anywhere near the depth you think I do with Scrivener; I know I use a fraction of its features.
It helps that Literature and Latte (the company responsible for Scrivener) have a wonderful Youtube channel of tutorials which are clear and - more importantly for me - short.
As far as the charts go, Scrivener does that automatically, I just click project>writing history or project>statistics and it generates that for you.
There is another feature I like though which has been invaluable in A Sour Ground: 'Collections'. Collections are like custom binders that you can add various scenes (text box/page) to. For example in the 1750s era I had a side story in epistolary format and I wanted to be able to read through all those diary entries without having to search for them through each POV scene of whoever was reading them. I allocated them to a collection I called Lady Selwyn's Memoirs and then I could read them as a complete narrative and check for consistency much easier, simply by clicking the collections tab and reading it as shown.
FInally, it's lovely to be able to research and then drag an image or passage from the web into the research folder and have it available offline and saved as part of your project. And research from Kindle books where you've made annotated notes which can export to Scrivener via PDF so I don't have hundreds of different research books with paper notes. The folders on the left in the above image are my research (Skyhook, tannery, slave auction, etc) and if I click on them, there is everything from architectural plans to Dickens quotes, to exported text and notes from a "How to be a Victorian" e-book I bought.
Of course the compile function is invaluable and I find editing on a Kindle far easier than on Macbook or my Mac, so I like to export and have the chapter LOCs and everything so I can skip to the part I'm editing on my Kindle easier.
I think it depends on how complex your plots are - I used to write on Word up till around 2012 (maybe even earlier!) but writing a nested story with 11 POVs over approx one thousand years needed software like Scrivener. I'd've never finished it otherwise.
So I think there're about four things I use Scrivener for!
pH
I'm not sure I go anywhere near the depth you think I do with Scrivener; I know I use a fraction of its features.
I just use what I want from Scrivener. I don't go into the deep process of metatags and what not. I think people forget that Scrivener is designed not just for novel writers, but for academic writers, bloggers, shorts, technical manuals and reference, screenplay and poetry. Therefore there's likely a lot of features that you would never use but see evidence of in the menus or on-screen.
It helps that Literature and Latte (the company responsible for Scrivener) have a wonderful Youtube channel of tutorials which are clear and - more importantly for me - short.
I don't really do much, Kerry. When I start a new project I'll just select the "novel" template and start writing in the first text box (I think of it as a page or scene). If I start a new POV, I'll open a new text page and begin that character's POV. If I'm writing in more than one POV, I give them their own colour which is a simple case of right clicks and what not. That's why the layout in the screen above is all different colours. As a synaesthetic, I find it easier if I colour the POV names to the colour I 'see' them thus in the above example: Eunice = lilac, Henrietta = forest green and Crawford = black; that's the colour I see them in my head so it makes sense to colour them that way for easy reference.
As far as the charts go, Scrivener does that automatically, I just click project>writing history or project>statistics and it generates that for you.
There is another feature I like though which has been invaluable in A Sour Ground: 'Collections'. Collections are like custom binders that you can add various scenes (text box/page) to. For example in the 1750s era I had a side story in epistolary format and I wanted to be able to read through all those diary entries without having to search for them through each POV scene of whoever was reading them. I allocated them to a collection I called Lady Selwyn's Memoirs and then I could read them as a complete narrative and check for consistency much easier, simply by clicking the collections tab and reading it as shown.
FInally, it's lovely to be able to research and then drag an image or passage from the web into the research folder and have it available offline and saved as part of your project. And research from Kindle books where you've made annotated notes which can export to Scrivener via PDF so I don't have hundreds of different research books with paper notes. The folders on the left in the above image are my research (Skyhook, tannery, slave auction, etc) and if I click on them, there is everything from architectural plans to Dickens quotes, to exported text and notes from a "How to be a Victorian" e-book I bought.
Of course the compile function is invaluable and I find editing on a Kindle far easier than on Macbook or my Mac, so I like to export and have the chapter LOCs and everything so I can skip to the part I'm editing on my Kindle easier.
I think it depends on how complex your plots are - I used to write on Word up till around 2012 (maybe even earlier!) but writing a nested story with 11 POVs over approx one thousand years needed software like Scrivener. I'd've never finished it otherwise.
So I think there're about four things I use Scrivener for!
pH
I think it’s more to do with process than subject. I have notebooks that are practically their own ecosystem.....
I have backs of envelopes, assorted notebooks, spreadsheets and multiple formats of writing software all running at the same time. If the dog sits still too long when I'm in full creative flow, he might find me trying to write notes on his back. I think all the shielding letters I've received since the Coronavirus have notes scribbled on the back of them. Exploded diagrams, timelines, plot notes, Chekov's guns, etc.
I really need to start using Scrivener more...
I really need to start using Scrivener more...
jbmwriting
lover of space operas
- Joined
- Jul 3, 2020
- Messages
- 18
My plot was simple enough not to need Scrivener this time... which probably says something bad about my book. Google Docs has been excellent for edits and beta reader comments though, and Vellum handles the formatting side.
As far as what I'm working on, I need to write a prologue to serve as a reader magnet for my (to be launched) mailing list. Some ideas are coming together but I haven't typed anything up yet.
As far as what I'm working on, I need to write a prologue to serve as a reader magnet for my (to be launched) mailing list. Some ideas are coming together but I haven't typed anything up yet.
- Joined
- Apr 19, 2014
- Messages
- 631
I'm 24k words into my current WIP, and I haven't finished the beginning, yet. I've always wanted to write a long novel and I think this might be the one.
Working title is 'Kill My Kid'. I've even thought of a fun tagline: 'When Kelly shot fire from her hoo-ha, she beckoned a magical invasion of Earth.' It might need a little work.
Working title is 'Kill My Kid'. I've even thought of a fun tagline: 'When Kelly shot fire from her hoo-ha, she beckoned a magical invasion of Earth.' It might need a little work.
DTJohnson
DT Johnson
Currently, I'm in the proccess of co-authoring a graphic novel! It's in the very early stages, but I am extremely excited about it. It's a Science-Fantasy novel that combines magic with futuristic technology in a colorful universe, paired with a stirring plot-line. Basically, I asked myself: "What would happen if you took a classic fantasy setting and left it alone for a few thousand years? I mean, they have magic. If we can send people to space and create high-tech devices without magic, imagine what they could do with magic!"
We are getting the plot squared away at the moment, but since I am also going to be the illustrator for the graphic novel, I couldn't help but start sketching up ideas. Some examples of world-building I've done have been replacing scifi robots/droids with high-intelligence golems, as well as creating a menagerie of diverse creatures to inhabit the planets with! I can't wait for the day that it sees publication!
We are getting the plot squared away at the moment, but since I am also going to be the illustrator for the graphic novel, I couldn't help but start sketching up ideas. Some examples of world-building I've done have been replacing scifi robots/droids with high-intelligence golems, as well as creating a menagerie of diverse creatures to inhabit the planets with! I can't wait for the day that it sees publication!
AlexH
Well-Known Member
I'm slightly revising a recent Honourable Mention (which I still consider a rejection) from Writers of the Future to submit elsewhere. At one point, I never thought I'd get past a straight rejection, but now it seems I'll never get past the HM! My trajectory so far): R - R - R - R - HM - R - R - HM - HM.
Next, I'll be onto a story to submit to Writers of the Future this quarter. I have a critiqued 5,500-word first draft to work on. And then I'll hopefully have time to continue editing my older stories before the next WotF quarter. I seem to have become slower at writing.
Next, I'll be onto a story to submit to Writers of the Future this quarter. I have a critiqued 5,500-word first draft to work on. And then I'll hopefully have time to continue editing my older stories before the next WotF quarter. I seem to have become slower at writing.