All About Writing

Archive for the ‘Writing Tips’ Category

Posted on November 8, 2010 - by Nicole Humphrey Cook

Squash a Tomato or Write a Lot of Words: How to Get More Words

I’m really not having that much of a problem trying to maintain my writing everyday, but with that said, since I’m trying to do the Reverse method of writing this year, I am a bit behind where I am supposed to be today. I’m supposed to be at 23,447 and I am just over 18,000. See, not quite there.  That’s okay, because I am still ahead of regular NaNoWriMo, so I’m not really complaining.

I was trying to find different methods to try to see if I could race myself to write more shutting my inner editor up, because she likes to vocalize and be heard all through my writing. It’s annoying. Write or Die is great, but I haven’t really felt compelled to use it this year.

I did however find mytomatoes.com and it has been an interesting tool to use to try to get as much writing done as I can in a short amount of time. I don’t know that there is anything all that special about it, only that for some reason its fun and reminds me a little of the thrill I get when I participate in word wars. I’m notorious for missing word wars and word sprints on twitter, so this works the same way.

The idea is basically teaching you time management by using a cooking timer. Click on the link, load the page, sign in or register and start the time.  As soon as the 25 minutes appears, go write. Write and Write and Write. Don’t stop. Don’t edit. JUST WRITE. Get as many words as you can in that 25 minutes.  For me, I sometimes just need accountability. I also love that you do the task (whatever you WANT to do) for 25 minutes and then you take a 5 minute break. The alarm goes off and you start again. This gives you time for a reward, a potty break, getting coffee or food. When you hear the alarm again – its time to start a new tomato.

I have enjoyed this so far… I can usually get about 2 or 3 tomatoes in (sometimes 4 of 5) before I actually need to get up and do something else for a bit. I love that it gives me the time to do all of this. Check it out. If you need a push, this might be just the thing you need.

Popularity: 11% [?]

Posted on November 6, 2010 - by Nicole Humphrey Cook

Write a Random # of Words

I don’t have time for a long blog post, but will be back later to fulfill that. In the meantime, I thought I’d give you a cool tip I’ve seen circulating around.

See this link?

This link

Yea. That one. Wait! Don’t click on it yet.

This is a GREAT tool to use if you need a little push on your writing. For example. I will sit down and write x amount of words for y minutes.

Now, the link does not have a timer. All it is, is a random number generator. It will randomly select a number between 1-1000. Yes, I have gotten one. More on that later.

You take your number and that is the amount of words you must write. No questions asked. You might only get 31. That’s great. Write your 31 words. And if you’re brave, click it again afterward. This time you might get 954. Yes, you have to write that too.

I love this when you want to get a little writing done but aren’t really feeling that motivated. Or perhaps as a… when I finish writing x amount of words, I can get on twitter/facebook/blogs/read a book…. whatever.

If you get 1, click it again and then add 1 to whatever you get. I’ve done that when I have gotten low numbers. I will click three times if I get a double digit the first two times. I got 44 the first time, 76 the second time and then I got a whopping 727 the third time. But guess what? I wrote every single one of those words.

I hope it is a nice little motivator for you. Oh, and here’s the link again.

The link

P.S. Before I found this tip, I used the dice method. I would use either 3 or 4 dice that I picked up from the dollar store. If I only had a short period of time, I only used three. If I had much longer, I would use 4. Roll the dice one at a time and write each number down in the order you roll it. (you could use the same dice, but I liked rolling them all at the same time and picking them up from left to right).  At the end, that’s your word count goal. I liked the dice because they were portable. Yes, I know I’m a nerd.

Popularity: 8% [?]

Posted on October 25, 2010 - by Nicole Humphrey Cook

Balancing Time for Writing and Life

These tips are useful for any writer, including those doing National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo). Many people who are participating in NaNoWriMo, are college students, parents or work a full time job. Any of these things, and many more I didn’t mention, can be an inhibitor to the amount of time you might have to devote to your writing. Obviously, it goes without saying – that this is true about writing any time of year. Not just November.
So what do you do about it?

1. Make time to write. I know that this tip is probably the most commonly heard, but also the least effectively executed for some. Sometimes its darn near impossible to find time to write during our busy schedules. No matter what we have going on, it is important to set aside a little bit of writing time. Even if it is only in 15-30 minute increments. Get up 30 minutes early. Go to bed 30 minutes later. That can help, because 15 minutes of writing in one day, is more than NO writing in one day. Try to fit writing into your schedule, even if you have to take a notebook and paper with you and sit on a bus and write, or sit in a doctors office to write. There is a way to make time, you just have to be willing to make it a priority and find the time.

2. If you are a college student, you have studying, tests and exams and homework to contend with. A tip that I have heard (since I am not a college student), is that when you are bored with writing your novel, study. If you are bored of studying, write your novel. Go back and forth as often as you need to, to make sure you get time for both.

3. Trying keeping track of your time. For a couple of days, write down your schedule. Be honest and write every single thing you do down. Then, take a look at it and see what can be eliminated. For instance, did you really need to watch that show? Could you have used your DVR (if you have it) to record the show and watch it later when you have more time? What about sitting in that waiting room. Could you have taken a pen and paper (or a mini-laptop if you have it) to get some writing, note taking or brain storming done? You get the point… take a look at what you truly spend time on and see if there is a way to cut things out. Remember, it’s only for a month (if you are doing NaNoWriMo).

4. Write when others are asleep. If you have children, or a husband/wife that is not doing NaNo… sometimes the best time to write is when everyone else is asleep. When you put your child down for a nap, write. When your husband or wife goes to bed, write. Even if its in small increments, its still writing.

5. Try doing NaNo word counts backwards. In a typical month of November, your daily word count should average about 1667 words/day to end up with 50,000 at the end. What if you tried to reward yourself by only writing one word on the 30th of November? This year, on the boards – someone figured out a backwards method of doing NaNo that actually rewards your good writing days and requires you to write less each day. I absolutely love the method. I usually start out with a gusto and seem to fizzle somewhere in the middle of the month, so having to write less each day would make life so much easier. It also allows for a couple of days of no writing, because you are writing less. Doubling it up is not as difficult as trying to double up 1667 words x’s the number of days you missed writing! Check this thread out for more information or to see the mathematical break down of how the numbers were achieved. All I know, is that 1 word required on November 30th is absolutely a must for me. (plus with the holiday at the end of the month, it helps!)

6. Get your friends and family on your side. Hold yourself accountable to them, by sharing your word count with them. If you are comfortable telling them about your story, you could also share where you left off. Having supporters is one of the easiest ways to get to writing and get ‘er done (so to speak). If your family is not on board, try talking to them about how important this is to you, and how motivated you are to get through it. Let them know that you could really use their support. It really does help. With this motivator, you can find time to write, because the last thing you want is to be asked your word count goal, and have to admit you haven’t written since the last time they asked.

7. Prepare meals ahead of time. If you are responsible for feeding your family, make a meal plan up for a month (or however long you think you will need to get at least a rough draft accomplished). For NaNo, I spent two weekends in October preparing different casseroles for dinners in November and then freezing them. I am definitely blessed because my children are older and can help with dinner while I’m writing. They know how to prepare a salad, bread, veggies and whatever else we might want. They will be my biggest helpers. Preparing meals ahead of time, or at least having some kind of idea what you will be making will save loads of time which will give you extra time to write at your designated time.

8. Outline or take notes. Before you sit down to write your novel, spend some time outlining or taking notes on what you plan to write. It is especially helpful, to get your beginning, middle and end ideas down. You might also want to spend some time on character development. Get to know your characters really well, because this will make writing what they would say or do, flow much easier. Using index cards, post its or an whole sheet or several to outline will make the process go more smoothly.

9. Organize your stuff. Before you sit down to write, be sure that you have everything you need at your fingertips. Pens, pencils, fresh coffee, tea or water – snacks, paper, your notes, any books you use. Keep your writing area as neat as you can so you can find everything easily. Use a basket, box or something else to corral all your things together and keep them close at hand. The more organized you are, the less time you spend trying to find things. This of course, gives you more time for writing.

10. Remember to have fun. If at some point, writing stops being fun, you are not going to do it. You are going to find excuses to get out of it, excuses why you can’t find time to do it, etc. If this is the case, maybe now isn’t the time to get the story out just yet. If it’s not fun, it’s not worth doing. I love to write, and every moment I spend writing, I’m having fun – even when I am a little frustrated. I just try different things to keep me in the writing mood, which continues to be fun. Take frequent breaks if you need them, reward yourself for a word count goal or finishing a chapter. Get up and go do something else for awhile. While it seems like you are wasting time – you’re not. If you aren’t in the writing mode right then, nothing you write is going to be very brilliant, so you might as well take a break and come back later. Let inspiration take place away from the computer screen or the blank page of your notebook.
Watch for another post on ways to keep writing fun.

What do you do to balance your time for writing and real life.

Popularity: 7% [?]

Posted on October 17, 2010 - by Nicole Humphrey Cook

Is Your Title a Best Seller?

My titles are very important to me, and I’m not completely sure why that is. Since most of the time when I am writing a novel, my title is a working title, I don’t give it as much consideration as I would if it was a completed manuscript. With that said, your title is important. It could be the one thing that grabs the reader. I know I have chosen a book based on it’s title before. (of course I have also chosen or not chosen a book because of its cover, so…)

How much weight do you put in your title while you are writing?

Curious to see if your title could become a best seller? For fun, try the Lulu Titlescorer to find out. http://www.lulu.com/titlescorer/index.php

You can also pit two titles against each other and see which is the better title. http://www.lulu.com/titlescorer/fight.php

So I ran my title from last year – and it had a 79.6% chance of becoming a best seller. That would be nice. Pretty good odds. lol

This years only has a 22.9% chance. That’s okay – it’s a working title. I can come up with something better, I’m sure of it.

So have you run your title through Lulu’s titlescorer? What’s your score?

Popularity: 7% [?]

Posted on October 5, 2010 - by Nicole Humphrey Cook

Outlining or Winging It?

I have been asked and seen this question asked a lot lately. As writers, we each have our own personal methods of planning, writing and staying focused. These are things we, as individuals do, that work for us. Of course what works for one person, , in any aspect of life, doesn’t necessarily work for another person. You need to keep this in mind, when you are either sitting down to write, or researching the different methods for planning out a plot.

So, should you outline or wing it? I have done both of these and neither is the right answer. It is honestly a personal choice. I am much more creative when I am winging it, however I tend to get stuck more often. When I do get unstuck though, the writing flows and I feel free to change the story as it goes.

I have been outlining for the past year or so. Not long at all. I will say that the work I have produced in the last year, is so much better than what I had when I was winging it. I am able to sit down, plan the story, stay focused and get each chapter written. I didn’t have this luxury with winging it. Often times, I had so much revision to do at the end, that is almost didn’t make it worth it.

If you want my vote, I recommend outlining – it helps you stay on task, you can see the big picture ahead of time, you can make minor corrections as you go, and there is little chance for writers block, because you can easily transition into the next phase without getting stuck.

I won’t lie – there isn’t much room for changing though. If you outline ahead of time, and then you sit down to write, when something does change, it is more difficult to include it. You have to go back and change your whole outline in the middle of writing. Not always, but more often than not.

Which method do you prefer? Outlining or winging it? Why?

Here are two great outlining methods you can try:

Snowflake Method of Outlining
Phase Method of Outlining

Popularity: 5% [?]

Posted on June 8, 2010 - by Nicole Humphrey Cook

Your Online Persona – Writers, Stay Consistent

I’ve been on the Internet since the dawn of the dinosaurs. Well alright, not that long. But I have been using the Internet since 1993 when it was sorely lacking of good information, and quite honestly, good communication. Obviously in the past almost 20 years, the Internet has absolutely boomed, and not only is there an overwhelming amount of information (both accurate and inaccurate), but there is broad arena communication methods via millions of users.

One thing I did late in the 90′s, as the Internet was “catching on” was to choose an online persona and try and stick with it, regardless of where I registered/logged on.

I chose ‘simplywriting’ as my online persona, because it is defines who I am, and has always stayed consistent. No matter what I am doing on the Internet, what topic I am interested in, or what website I am joining – I am always, simply writing. Of course, I also use my name in all of my writing, which helps.

When you are choosing a handle or name to use online, you should try to come up with something that defines you, that isn’t already used by a half million other people. For instance, DogLover is probably not the best handle, since a quick Google search for it, yields 212,000 results and just glancing through page 1, it is clear that they are not all the same person. Another example, that fits more into the writing field, might be Writergirl. This one yields 170,000 results. But if I took a spin on that, and try Writergirl828 (my birthday), there are NO results.

With all of that said, using my handle that I have had since around 1996 or so, “SimplyWriting” and plugging it into Google Search comes up with 21,100 results. On page 1 alone, only two are not me. And the two that aren’t me, have not been using the handle as long as I have. Moving past page 1, to page 2 – only 1 is not me.

I realized quite some time ago, that it is important to stay consistent in not only your handle, but your name as well. I just got married, and as a writer, it is a difficult choice on whether to change your name or not. I have made a name for myself in the writing world, I have written thousands of articles under my name, and changing my last name was not something I was prepared for.

What did I do? I changed my entire name around. Kept my first name, took my former last name and made it my middle name which I use now in the writing community and then took my husbands last name. Be sure you keep to the same names, same handles/nicknames and it is a lot easier for people to find you that way.

Have you had a problem with people using a unique handle or nickname you came up with? Do you have a super common name that yields dozens of search results when you plug it in? Please, tell me about it in the comments field.

Popularity: 13% [?]

Posted on May 17, 2010 - by Nicole Humphrey Cook

How To Get Ahead When You Are Behind On Your Word Count

This has always been one of my top blog articles, so I thought I’d do a repost and slight update of the article. Here it is again, with a few minor changes.

Everyone gets stuck, gets busy or for other reasons, falls behind on their word count from time to time. Whether it is a self-made goal, a deadline, a contest or something like nanowrimo, it is frustrating to say the very least. So what do you do?

Do you call your editor?
Do you throw in the towel?
Do you give up and say, I just can’t be a writer?
Absolutely not.

Here are a few ideas that might help.

• Word Wars. Try participating in a word war with someone. Set a specific amount of time and write your heart out. Try not to stop and keep it focused on what you need to happen in your story. I’ve come out of many writer’s blocks by participating in word wars, and then I’ve also wound up with whole sections I needed to delete at the end, but for right now – they are still part of the story.
• Chapter Hop. Try writing ahead. Try writing a particular scene or situation that you know you want in your story. Even if you aren’t there yet, sometimes it will help you go back and fill in the gaps down the road. Last year I did this, and in one writing session I wound up with over 5000 words on one chapter that I was dying to write. I was able to then go back and it was much easier to fill in the gaps leading to that scene.
• Try a creative writing exercise. Find a word prompt or just write something creative from the viewpoint of your character. Who knows, perhaps at the end you can use it in your novel, and if not, you might feel more prepared to begin writing again.
• Take a break. Try watching a half hour of TV or reading a book. Don’t just sit and mindlessly stare at the TV. Think about the plot of whatever you are watching. Think about the characters. Think about what you would have changed or written differently, if you had been the writer of the show or author of the book.
• Try using Write or Die. If you’ve never used it before, many NaNo’ers swear by it. It keeps you writing non-stop and sometimes you can even come up with new material and your characters can take you in directions you didn’t see happening. And now there is a desktop version. You don’t even have to be connected to use it, keeping the distractions at a minimum.
• Plan a vacation for your characters. Take them somewhere new. In your story, have them go on a short vacation. Even if it doesn’t fit in the theme of the book, you can have them win a weekend getaway or something similar from a local radio station or library or something. Taking your characters on vacation could be just what the doctor ordered – for them AND for you.
• Take a walk. Consider going for a walk. The park is usually pretty interesting or inspiring with the nature all around you. Pay attention to your surroundings and just let your mind be. Or if you feel like you need to stay busy, do some people observing and create new characters in your head. Or use the setting for a scene in your book.

Popularity: 8% [?]

Posted on April 19, 2010 - by Nicole Humphrey Cook

Promote the Novel You Haven’t Written

Thanks to the wonderful world of Twitter, I came across this article via @FionaRobyn written by Gina Holmes (@Ginawrites), suggesting it is a good idea to promote your novel (which is really just to say – get your name out there) as early as possible. After reading the article in full, I thought it was well written, insightful and why wouldn’t you want to get your name out there from day one?

After reading the article, I was planning a blog post about it, but before I did, I hopped back on twitter.

In case you’re not on twitter, let me explain what I did. On twitter you get 140 character messages. You can RT (re-tweet) something that someone else has shared to pass along to all of your followers (chances are you have some that are not following the original poster).

I did this with the article and then returned to my blog to begin the post I wanted to write. I hopped back over on twitter a short bit later to get Fiona’s twitter URL and I found the following response waiting for me.

LucidGlow: @FionaRobyn @simplywriting that’s so useless as expected, just more kissing up to the industry.

At first I was startled by the response, because it was obvious that she didn’t agree with the article at all. Being that I thought it was a good article, I was confused as to why, so I asked her. This was the response:

LucidGlow:@simplywriting It’s the entire general attitude/approach. @HoodedMan is right on the money with his article(s): My Fifty Cents.

So of course I went to read the article. I found myself agreeing with much of what amos (@hoodedman) said (based mostly on my conversations with other writers/authors and knowing what a few of the real life authors I know went through. However, with that said, I am having trouble understanding how the two posts actually relate to one another.

Am I missing the bigger point? It seems to be that they are clearly speaking about two totally different things. And why would a little early publicity for yourself, and the ability to get your name out there, actually be a bad thing?

So I decided to post this on my blog and open up the comments so we can talk about it (mostly because 140 characters on twitter does not allow me to ask questions or say what I need to say). So please, take the time to read both articles and then come back here and tell me what you are thinking, if you agree with one or both, if you disagree with one or both and just generally tell me your thoughts. I promise to respond

Popularity: 7% [?]

Posted on November 17, 2009 - by Nicole Humphrey Cook

Writing Tips To Keep You Focused

The new plot idea is finally down on paper… or rather, typed into yWriter. I wrote nearly 12K just with the new idea, so I feel satisfied that I have what I need down, to be able to come back to it.

My NaNo Novel took a small turn last night and I wound up deleting a few paragraphs and lost almost 800 words in the process. But even that I fixed before I fell asleep. All that and I even managed to help two of the five kids with homework, deal with 1 teen and her crisis, watch an hour of TV and listen to a 2 hour radio show. My night was a success.

Which brings me to today. I have a lot of work to do on my current novel if I hope to finish it by the end of the month. (I am aiming to finish it, not just reach 50K) I keep getting sidetracked by things I have been researching for other projects and situations. I need to focus. Here are some tips for keeping focused. (yes, I plan to heed my own advice).

What happens when my idea seems stale and I want to change directions or plots entirely?

Nothing happens. You just keep writing in whatever direction your heart takes you. That was actually why I wound up deleting those paragraphs. I had a better direction to go. I don’t recommend deleting anything until the end though. You know, do what I say, not what I do. haha.

Even if certain elements of your story have changed, you can keep writing. Editing comes later and that is when you can go back and change what you need to change. Make notes nearby the paragraphs that need changes so it is easier to find them again.

Don’t allow yourself to get bored with what you are writing and think that a change is what you need. It isn’t always. Sometimes we just need a fresh idea or a new character to be introduced.

Can I skip a day of writing and catch up the next day?

There are no rules on how you write, when you write or how you reach 50K. So yes, you can skip a day. But the question would be better asked, “SHOULD I skip a day of writing? The answer to that question, is really, No. You should make every attempt you can to make sure you are writing every single day, even if you aren’t meeting your word count goal for the day. Every little bit helps and keeps the flow going. If you take a day off, it makes it very easy to take the following day off, and continue on with that pattern until you find yourself so behind that you can’t possibly catch up, without getting no sleep for two days straight.

I didn’t quite make my word count goal for the day, is that bad?

No, it is not bad. It’s not a great thing, but it happens to all of us. (especially us idiots who delete 800+ words and then have to write them all again). If you are just a few hundred words off, you can probably make those up fairly quickly. However, if you only get a few hundred words out a day, you have little change of successfully completing your 50K goal. Do everything in your power to meet or exceed your writing goals, daily. If you get ahead, try not to take the next day off. Write something.

This chapter is going nowhere, even though I know what’s going to happen next, what do I do?

You keep writing. I hear this same complaint, year after year and many want to give up when a chapter seems hopeless. Don’t do that. There is no rule that says you cannot skip around from chapter to chapter or scene to scene. So skip ahead. Write a scene that is playing on your mind heavily, or one that you are just really excited to write. You will probably get a lot of words down if you are in the mood to write, and are writing something you are passionate or excited about.

I’ve told this story before, but for the new readers of the blog: Several years ago, the first year I actually won NaNo – I tried something I hadn’t done before. I wrote the beginning and the end first. I even wrote about three different scenes in the middle of the book. THEN I went through and filled in the gaps. It was actually a really cool way to do it. I wound up with subplots I never saw coming and situations I probably wouldn’t have come up with originally.

So, I’m all hyped up on coffee, I have a hot steaming cup sitting next to me, and hours before any kids get off the bus. I am going to go get lost in novel-land and avoid Twitter like the plague.

How’s your novel coming? Are you where you want to be?

(oh, and no James – that’s not me either lol)

Popularity: 13% [?]

Posted on October 9, 2009 - by Nicole Humphrey Cook

How to Format a Novel

I finally have what I consider a complete manuscript. But I wanted to play around with it a little and see what it would look like as a completed novel. There is a difference between formatting a novel, and formatting a manuscript, and it is important to know those differences. This is how to format a novel, something that more than likely would be happening in the publishing phase, and not something you would necessarily be doing – with the exception of self-publishing.

So if you are interested in formatting a novel – read on. If you are interested in formatting a manuscript, I have an article for that too – located under Writing Tips.

So onto formatting your novel.

The beginning of the book, typically looks like this:

Page One: Your Title page

Page Two: Your Copyright page (this is only necessary if you are going to get this work published)

Page Three: Your Dedication page (Completely optional, however a nice touch. Adds a little ‘personal’ to the book. If you do decide against including a dedication page, then page three should be designated as an additional title page or you can leave the page blank. Your choice.)

Page Four: Blank (if you have already left page three blank, move on to ‘page 5′ here, don’t leave two blank pages.)

Page Five: Table of Contents (Most fictional pieces do not include a table of contents, however, again this is a choice – or a mandatory if you have a non-fiction novel)

Page Six and Seven: Map(s) or Picture (This is also optional. Fantasy novels especially include maps with their novels, however this is a great page for a drawing or picture from the novel if you choose.)

When you get ready to actually format where the first page begins, it should always start on an odd page.

In addition, the title page, dedication page, table of contents page, and chapter one page should always be odd pages. So if you skip anything, be sure to insert a blank page where needed.

After some research, I learned that most novels are printed in standard 6×9 trade size. The gutters, which are the inside seam of the book, are .75″ and the margins are .5″. I am assuming this is all fairly standard.

In the header of each page, typically the author’s name is on the left page (even) and the book title is on the opposite page (right – or odd page).

In the footer of each page, the page number should be placed in the center on every page with the exception of the first page or on the opposite side of the author name/book title in the header. It is more common in the footer, and I firmly believe that despite what the experts say, it really does depend on the book, etc. I have seen books with a page number all the way from page 1 and then one that didn’t start until page 3 or 4.

Once you have everything set up that way, you will need to go into the page setup mode of whatever program you are using, and select the mirror function (or similar command). This will put the gutters on opposite pages and place the text where it belongs.

Now would be a great time to save the document if you have not done so already, though I strongly urge you to do it before you do any new command. This way you can undo the command, or revert to the saved copy, should anything go wrong.

Now it is important to go back and double check everything to be sure it all has ‘landed’ in the right place. Check your headers, footers, the margins of each page, the gutters and the page numbers.

Now it’s time to ‘create your novel’. This just might be the simplest part of the whole process. You now need to convert the finished piece into a pdf format. Most word processing programs have a way to do this, but if you need a program, google ‘creating a .pdf’ and download a program for that purpose.

For the record, Open Office, a free word processing program with all the bells and whistles of Microsoft Office, has an actual button in the program for clicking to create a .pdf through Adobe.

Congratulations, if you are interested in self-publishing, you are ready to go. If not, be sure to check out formatting a manuscript, because editors want something entirely different.

Popularity: 3% [?]