Tag: Writing

Then a Miracle Occurs

I was moaning to my daughter Kat earlier tonight about how I needed to write this post, but I had no idea what to write about. “The 14th Street sinkhole,” she replied.

A little backstory is required here. A couple of weeks ago, a giant sinkhole opened at 14th and F Streets Northwest in Washington, DC. We don’t typically get sinkholes in DC – exploding manholes, yes, but not sinkholes – so this one is quite the novelty. It has even developed its own personality, complete with a Twitter account and Foursquare check-in spot.

But an IU post about it? “My post kind of has to be about writing,” I told Kat. “What relevance does a sinkhole have to writing?”

“Deus ex machina,” she replied. Continue reading “Then a Miracle Occurs”

Who Are You?

Imagine for a moment that you have been invited to a costume party especially for authors.

You must dress in a costume that reflects the kind of writing you do. If you write in more than one genre, your costume must incorporate some element from each genre.

The game is that readers who attend will try to divine who you are from looking at your costume.

The more genres in which you write, the more elaborate your costume becomes; which may mean it will be harder for readers to guess your identity. That’s not how you win in this game, though. You win by being recognizable. Continue reading “Who Are You?”

Scratching the Surface of Scrivener

I really wanted to write a post about Scrivener. Why? Because I love it and I want to tell the world.

It is the best writing program I have ever encountered and if you want to know the reasons why, you can read this Indies Unlimited guest post by Lara Reznik. Lara’s post is brilliant and lists the basics of what Scrivener is all about and why she uses it.

I realized after reading her post and seeing many other posts similar that I am really only scratching the surface of this amazing program. I know I am not using it to its full potential and this is something I want to change.

I have set myself the goal that as soon as my current project is finished, I will take some time to really study this program and figure out how I can get the most out of it. It’s one of those cases of a little time spent learning will no doubt save me hours in the future.

In order to prepare for this self-inflicted study course I have researched a few resources that might help me and I wanted to share them with you, in case you’re interested in doing something similar.

So here’s what I’ve found: Continue reading “Scratching the Surface of Scrivener”

Understanding the Indies Unlimited Mission

Congratulations you have just been drafted. You are now a private in the army of the ‘Evil Empire.’ I think I know the Evil Empire is better than it sounds, because Stephen Hise is the Evil Mastermind, and I have come to respect him.

A little history might help you understand how I got here. Many times I used the Indies Unlimited site to educate myself and to learn what the world of writing was all about. There were many terms used which I never fully understood, and incorrectly assumed what they meant.

Like good drill instructors K.S. Brooks and other members of the Indies Unlimited team would educate me very tactfully. I didn’t even know I was in basic training, but I guess I was. I had no idea what I was doing or where I was going. However every once in a while I would see some light at the end of the tunnel and it would keep me going. Continue reading “Understanding the Indies Unlimited Mission”