Compassion, loyalty…and crime
by Mary Sutton / @mary_sutton73
Note: I am using Scrivener for Mac. If you are using Windows, allow for differences.
I finished the tutorial. I created a project, and set up my character and location sheets. Now I’m ready to write. Continue reading “Scrivener Step 3: Starting to Write”
by Mary Sutton / @mary_sutton73
Note: I am using Scrivener for Mac. If you are using Windows, please allow for differences.
So having completed the tutorial, I set up a new project. I decided to use something completely new and not convert something existing (you can import Word documents into Scrivener, but I’ll save that for later). Continue reading “Scrivener Step 2: Setting up a New Project”
by Mary Sutton / @mary_sutton73
Note: I am using Scrivener for Mac. If you are using Windows, please allow for differences.
I downloaded the Scrivener trial from the web site, and installed it. I’m not going to say too much about that except it was pretty easy (I anticipate that will be the case for any OS). Continue reading “Scrivener Step 1: The Tutorial”
There are many tools in a writer’s toolbox, but none quite like the applications we use for our craft (unless you still write long-hand, in which case God bless you). Like many writers, I have always used just a word processing application to do my writing. I use Microsoft Word, some people may use Word Perfect, but same concept: open application and type. That means you have to find another way to keep track of all those pesky things that writers of fiction must have: character notes, plot synopses, scene descriptions, etc. I used Evernote. Some writers use Microsoft Excel, some just use a separate Word file. Continue reading “Expanding the Toolbox”
by Mary Sutton / @mary_sutton73
So, most of my day today was spent revising, but I stumbled across this gem of a post from Jungle Red Writers – the ins and outs of social media.
If you’re like me, things like Facebook and Twitter can be a total time sink, taking valuable time away from your primary goal – for me, writing fiction. For you it might be something else. Continue reading “Navigating Social Media”
by Mary Sutton / @mary_sutton73
I’m in love. Not just with my husband – with Trooper First Class Jim Duncan. Continue reading “Dangers of Character Love”
by Mary Sutton / @mary_sutton73
It’s been one of those days.
If you’re a writer, you know what I’m talking about. Those days where you look at the story and think there is no way you can ever fix it. Then every word you’ve ever written starts to look like horse manure, and you think, “How the hell did I ever think I could be a writer?” and “I think Panera is hiring, so maybe I should apply and be content making paninis for the rest of my life.” Continue reading “One of Those Days”
by Mary Sutton / @mary_sutton73
Few topics are more likely to incite heated debate among technophiles than the mention of electronic media. Music, movies, and most recently books. A quick search of the Internet will reveal half a dozen stories of how ebooks are destroying reading – or not, depending on your point of view. To self-publish or not. Are 99 cent books ruining the industry. Continue reading “Unlock the Handcuffs”
by Mary Sutton / @mary_sutton73
Not that long ago, I wrote about a little exercise I was doing to stretch my authorial legs – namely writing a romance novella set in Puerto Rico (a very romantic place, if you ask me). Continue reading “Romancing the Writer”
by Mary Sutton / @mary_sutton73
I’ve heard it said recently that character is king. Give a reader an engaging, likeable character (or characters) and he’ll forgive you a few plot holes (not craters, but “oopsies”). One of the things that makes characters engaging is development. Your protagonist starts as one person and grows to become a richer, fuller person – hopefully. Flat characters are hard to love. Continue reading “Evolution of a Character”