Archive for category Tips and Ideas
Spring Cleaning the First Draft
Posted by annaldavis in Tips and Ideas, Writing on April 23, 2012
Alright, so you’ve written a first draft. Now what? Here are some tips. (Disclaimer: This post is autobiographical and DOES bear resemblance to actual people and places.)
Don’t look at it. Put your first draft aside for a while. If you’re really lucky, your loved ones will do this for you in some roundabout way that will fuel future writing ideas for quite some time. But usually you’ll have to exercise some serious willpower. Lock it up. Bury it for as long as humanly possible. You need space.
Read through the entire thing once, and make notes. Don’t skim. But don’t take forever, either. The main goal is to see the forest, not the trees. Where is your writing the strongest? Where does the plot fall apart?
Quick-fix any major plot issues. I’m not talking about a massive overhaul. This is when you insert brackets in the text and say, for example: [main character needs to encounter resistance here, or antagonist needs to kill someone else here, or there needs to be a massive wildfire here]. Not the time for nuts and bolts, just get the revision framework in place. You can go back and write later.
Focus on the beginning. Now that you’ve reviewed the whole manuscript, go back to the beginning – specifically the first 50 pages. Jeff Gerke says that the first 50 pages are the most important part of the book. Done well, those 50 pages will hook your reader (plus the agent, editor, publisher, critic, and God knows who else). Read books that explain what needs to happen at the beginning. I highly recommend The First 50 Pages by Jeff Gerke, and The First Five Pages by Noah Lukeman.
Find someone to review it. If you plan to pitch your novel to an agent, you absolutely must find someone you trust to read through it. An agent should not be the first reader. In Bird by Bird, Anne Lamott said it this way, “What works for me may not work for you. But feedback from someone I’m close to gives me confidence, or at least gives me time to improve.”
Take breaks to work on your query letter. It’s difficult for me to sustain interest in one thing for long periods of time. I like to have several windows open at once (both metaphorically and virtually). Working on my query letter is a good way to be productive when I need a break from the far more complicated fictional world in my mind.
Stay away from the candy jar. Oh wait, that’s just me. But I think it’s safe to say that you should avoid unhealthy vices and lean into what inspires. Grab an actual orange, instead of those orange-flavored jellybeans. Real and nutritious, versus artificial and empty. It takes willpower and resolve. But there’s not much value in vice. Not lasting value, anyway.
Before you know it, that first draft will become the second.
What Writers Should Know about The Cloud
Posted by annaldavis in Cyberculture, Tips and Ideas, Writing on August 26, 2011
Are you in the cloud? Here’s a hint: if you can access it from anywhere, wirelessly sync across different devices, or share with another user via a web browser… then you’re in the cloud. This includes Facebook, GoogleDocs, Google-anything, Yahoo-anything, WordPress, Blogspot, Evernote, Twitter – the list goes on and on.
Convenience and “security” are key selling points for the cloud. Since quitting Facebook, I’ve had more time to learn about other web tools. I briefly signed up with Evernote, a cloud-based notetaking app that enabled me to access my notes from anywhere. I could start a note from my phone, and later on my PC I could pick up right where I left off — that easy. No saving or file transfer or anything. I could even grab links and bits of the web, attach pictures, and everything was arranged in a very user-friendly format. It was great, but then I started wondering: where, exactly, does all that information go? When Evernote autosaves, where does it save to?
I did some research, talked with an expert, and looked at the facts. Here’s what I found out:
Cloud-based apps save data to the web server. Have you ever wondered why it’s so hard to delete (not just deactivate) a Facebook account? That’s because your Facebook page is stored on the Facebook web server indefinitely, whether you like it or not. When I type something in Evernote (or Producteev, or whatever), the app autosaves to the web server. If I have second thoughts and delete that info, I’m trusting the app to delete it from the server as well. But how would I even know? Anything you have ever sent, received, or stored on a cloud-based application most likely still exists somewhere in cyberspace, filed away on a web server.
The Cloud lacks privacy and safety. People love cloud-based apps because nothing gets lost. While this is a top selling point, it’s also a huge risk. Hackers have become increasingly sophisticated and organized, all while the rest of us grow more comfortable online and more willing to sacrifice privacy for convenience. But we shouldn’t kid ourselves – leaving sensitive information on the web is no different from leaving your wallet and notebook on a busy train at rush hour. Maybe someone honest will find it and keep it safe. But maybe not. Anything stored in the cloud can also be subject to federal subpoena, even without your knowledge. This is fine if you write about celebrities or fashion. But what if you write investigative, hard-hitting, or politically controversial material? Should you trust the cloud with your notes, your thoughts, your location, and your sources?
While channel-surfing the other day, my husband and I finally decided on the 1993 movie “The Pelican Brief,” based on the book by John Grisham (which I’ve read several times). The premise is that a law student and a reporter work together to reveal a huge government cover-up related to the death of two Supreme Court justices. I’ve posted the trailer below. If you ever have a chance to watch the full movie, you’ll laugh at the low-tech research and reporting methods – pay phones (seen any of those lately?), library card catalog, VHS recordings, phone tapping. But even back then, investigate research and writing were risky.
Now there is even more risk.
So here’s the bottom line: writers, tread lightly on the cloud. It’s an amazing tool for publishing and networking, but not really safe for idea harvesting, data-storage, or notekeeping.
And yes, after only two days of use, I deleted my new Evernote account. (But is it really deleted? Or still out there somewhere? The world may never know.)
Three Must-Have Websites for Writers
Posted by annaldavis in Tips and Ideas, Writing on August 19, 2011
It’s a terrible time to be a writer. The publishing industry is in chaos, a large percentage of readers want cheap thrills and sensationalism, and there are more ways to waste time doing “research” than ever before. That’s why I’ve decided to get serious about which websites I frequent, and to choose these sites deliberately. Here are three types of websites that writers need to bookmark:
1. A favorite reference/search site. Today’s writer without a search engine is like last century’s writer without the telephone, dictionary, encyclopedia, library, and microfiche. My personal favorite is http://www.refdesk.com/, an all-in-one reference and search site run by Bob Drudge (father of Matt Drudge, of “Drudge Report” fame). I’ve been using Refdesk since I served as chief editor for my college paper in 1998.
Refdesk is free and supported entirely by donations, so there are no raunchy ads or annoying pop-ups. From the Refdesk Mission Statement, “The spirit of the original, non-commercial Internet guides Refdesk. This spirit envisions a living encyclopedia of information in the public domain, maintained by people who freely share their knowledge of where to find things on the Internet.”
If you’ve never used Refdesk, give it a try.
2. Google Maps. Whether writing fiction or nonfiction, writers need a working knowledge of places mentioned in their text. If you’ve never tried this feature before, start by mapping your address. Zoom in. Switch to satellite view. Can you see your house? How accurate is the image? Try the street view. What does that look like? Now imagine being able to use this tool when writing about places and roads that aren’t as familiar. While there are some issues with Google Maps (dated images might not reflect newly constructed roads or buildings), it can be a great way to build descriptions into your writing that would otherwise require travel.
3. Social media, with intentionality. Sure, everyone and their dog (and sometimes even their unborn children) are on Facebook, but it’s not the only social networking site out there. Since quitting Facebook, I’ve been looking for great social media sites that match my needs. I’ve rediscovered my Linked-In account, which provides connectivity with fewer distractions. And so far I’m enjoying Stumbleupon, a “web content discovery engine.” I spend gobs of time surfing the web anyway, so why not turn that into an opportunity to connect with others?
-
You are currently browsing the archives for the Tips and Ideas category.
