Author Archives: Colette Black

Yes, from the technologically impaired, not for the technologically impaired, so I can’t help you with your computer problems. And, I’m not saying that whoever wrote the software was technologically impaired, only the person writing this post. So, if you’re like me, and don’t consider yourself particularly savvy with computers and software, why use a writing program? Because it will make you a better writer.

Here are my experiences with a couple of programs out there:

Snowflake:

This is a great organizational tool that takes you step by step through writing a well-developed novel. It’s also a great help as you try to figure out those synopses. It starts you with a brief paragraph description of your novel then has you expand the book summary into five plot-point paragraphs. That expansion continues until you end up at a page where you write out the key points for individual scenes. It also has a character page with a multitude of questions to help develop your characters’ personalities and quirks. I used the software for about eight months, and though I found it helpful, I felt like I was moving back and forth from one screen to another and it didn’t seem to make my writing much easier than having multiple files in Word. It’s a great outlining tool, so it would serve a lot of writers very well. You can check it out at : http://www.advancedfictionwriting.com/info/snowflake_pro/

Scrivener:

I use a pc and had heard about scrivener from mac users for years. When scrivener came out with a pc version I had to try it. There’s a learning curve and I still haven’t figured out how to do maximize the program’s capabilities. But if you buy this, I highly suggest you take the time to go through the tutorial, probably more than once. This, and updated versions, will probably be my writing program for life. I don’t have to go into files or bounce back and forth between screens. My color-coded outline runs along the left side of my screen, including a section for research, characters, places, or anything else I might want. Along the right side of my screen I can choose to see notes related to specific files, including pictures and alternating notes pertaining to my whole novel, or just the chapter I’m working on. My writing screen itself can be split, so I can be writing in one screen, need information from one of my research files, and open up another screen right next to where I’m writing. The only time I have to leave the program is when I go to the internet or books to do research, but when I find what I need, I can place files into my scrivener program and have them on hand for later use. The only drawback so far is that the spell-check/auto-correct doesn’t seem to be as good as Word, and when I’m working without an internet connection I don’t have any type of dictionary or thesaurus. Since I rarely write under those circumstances, and when I do I just put in a triple-x and move on, I don’t find this a difficulty. I highly recommend this program. You can find it for Mac or pc at: https://www.literatureandlatte.com/

Dragon Naturally Speaking:

I like typing and haven’t used this yet, though I hear great things. I’d probably be a lot thinner if I took this hiking instead of sitting on my butt at a keyboard. If you can learn to tell a story this way, or if you prefer telling your stories rather than the slower process of typing, this might be the software for you. Since I don’t actually use it, I’m going to quote my friend, Dale Stinson, on its many uses and advantages:

“Seven years ago, I decided to write a science-fiction novel. One big problem, I never learned to type. When I tried to type something down, the thought evaporated as I was concentrating on the letters on the keyboard. The next day, I bought Dragon NaturallySpeaking version 4. Initial training of the software took over an hour. During the first eight hours of use, dictation accuracy increased from 85% to almost 95%. Two years later, I purchased DNS- 7 Preferred which came bundled with a digital voice recorder. Theoretically, you could dictate into the recorder, plug it into your computer and magically have your dictation transcribed. It was a huge disappointment, I was lucky if I achieved 75% accuracy. BUT, dictating directly to the computer was a vast improvement over version 4. Within the first day of use, I’d achieved 98% accuracy most of the time. Two years ago I upgraded to DNS-10 Preferred. It was literally a quantum leap forward in usability. I regularly achieve 99% + accuracy with a new software.

PROS: Editing has been made easier by having the software read what I’ve written in a computer voice while I follow the written words on the screen. When I hear the voice say something that doesn’t sound right, I can make a correction while it continues reading. It’s very easy to put down a tremendous number of words during a four-hour writing session, speaking stream of consciousness can do that.

CONS: The software never misspells a word, but it often misunderstands a word. For example: Names. There are many names that can be spelled different ways. Kathy and Cathy are an example. I’ve tried using the name I preferred, “Cathy” multiple times on the same page. Sometimes it would come up Cathy other times it would come up Kathy. After correcting by voice two or three times, it continued making the same mistake. The software also tries to guess what you’re trying to say, it’s often wrong.

In seven years, I’ve “written” close to 3 million words using Voice Recognition Technology. Without it, I would’ve never been able to start writing.” You can learn more about it here: http://www.nuance.com/dragon/index.htm

Editing Software:

There are also editing programs available. I’ve tried a few of these, but since I write science fiction and fantasy, usually using a lot of made-up words, I find most of these more tedious than helpful. I’ve heard great things though. If you’re interested, here are a couple off the top of the search engine. Some I’ve tried, others I haven’t:

http://www.autocrit.com/

http://fictionfixer.com/

I’d love to hear your experiences with writing or editing software. What works, what doesn’t, and why?

Opening Your Imagination

November 12, 2012

Colette Black

Colette Black Making Progress as a Writer Successes The Writing Life 4 Comments

Generating ideas is easy, but generating the kinds of ideas that move YOU can be more of a challenge. Most of us have had at least one person tell us an idea and suggest we write it, but that never works because it’s their vision, not yours. So how do you find that idea that’s worth hours and hours of time and effort? Relax, look for it, and don’t let crazy and stupid be a deterrent.

First, relax. Soon after I started writing for publication, I had a panic moment. “What if I’m one of those writers who only has one good idea in them?” Now, even then this was utterly ridiculous, because I’d had quite a few ideas come to me and had even started short stories on a couple of them, but I hadn’t thought of any new ideas for a while, which is exactly where I’m at now. I’ve come to realize that when I’m focused on my current story, my imagination tends to stay close to the projects at hand and I don’t usually generate a lot of new ideas. That’s just the way I work, but I had to quit freaking out so I could figure that out. Relax, if the idea was in you for one story, there are more to come.

Second, look for it. Worried that my imagination-well might run dry, I started looking for ideas. When driving, I paid more attention to my surroundings. On the radio, in the news, even the magazines I picked up in the dentist’s office, I looked for ideas. Reading books, I tried to think of off-the-wall variations on its premise, or some concept in the book, and what kinds of stories would come. Even in talking to friends and family, I would look for thematic elements from our conversations that would lend focus to a story.

Which leads to our third point: don’t let crazy and stupid be a deterrent. I did come up with stories, utterly ridiculous ones. But if I relaxed, played around with them, and let them develop into other ideas or themes, I found myself coming up with some unique and interesting concepts. Did I suddenly start selling to top magazines and agents? No. But I wrote more stories that intrigued me, with characters that had depth, and my writing ability improved. I didn’t have to worry about ideas because when I needed them, they would come. Ideas would pop into my head while driving, in my sleep, and the most embarrassing, in the middle of conversations. “Um, yes, I was listening. What was that again?”

So, how about you? What kinds of activities get your imagination and your best ideas flowing?

Have a Dream? Win a Book!

October 10, 2012

Colette Black

Business Colette Black Giveaways The Writing Life 8 Comments

Want to win one of the LAST of the limited-edition hardcover copies of “Drawing out the Dragons,” personally signed by James A. Owen? Post on twitter (#JAOfreebook), fb, in our comments section, or anyplace on the internet about someone/something that inspires you, mention James and this fictorians post, and let us know about it in our comments section. For each mention, we’ll enter your name in the drawing. The winner will have their signed book shipped free of charge. We’ll run the contest until midnight, Thursday Oct. 18th, and announce the winner Friday morning, Oct. 19th. Play today, and tell a friend. James Owen’s book is for writers, artists, and anyone with a dream to achieve. It even saves lives.

One of my greatest inspirations was my older brother. It may sound cliche, but the situation won’t. At the spurring of his wife, my brother earned a degree in accounting. He hated it, didn’t earn his CPA, and after a year teaching in a small high school in Northern Arizona, he divorced, started working construction to pay the bills, and remarried. As their kids grew older, his wife suggested it was time to pursue a job he liked. She worked extra hours so he could enter a training program, and he now works as a helicopter mechanic. In his forties, he made a complete career shift and he loves his job. It was his dream.

Sometimes, we think achieving our dreams means a big paycheck, a prestigious academic piece of paper, or celebrity status, but I don’t think that’s the point. Achieving our dreams is working our butts off so we can do what we love. I like the part in Disney’s motion picture, “Tangled”, where they sing about having a dream, especially the really big guy who wants to collect miniature unicorns. That seems simple and pointless to some, but the point is, there’s no dream too big or too small, every dream is individual, and we’re never too old to engage in its pursuit.Your dream is not mine, but we gather here at fictorians because we have similar dreams–we want to write. Our goals may be different in what we want to achieve with that writing, but the story drives us. I once expressed the great sense of belonging I feel at writing conventions. James Owen smiled at me and said with absolute understanding, “You’ve found your tribe.”

Yes, among you, my friends, I have found my tribe. Thank you. Now, go forth and fulfill your dreams for good, whatever they may be.

Why I like to write myself into a corner

September 5, 2012

Colette Black

Colette Black Conflict Craft & Skills Ideas & Plotting Rewriting No Comments

Most writers say your first idea is clichÃ©, your second idea is mediocre, so you should always go with your third or fourth. For this reason, I like to write myself into a corner, or at least plan myself into one. But that’s bad, you say? I don’t think so. At least, not always.

The reason I think it’s a good idea is the same reason I think most of us, at least me, get ourselves stuck in the first place. We’re going along with our story saying to ourselves, “Well, if this happened, this character would do this, then this would happen…” You get the idea. But we reach a point and go, “Uh-oh, then everyone dies, or then this plot-point won’t work, or then we can’t end up over here.” The corner. But, this is where we can force our mind to come up with a better story, and NOT by saying, “well, if so-and-so does this then it’ll work.” The whole reason we ended up in the corner is because so-and-so wouldn’t do that. We have to come up with a better twist that will allow our characters to be true to who they are, while still moving the story forward. An example:

A few days ago, my family and I were driving in our van listening to a book on CD. I wont’ name it, but some of you will figure it out based on this example. Please know that this author is heads and more heads above me in every area, but this one scene….

We have a quick-thinking girl who has the ability to light anything that’s not alive on fire. Her and her friends are being chased by worm-filled, worm-controlled zombies. Listening to this, my kids immediately said, “Zombies means dead. Light them on fire!”

It took forever for the character to finally figure it out, then it took forever for her to figure out she could save energy by just setting their heads (their control-center not full of worms) on fire.

The comment was made, “Well, how could the author do anything different? If she figured it out immediately then the zombies are no longer a danger.” (The corner)

So we played around with the truth that this character would immediately, or at least very soon, come upon the solution herself. So how could one keep the story going?

“Wouldn’t it be cool if she lights them on fire, but the body explodes and worms fly everywhere and the heroine and her group are nearly contaminated.”

Now that’s chilling, it ratchets up the suspense, and it makes the obvious solution a surprising added danger.

“But then they have no defense and they’ll all die.” (Corner)

No, then it makes sense for her to wait before lighting their hair on fire, or for her to just ignite the tops of their heads as a last resort, and since the brain is left mostly intact by the little wormies, it makes sense that their fat bodies won’t be close enough to the fire to puff up like popcorn and explode. But of course, it’s easy to be critical of someone else’s work. Like I said, this writer is brilliant, but I used this small scene as an example because my family had fun playing with the plot.

A couple of months ago, I found myself in a corner with a book I was working on. I struggled and struggled with how to move the plot forward. I won’t bore you with the details, (mostly because it was complicated and spanned several scenes) but I worked out the semantics and turned a mediocre middle into a hair-raising rise in tension that went much better than originally intended.

So, if your characters are pushing your story into an unsolvable dilemma, maybe instead of trying to steer them clear of the danger, let them take you to the cliff’s edge. Like them, on the brink of utter destruction, you might find an unexpected twist that will catapult you to a higher ledge with a better view. Just make sure it’s not a convenient fix. I’ll talk about those in my next post.