S.L. Viehl's Blog, page 131
March 24, 2013
Quote Ten
Just a heads-up: it's deadline week again here at Casa PBW, so for the next seven days my online time will be limited and posting here likely light and/or sporadic. Once I turn in my book I'll get back on schedule, but in the meantime here are:
Ten Things About Writing from Famous Scribes
Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep. -- Scott Adams
The problem with writing about religion is that you run the risk of offending sincerely religious people, and then they come after you with machetes. -- Dave Barry
If you stuff yourself full of poems, essays, plays, stories, novels, films, comic strips, magazines, music, you automatically explode every morning like Old Faithful. I have never had a dry spell in my life, mainly because I feed myself well, to the point of bursting. I wake early and hear my morning voices leaping around in my head like jumping beans. I get out of bed to trap them before they escape. -- Ray Bradbury
Writing is one of the few professions in which you can psychoanalyse yourself, get rid of hostilities and frustrations in public, and get paid for it -- Octavia Butler
If I don't write to empty my mind, I go mad. -- Lord Byron
I have always believed that writing advertisements is the second most profitable form of writing. The first, of course, is ransom notes... -- Phillip Dusenberry
The desire to write grows with writing. -- Desiderius Erasmus
Close the door. Write with no one looking over your shoulder. Don't try to figure out what other people want to hear from you; figure out what you have to say. It's the one and only thing you have to offer. -- Barbara Kingsolver
Writing is the hardest way of earning a living, with the possible exception of wrestling alligators. -- Olin Miller
Well, my book is written--let it go. But if it were only to write over again there wouldn't be so many things left out. They burn in me; and they keep multiplying; but now they can't ever be said. And besides, they would require a library--and a pen warmed up in hell. -- Mark Twain
What's your favorite quotation about writing? Post it in comments.
Ten Things About Writing from Famous Scribes
Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep. -- Scott Adams
The problem with writing about religion is that you run the risk of offending sincerely religious people, and then they come after you with machetes. -- Dave Barry
If you stuff yourself full of poems, essays, plays, stories, novels, films, comic strips, magazines, music, you automatically explode every morning like Old Faithful. I have never had a dry spell in my life, mainly because I feed myself well, to the point of bursting. I wake early and hear my morning voices leaping around in my head like jumping beans. I get out of bed to trap them before they escape. -- Ray Bradbury
Writing is one of the few professions in which you can psychoanalyse yourself, get rid of hostilities and frustrations in public, and get paid for it -- Octavia Butler
If I don't write to empty my mind, I go mad. -- Lord Byron
I have always believed that writing advertisements is the second most profitable form of writing. The first, of course, is ransom notes... -- Phillip Dusenberry
The desire to write grows with writing. -- Desiderius Erasmus
Close the door. Write with no one looking over your shoulder. Don't try to figure out what other people want to hear from you; figure out what you have to say. It's the one and only thing you have to offer. -- Barbara Kingsolver
Writing is the hardest way of earning a living, with the possible exception of wrestling alligators. -- Olin Miller
Well, my book is written--let it go. But if it were only to write over again there wouldn't be so many things left out. They burn in me; and they keep multiplying; but now they can't ever be said. And besides, they would require a library--and a pen warmed up in hell. -- Mark Twain
What's your favorite quotation about writing? Post it in comments.
Comments Catchup Day
See you in comments.
March 22, 2013
Have Giveaways, Will (Virtually) Travel
Hardly seems like author propaganda to post this cover art (it helps that he's very cute and green is my favorite color).
With my upcoming May release of Nightbound I'll be wrapping up The Lords of the Darkyn trilogy, and I'm putting together some packages of all three signed books (including one audio package of the entire trilogy) as well as other reader delights to give away here and elsewhere. I also have seven days still open to impose myself on other people's readers, and naturally I thought of you all.
Seriously, if you'd like to have me make a guest appearance on your blog or journal during the first week of May, please contact me at LynnViehl@aol.com and we'll discuss the details.
March 21, 2013
Pablo's Bird
This video seeks to illustrate
The Me Bird
, a poem by Pablo Neruda; I loved the simple yet stunningly fluid animation (some background music, for those of you at work):
The Me Bird from 18bis on Vimeo.
March 20, 2013
On Retreat
A writing retreat is like a working vacation: the ideal version is to take a trip or sneak off to some quiet spot where one can work without distractions. Most writers love them; as a rookie pro I was a bit bewildered by the whole concept. Go somewhere to write? Why do you have to leave home? Then I was invited on my first retreat with another author and spent two days at the beach doing nothing but writing and talking about writing and swapping chapters and reading and doing more writing. We only left our hotels rooms to sit by the pool and sun ourselves while we proofed pages and discussed story issues. I have to admit, it was a little like spending 48 hours in writer heaven.
The idea of going on a writing retreat to some vacation-type spot is wonderful, too but the cost of transportation, lodging, meals and so forth can make it an expensive proposition. Fortunately there are other, less costly ways for writers to take a retreat, like a free writer's residency. This is when some writing or arts organization provides you with lodging and sometimes other amenities so you can write. Generally you have to apply for a residency, and if you get it also cover the cost of travel and personal expenses, but the free accommodations and no-distractions environment may be worth it (and if you're interested in finding a residency, check out the online database of opportunities at Poets & Writers magazine here.
An even cheaper type of writing retreat is the virtual version. Get together with a writing buddy and set a goal for a day, and update each other on your progress via an Internet connection (Skype, Twitter, Facebook, etc.) If you have a favorite chat room you can have a word war (challenge each other to write as much as possible in a short amount of time and post your counts as you work in the chat room.) If you'd rather go solo, visit an online typewriter site to do some distraction-free work (Big Huge Labs has one here) or try out one of the document creation/editing/storage sites like Google Docs or Zoho which offer free personal accounts.
I take mini-retreats all the time and never leave my house -- my back porch happens to be a quiet, comfortable spot for me to edit pages, and when I'm working out there the family knows to give me some space. Once a year my guy goes on vacation with the kids and leaves me home alone, too; that becomes my week to having a working vacation and write whenever and wherever I like. If you can work out something like that with your family I definitely recommend it.
In April and July this year the wonderful folks over at National Novel Writing Month are holding two Camp NaNoWriMo online writing retreats, during which you can choose to write 50K or set your own writing goal from 10K to 999.9K, share a virtual "cabin" with other writers based on your preset preferences as to genre, age, word-count goal, and desired activity level, and work on the project of your choice (novel, script, short story, epic poem -- you decide.) These retreats are free to participants; if you have a log in from NaNoWriMo you can use that to sign up and join in.
Remember that a writing retreat isn't just a thing you do, it's also a state of mind. You choose to spend x-amount of time to focused entirely on the work. If you can't do that at home, find a place congenial to you where you can. That can be a bookstore cafe, the quiet room at your local library or a picnic table at the park. Pack a lunch, grab your laptop and head out (and if you're going to an outdoor location, check the weather forecast first.) If you have a friend with a spare bedroom, you might ask if you borrow it for a day. Test drive different places and see where you're most productive, too.
The idea of going on a writing retreat to some vacation-type spot is wonderful, too but the cost of transportation, lodging, meals and so forth can make it an expensive proposition. Fortunately there are other, less costly ways for writers to take a retreat, like a free writer's residency. This is when some writing or arts organization provides you with lodging and sometimes other amenities so you can write. Generally you have to apply for a residency, and if you get it also cover the cost of travel and personal expenses, but the free accommodations and no-distractions environment may be worth it (and if you're interested in finding a residency, check out the online database of opportunities at Poets & Writers magazine here.
An even cheaper type of writing retreat is the virtual version. Get together with a writing buddy and set a goal for a day, and update each other on your progress via an Internet connection (Skype, Twitter, Facebook, etc.) If you have a favorite chat room you can have a word war (challenge each other to write as much as possible in a short amount of time and post your counts as you work in the chat room.) If you'd rather go solo, visit an online typewriter site to do some distraction-free work (Big Huge Labs has one here) or try out one of the document creation/editing/storage sites like Google Docs or Zoho which offer free personal accounts.
I take mini-retreats all the time and never leave my house -- my back porch happens to be a quiet, comfortable spot for me to edit pages, and when I'm working out there the family knows to give me some space. Once a year my guy goes on vacation with the kids and leaves me home alone, too; that becomes my week to having a working vacation and write whenever and wherever I like. If you can work out something like that with your family I definitely recommend it.
In April and July this year the wonderful folks over at National Novel Writing Month are holding two Camp NaNoWriMo online writing retreats, during which you can choose to write 50K or set your own writing goal from 10K to 999.9K, share a virtual "cabin" with other writers based on your preset preferences as to genre, age, word-count goal, and desired activity level, and work on the project of your choice (novel, script, short story, epic poem -- you decide.) These retreats are free to participants; if you have a log in from NaNoWriMo you can use that to sign up and join in.Remember that a writing retreat isn't just a thing you do, it's also a state of mind. You choose to spend x-amount of time to focused entirely on the work. If you can't do that at home, find a place congenial to you where you can. That can be a bookstore cafe, the quiet room at your local library or a picnic table at the park. Pack a lunch, grab your laptop and head out (and if you're going to an outdoor location, check the weather forecast first.) If you have a friend with a spare bedroom, you might ask if you borrow it for a day. Test drive different places and see where you're most productive, too.
March 19, 2013
Writer Junk Journal
Back in January I promised to show you how I made a trio of small journals out of some ordinary materials -- which I did with a pack of index cards and a deck of playing cards. This month I had the final challenge of making a journal out of this mini spiral-bound notebook:
Which is now a writer junk journal:
To make this journal I first tore out half the pages (more on what I did with them later in the post) and used the remaining pages as foundations for some interesting specimens from my paper recycle bin. I covered each page front and back with old calendar pictures, junk mail, cutouts from magazines, old photos and postcards, trimmings and other discarded bits. I framed each page with some decorative paper tape left over from last year's massive art project and added a few pockets, tags and little envelopes throughout for writing and saving notes.
I didn't plan anything or go with a particular theme, which made it fun to assemble. Once I had the pages refurbished I made a quilted cover for the journal out of a damaged quilt block. I'm still figuring out how I want to fasten it together so for now I just have a strip of muslin tied around it:
As for the pages I tore out, I trimmed off the binding tatters, cut them into strips and chunks of various sizes and tucked them into an envelope I mounted in the back. These will come in handy when I want to write a note about something to add to the pages:
A junk journal can be used for whatever you want to note and save. I think they're a great way to journal small because with the lined pages covered you won't feel pressured to fill them up with writing. You can add a few words or a note to any page, or just tuck something into one of the envelopes. I'm going to use mine for magazine clipping, articles, take-out cookie fortunes and other little things that would otherwise get lost in the shuffle.
This was a good practice project for me, too, as it's the first junk journal I've ever made. Working on this little journal has given me a confidence boost to try my hand at a more ambitious project: transforming this old beauty into . . . well, you'll just have to wait and see.
Which is now a writer junk journal:
To make this journal I first tore out half the pages (more on what I did with them later in the post) and used the remaining pages as foundations for some interesting specimens from my paper recycle bin. I covered each page front and back with old calendar pictures, junk mail, cutouts from magazines, old photos and postcards, trimmings and other discarded bits. I framed each page with some decorative paper tape left over from last year's massive art project and added a few pockets, tags and little envelopes throughout for writing and saving notes.
I didn't plan anything or go with a particular theme, which made it fun to assemble. Once I had the pages refurbished I made a quilted cover for the journal out of a damaged quilt block. I'm still figuring out how I want to fasten it together so for now I just have a strip of muslin tied around it:
As for the pages I tore out, I trimmed off the binding tatters, cut them into strips and chunks of various sizes and tucked them into an envelope I mounted in the back. These will come in handy when I want to write a note about something to add to the pages:
A junk journal can be used for whatever you want to note and save. I think they're a great way to journal small because with the lined pages covered you won't feel pressured to fill them up with writing. You can add a few words or a note to any page, or just tuck something into one of the envelopes. I'm going to use mine for magazine clipping, articles, take-out cookie fortunes and other little things that would otherwise get lost in the shuffle.
This was a good practice project for me, too, as it's the first junk journal I've ever made. Working on this little journal has given me a confidence boost to try my hand at a more ambitious project: transforming this old beauty into . . . well, you'll just have to wait and see.
March 18, 2013
Lost and Found
I've noticed lately the news is chock full of fascinating finds:
Found: Violin that played as the doomed Titanic went down more than 100 years ago
Medieval Knight Remains Found in Edinburgh Car Park
Roman artefact discovered in Sudeley Castle cupboard
Discoveries like these can be excellent story starters, too. Robin Cook's Sphinx was no doubt inspired by real life; while I was reading it I kept thinking of Carter finding Tutankhamun's tomb. I knew from the moment I first read of Ötzi the Iceman that someday I'd write a fictional version of his story in one of my novels (and it took a while, but eventually I got my chance in Shadowlight.) Even something lost that isn't found can inspire a storyteller; Dean Koontz used the disappearance of the Roanoke colony as part of the plot for his book Phantoms (one of my writer pals believes the same event inspired Stephen King's It, too).
In a sense all stories are a quest for something. In fantasies there's usually some object of incredible power everyone wants, in mysteries the objective is solving a puzzle to find the truth. In romances the characters are seeking love as much as each other. Horror stories are all basically monster hunts, while memoirs are journeys into the past and one's self. This is why the first question I ask a character when I'm creating them is What do you want? -- when you know that, you've got the basic foundation to build on as well as design inspiration for your story elements.
If you want to draw on a real-life find for a story, ask yourself a couple questions:
Why does this discovery fascinate you? You want to write about something that engages you as a storyteller, but you also want to know why. For me it's always the chance to fill in the blanks, aka figuring out how to explain what we don't know. Such as what was Ötzi doing up there in the mountains when he died, and why was he killed?
Can you translate fact into plausible, original fiction? I've always thought those crystal skulls they've found all over the world were very interesting, and would make a great novel. I even wrote a couple plot outlines on how I'd handle them. Then Stephen Spielberg appropriated them for one of his Indiana Jones movies and used a plot idea very similar to my own. This doesn't mean every storyteller who wants to use crystal skulls in their fiction should give up, but you should find out what's already been done so you don't go in the same direction.
Is there enough room with this find for invention and reinvention? Incorporating the copper scroll of Qumran into my Darkyn series was a major ambition of mine, but the scroll itself wouldn't work. It was too old, it was made of copper, it was found in the wrong place, etc. I had to reinvent the scroll to get it to fit into my universe, which meant renaming it, reconstructing it out of gold, reworking the history and so forth. In the end the real scroll was simply inspiration versus having a place in the story, which was fine because I wasn't writing the real history of the actual scroll.
Probably the most important aspect of what you quest for in your story is its value to the reader. They have to want to find it as much as your characters; this is what engages them to stick with the story. Finding and authenticating the violin that was played on the Titanic is a good example of this: it's a symbol of tragedy and courage because of the events that happened during the last time it was played. Without the backstory it's just an old damaged violin someone found in an attic. So what you can do with that? What if it was repaired? What if the first time it was played the original owner showed up to reclaim it? The violin is still old and tragic, but now it's haunted, too.
What real-world discovery do you think would make a great story? Let us know in comments.
Found: Violin that played as the doomed Titanic went down more than 100 years ago
Medieval Knight Remains Found in Edinburgh Car Park
Roman artefact discovered in Sudeley Castle cupboard
Discoveries like these can be excellent story starters, too. Robin Cook's Sphinx was no doubt inspired by real life; while I was reading it I kept thinking of Carter finding Tutankhamun's tomb. I knew from the moment I first read of Ötzi the Iceman that someday I'd write a fictional version of his story in one of my novels (and it took a while, but eventually I got my chance in Shadowlight.) Even something lost that isn't found can inspire a storyteller; Dean Koontz used the disappearance of the Roanoke colony as part of the plot for his book Phantoms (one of my writer pals believes the same event inspired Stephen King's It, too).
In a sense all stories are a quest for something. In fantasies there's usually some object of incredible power everyone wants, in mysteries the objective is solving a puzzle to find the truth. In romances the characters are seeking love as much as each other. Horror stories are all basically monster hunts, while memoirs are journeys into the past and one's self. This is why the first question I ask a character when I'm creating them is What do you want? -- when you know that, you've got the basic foundation to build on as well as design inspiration for your story elements.
If you want to draw on a real-life find for a story, ask yourself a couple questions:
Why does this discovery fascinate you? You want to write about something that engages you as a storyteller, but you also want to know why. For me it's always the chance to fill in the blanks, aka figuring out how to explain what we don't know. Such as what was Ötzi doing up there in the mountains when he died, and why was he killed?
Can you translate fact into plausible, original fiction? I've always thought those crystal skulls they've found all over the world were very interesting, and would make a great novel. I even wrote a couple plot outlines on how I'd handle them. Then Stephen Spielberg appropriated them for one of his Indiana Jones movies and used a plot idea very similar to my own. This doesn't mean every storyteller who wants to use crystal skulls in their fiction should give up, but you should find out what's already been done so you don't go in the same direction.
Is there enough room with this find for invention and reinvention? Incorporating the copper scroll of Qumran into my Darkyn series was a major ambition of mine, but the scroll itself wouldn't work. It was too old, it was made of copper, it was found in the wrong place, etc. I had to reinvent the scroll to get it to fit into my universe, which meant renaming it, reconstructing it out of gold, reworking the history and so forth. In the end the real scroll was simply inspiration versus having a place in the story, which was fine because I wasn't writing the real history of the actual scroll.
Probably the most important aspect of what you quest for in your story is its value to the reader. They have to want to find it as much as your characters; this is what engages them to stick with the story. Finding and authenticating the violin that was played on the Titanic is a good example of this: it's a symbol of tragedy and courage because of the events that happened during the last time it was played. Without the backstory it's just an old damaged violin someone found in an attic. So what you can do with that? What if it was repaired? What if the first time it was played the original owner showed up to reclaim it? The violin is still old and tragic, but now it's haunted, too.
What real-world discovery do you think would make a great story? Let us know in comments.
March 17, 2013
Not a Dime Ten
Ten Things You Can Have for Free
Freeware caution: always scan free downloads of anything for bugs and other threats before dumping the programs into your hard drive.
The Aero Clockis a "simple but at the same time beautiful desktop clock with alpha transparency. This very decorative desktop clock shows the local time at the Desktop. The basic functions: total transparency, size, setting, and the selection of the Clock-texture or the appearance are available. The Aero Clock does not have to be installed and can be executed easily from the desktop" (OS: Windows 2000/XP/2003/Vista/7 [32-Bit/64-Bit])
ColorBug is a "handy color-picker tool, which makes it simple to select colors. It allows to determine colors from other applications, and to find matching colors. This is especially useful for designing websites, and other graphic works" (OS: Windows XP/Vista/7)
FotoSketcher Portable is a "program which can help you convert your digital photos into art, automatically. If you want to turn a portrait, the photograph of your house or a beautiful landscape into a painting, a sketch or a drawing then look no further, FotoSketcher will do the job in just a few seconds" (OS: Windows XP/Vista/7)
FreeText is a "simple and easy-to-use notebook for making notes, keeping to-do lists, storing information on accounts and contacts, etc. It can be helpful when you need to save a link, interesting citation, phone number or to simply insert text from a clipboard for a short time" (OS: Windows XP/Vista/7/8 [32-Bit/64-Bit])
Goswaintha Diary is a "freeware personal diary software/journal software/program, could become your personal digital diary and journal software to record your daily events and memories, in your creative words. Runs on Desktop PCs, and Netbooks too. For everyone who enjoys writing journal of their day to day actions and events. GoswainthaDiary is freeware, and requires no payment for any commercial license/use. GoswainthaDiary is a very simple, yet comprehensive free personal diary software product! If you write daily entries and memoirs in diaries, why not at least glance at digital diary software, which is specialized only for this purpose. If you are a diary freak, this personal diary software, is just the right stuff for you! Record all your historic daily events and actions, right into a diary/diary software, as your own expressed creative words. There's also a rough notebook in GoswainthaDiary, just in case you wish to store any kind of note, into it's true appropirate place" (OS: Unspecified, and the designer's web site is down, but looks like Windows.)
In My Diary is a "smart, free personal organizer. The main display is based on a traditional diary format but, although all entries appear as one line of text, each actual entry can contain as many lines as required. Diary entries can be set to auto-repeat at the required interval. In addition to the daily diary, there is also a daily journal facility, a calendar, Password Manager (and generator), Address book with flexible labelling system, Anniversary entries and a notes section with links to diary entries" (OS: Designer notes "It runs on Windows XP, Vista or Windows 7, and on Apple Mac (10.4 and above). There is also now a native version for Linux OS or the Windows version can be used and works well running in the Wine emulator")
Memoria is an "easy tool to keep a journal, a diary, or write your biography. You can create entries for a day, a month, a year, edit the text and print the result as a pdf file" (OS: Unspecified but it looks like Windows.)
Task List Guru is a "task list organizer ideal for personal task management and small project management. You can organize not just tasks, but also task lists, notes and reminders. Task List Guru has a hierarchical task list tree with icons that allows you to organize all your todo lists and notes in a structure with icons. You can choose from 48 different colorful icons for your to-do lists - this makes using this organizer fun" (OS: Windows 8, 7, Vista and XP, both 32-bit and 64-bit)
TeamViewer is a "simple and fast solution for remote control, desktop sharing and file transfer that works behind any firewall and NAT proxy. To connect to another computer just run TeamViewer on both machines without the need of an installation procedure. With the first start automatic partner IDs are generated on both computers. Just enter your partner´s ID into TeamViewer and the connection is established immediately. With many thousand users worldwide TeamViewer is a standard tool to give support and assistance to people in remote locations. The software can also be used for presentations, where you can show your own desktop to a partner, e.g. to present a software solution. TeamViewer also is VNC compatible and offers secure, encrypted data transfer to maximize security" (OS: Windows 9x/ME/2000/XP/Vista/7)
The Writer's Workbench is a "single tool that incorporates the various tool types that many writers use to create an Integrated Writing Environment (IWE). It provides these various tools without binding a writer to a single structure or vision for constructing a story and seeks to enable the creative process by providing immediate access to any story artifact in the tool without the obtrusiveness of having many windows opened at the same time" (OS: Windows XP/Vista/7)
Freeware caution: always scan free downloads of anything for bugs and other threats before dumping the programs into your hard drive.
The Aero Clockis a "simple but at the same time beautiful desktop clock with alpha transparency. This very decorative desktop clock shows the local time at the Desktop. The basic functions: total transparency, size, setting, and the selection of the Clock-texture or the appearance are available. The Aero Clock does not have to be installed and can be executed easily from the desktop" (OS: Windows 2000/XP/2003/Vista/7 [32-Bit/64-Bit])
ColorBug is a "handy color-picker tool, which makes it simple to select colors. It allows to determine colors from other applications, and to find matching colors. This is especially useful for designing websites, and other graphic works" (OS: Windows XP/Vista/7)
FotoSketcher Portable is a "program which can help you convert your digital photos into art, automatically. If you want to turn a portrait, the photograph of your house or a beautiful landscape into a painting, a sketch or a drawing then look no further, FotoSketcher will do the job in just a few seconds" (OS: Windows XP/Vista/7)
FreeText is a "simple and easy-to-use notebook for making notes, keeping to-do lists, storing information on accounts and contacts, etc. It can be helpful when you need to save a link, interesting citation, phone number or to simply insert text from a clipboard for a short time" (OS: Windows XP/Vista/7/8 [32-Bit/64-Bit])
Goswaintha Diary is a "freeware personal diary software/journal software/program, could become your personal digital diary and journal software to record your daily events and memories, in your creative words. Runs on Desktop PCs, and Netbooks too. For everyone who enjoys writing journal of their day to day actions and events. GoswainthaDiary is freeware, and requires no payment for any commercial license/use. GoswainthaDiary is a very simple, yet comprehensive free personal diary software product! If you write daily entries and memoirs in diaries, why not at least glance at digital diary software, which is specialized only for this purpose. If you are a diary freak, this personal diary software, is just the right stuff for you! Record all your historic daily events and actions, right into a diary/diary software, as your own expressed creative words. There's also a rough notebook in GoswainthaDiary, just in case you wish to store any kind of note, into it's true appropirate place" (OS: Unspecified, and the designer's web site is down, but looks like Windows.)
In My Diary is a "smart, free personal organizer. The main display is based on a traditional diary format but, although all entries appear as one line of text, each actual entry can contain as many lines as required. Diary entries can be set to auto-repeat at the required interval. In addition to the daily diary, there is also a daily journal facility, a calendar, Password Manager (and generator), Address book with flexible labelling system, Anniversary entries and a notes section with links to diary entries" (OS: Designer notes "It runs on Windows XP, Vista or Windows 7, and on Apple Mac (10.4 and above). There is also now a native version for Linux OS or the Windows version can be used and works well running in the Wine emulator")
Memoria is an "easy tool to keep a journal, a diary, or write your biography. You can create entries for a day, a month, a year, edit the text and print the result as a pdf file" (OS: Unspecified but it looks like Windows.)
Task List Guru is a "task list organizer ideal for personal task management and small project management. You can organize not just tasks, but also task lists, notes and reminders. Task List Guru has a hierarchical task list tree with icons that allows you to organize all your todo lists and notes in a structure with icons. You can choose from 48 different colorful icons for your to-do lists - this makes using this organizer fun" (OS: Windows 8, 7, Vista and XP, both 32-bit and 64-bit)
TeamViewer is a "simple and fast solution for remote control, desktop sharing and file transfer that works behind any firewall and NAT proxy. To connect to another computer just run TeamViewer on both machines without the need of an installation procedure. With the first start automatic partner IDs are generated on both computers. Just enter your partner´s ID into TeamViewer and the connection is established immediately. With many thousand users worldwide TeamViewer is a standard tool to give support and assistance to people in remote locations. The software can also be used for presentations, where you can show your own desktop to a partner, e.g. to present a software solution. TeamViewer also is VNC compatible and offers secure, encrypted data transfer to maximize security" (OS: Windows 9x/ME/2000/XP/Vista/7)
The Writer's Workbench is a "single tool that incorporates the various tool types that many writers use to create an Integrated Writing Environment (IWE). It provides these various tools without binding a writer to a single structure or vision for constructing a story and seeks to enable the creative process by providing immediate access to any story artifact in the tool without the obtrusiveness of having many windows opened at the same time" (OS: Windows XP/Vista/7)
March 15, 2013
Always Forever
Every writer has little idiosyncrasies they bring to the writing life or acquire along the journey. For example, I use only Courier New font for my work. I'm not a font snob; I prefer it because I wear trifocals and I can see the punctuation marks without squinting. A few years back I started writing a draft of the last chapter of my novel before I reached the midway point of writing the actual manuscript so I'd have something to work toward, and to get rid of my last-chapter anxieties. That little trick, which I read about online, proved 100% effective for me. And while I can write dressed in pretty much anything (often my pajamas) I can't summon a single word if I'm barefoot.
I write a lot of e-mail; I don't count them but after glancing at my Sent folders I think I average about fifty to a hundred per week. Last night I got an e-mail from a colleague who jokingly signed off with xoxoxo as protest to an anti-signoff article. That was the first time I'd heard of that (and the first time I'd gotten virtual kisses and hugs from a colleague), so I went looking for the piece, found and read it.
My search results also suggested that the poor guy is already at the bottom of a massive pile-up, so I won't add to it by naming him or linking to the article. He's obviously wrestled with the issue, and I don't think he really meant to beat up on anyone but himself. In the process of defending his opinion, however, he casually insulted everyone who writes letters, e-mails or anything else that is traditionally signed off with a Sincerely Yours or Best Wishes or Cheers. Considering how much correspondence we all write, however we write it, that's a lot of people. That's probably billions of people.
I wasn't deeply offended, probably because I've wrestled with the issue myself. I started out like most using Sincerely as we were taught in school to sign off e-mails, and progressed to Best Wishes and then to the abbreviated Best. I still use Best with business correspondence or with people I don't know well because it sounds a bit warmer than Sincerely but not as lofty as Best Wishes. For reader mail I settled on Always, mainly because no one else was using it and it's one of the two ways I sign off when autographing books. With friends I generally use some variation of Hugs. I like Hugs; it's warm and friendly and personal. I mean it, too; I'd give them all real hugs if I could.
There are plenty of sign offs I don't like. I'm not a big fan of the authorial sig block so beloved by the writer organization crowd, the one that lists upcoming releases, award nods and sometimes even bookseller links; personally I find the really long ones a little tiresome. At the same time I know the pressure to promo put on every writer, so I don't take offense (nor do I mean to ridicule anyone who uses them; I just don't care for them) Same thing with Cheers; I was a bartender and while I've tried using it a few times myself that word will always be a toast to me. Makes me occasionally wonder if the other person is inebriated or expects me to be, too.
Despite the inherent awkwardness of the e-mail sign off I don't think it's outdated or that it needs to be eliminated. Removing it from our cyberlives might buy a few more seconds to Tweet something clever or update the Facebook status, but it would erase something far more important: a chance to express some respect or affection. When you end a telephone call, or you go to work, or you send your kids off to school, you wouldn't think of just hanging up or driving off or slamming the door shut. You say take care, have a good day, see you tonight -- or even simply good-bye.
We exchange these words because no matter how much the world progresses or becomes gadgetized, that moment may be the last time we speak to that person, Maybe for today, for the week, for the month, or for the rest of our lives (or theirs.) For these reasons I am so glad the very last e-mail I sent to my friend Monica Jackson signed off with a Hugs, and the last words my father heard from me over the phone, when he was still conscious and could understand me, were I love you, Dad.
I'm already a dinosaur, so I don't think anyone will mind if I continue using my e-mail sign offs. I hope you will, too. Some things should not become antiquated, and like our lives, our chances to say farewell are not infinite.
Always,
Lynn
I write a lot of e-mail; I don't count them but after glancing at my Sent folders I think I average about fifty to a hundred per week. Last night I got an e-mail from a colleague who jokingly signed off with xoxoxo as protest to an anti-signoff article. That was the first time I'd heard of that (and the first time I'd gotten virtual kisses and hugs from a colleague), so I went looking for the piece, found and read it.
My search results also suggested that the poor guy is already at the bottom of a massive pile-up, so I won't add to it by naming him or linking to the article. He's obviously wrestled with the issue, and I don't think he really meant to beat up on anyone but himself. In the process of defending his opinion, however, he casually insulted everyone who writes letters, e-mails or anything else that is traditionally signed off with a Sincerely Yours or Best Wishes or Cheers. Considering how much correspondence we all write, however we write it, that's a lot of people. That's probably billions of people.
I wasn't deeply offended, probably because I've wrestled with the issue myself. I started out like most using Sincerely as we were taught in school to sign off e-mails, and progressed to Best Wishes and then to the abbreviated Best. I still use Best with business correspondence or with people I don't know well because it sounds a bit warmer than Sincerely but not as lofty as Best Wishes. For reader mail I settled on Always, mainly because no one else was using it and it's one of the two ways I sign off when autographing books. With friends I generally use some variation of Hugs. I like Hugs; it's warm and friendly and personal. I mean it, too; I'd give them all real hugs if I could.
There are plenty of sign offs I don't like. I'm not a big fan of the authorial sig block so beloved by the writer organization crowd, the one that lists upcoming releases, award nods and sometimes even bookseller links; personally I find the really long ones a little tiresome. At the same time I know the pressure to promo put on every writer, so I don't take offense (nor do I mean to ridicule anyone who uses them; I just don't care for them) Same thing with Cheers; I was a bartender and while I've tried using it a few times myself that word will always be a toast to me. Makes me occasionally wonder if the other person is inebriated or expects me to be, too.
Despite the inherent awkwardness of the e-mail sign off I don't think it's outdated or that it needs to be eliminated. Removing it from our cyberlives might buy a few more seconds to Tweet something clever or update the Facebook status, but it would erase something far more important: a chance to express some respect or affection. When you end a telephone call, or you go to work, or you send your kids off to school, you wouldn't think of just hanging up or driving off or slamming the door shut. You say take care, have a good day, see you tonight -- or even simply good-bye.
We exchange these words because no matter how much the world progresses or becomes gadgetized, that moment may be the last time we speak to that person, Maybe for today, for the week, for the month, or for the rest of our lives (or theirs.) For these reasons I am so glad the very last e-mail I sent to my friend Monica Jackson signed off with a Hugs, and the last words my father heard from me over the phone, when he was still conscious and could understand me, were I love you, Dad.
I'm already a dinosaur, so I don't think anyone will mind if I continue using my e-mail sign offs. I hope you will, too. Some things should not become antiquated, and like our lives, our chances to say farewell are not infinite.
Always,
Lynn
S.L. Viehl's Blog
- S.L. Viehl's profile
- 224 followers
S.L. Viehl isn't a Goodreads Author
(yet),
but they
do have a blog,
so here are some recent posts imported from
their feed.
