Felicia Denise's Blog, page 71
July 17, 2017
Scrivener Backups and Snapshots Strategies Pt. 2
Hello to all the SE readers! Last time I posted, the topic was about Scrivener and backups. Today, I’m visiting a similar subject with Snapshots.
Story Empire’s very own Staci Troilo left a comment on the previous post (thanks, Staci) indicating her method of backup as well as her thoughts about snapshots:
So with that thought in mind, let’s cover what a snapshot is, why you might use this feature and how to manage them.
What Are Snapshots?
Snapshots are used to make a quick backup of all (meaning you can choose to take snapshots of multiple documents with a project) or part of your project within in the project. Scrivener saves as you work so point-in-time versions are not available without backups and snapshots.
Why Use Snapshots?
Why would you want to do this? If you want to make big changes but you’re not sure you will keep…
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Camp NaNo Update
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52-Week Writing Challenge: Week 28
Despite the constant interruptions of LIFE (You’re hilarious, LIFE — quit it!), I’ve made it to the midpoint of my goal right at the middle of the month. That never happens. This is an unedited excerpt of Calla, my Camp Nano project.
Time for her speech and toast.
Standing and walking over to Gibson, Calla pulled a face at the good-natured comments from the wedding guests.
“It’s your turn, Calla!”
“Girl, you’re the last one!”
“Marry me, Calla!”
Her poker face grew into a wide, warm grin. She looked around the room, seeing people who’d known her for a lifetime, knowing they only wanted her to be happy.
When Calla raised the mic to speak, Gibson, who was still at her side, pulled the mic in his direction.
“Don’t worry, Reedsville fam, I have plans for Miss Calla.”
Catcalls and whistles rose in the room again, with a noted deep growl from Birdy Ellison, the man who’d shouted, “Marry me, Calla” only moments before.
With a smile of pure innocence, Calla pulled the mic back to her mouth. “Don’t you have enough ex-wives, Gibby?”
Flinching, Gibson grabbed his chest, feigned a stumble and laughed all the way back to his seat as the crowd applauded Calla’s witty response.
Calla tried to control her own laughter as she raised her hands to quiet the room.
“I can’t remember a time in my life which didn’t include Tena Evers. We played with dolls together as little girls. When we got tired of the dolls, we forced the boys to let us play cowboys and Indians with them. We watched all the dance shows and practiced the latest steps. Once our moves were flawless, we’d go to the dances and make the boys dance with us.”
Peers yelled out in agreement. Members of older and younger generations nodded and commented on how nothing ever changes.
“Something happened in high school. Those same boys we’d bossed around as kids, we were now afraid to even speak to. But we would look. Oh, my lord, we would look. What I didn’t know at first was Tena was only looking at one boy we didn’t know well. She confessed to me after she and the boy met at their fathers’ company picnic.”
Calla turned to her best friend.
“That fall, we went to our school’s first football game. We bought programs like we always did, but could never find by the end of the game. Not this time. I didn’t realize it at the time, but Tena never rolled or folded her program. A few weeks later during a sleepover at Tena’s, of course, the conversation turned to boys. I teased her about Ronnie Calvert following her around all the time.”
Seated at a far table, Ronnie Calvert laughed out loud only to be smacked on the arm by his wife, Pam, a large, sober-faced woman with no sense of humor.
“Tena laughed and shook her head. She walked over to her dresser, took something out and turned around.”
Calla looked at the crowd and smiled.
“It was the program from the football game, without a wrinkle or tear. She held it with near reverence as she returned to sit on the bed. Opening it, she turned past all the ads and team photos, stopping at the individual player headshots. Handing me the open program, she said, ‘Ronnie’s a nice guy, but I’m going to marry him.’”
Calla looked back to the newlyweds.
“I took the program, and I was staring down into the face of Reedsville High’s star wide receiver, Lloyd Taylor.”
Thunderous applause erupted as wedding guests took to their feet in approval.
Lloyd caressed his new wife’s cheek, lost in her eyes.
Calla held up her hand once again to quiet the crowd.
“Whether you’re sixteen or sixty, you know when you’ve met the love of your life and two hearts bond. It’s a bond time and distance and other people cannot break. It’s the bond Tena and Lloyd share and which has brought them to this day.”
Calla raised her glass, joined by the wedding guests.
“To Mr. And Mrs. Taylor!”
Calla winked at Tena, grinned mischievously and said, “And they lived happily ever after!”
Tena roared with laughter. She should have known her best friend would go through with the dare.
Lloyd looked between Tena and Calla, puzzled.
Calla smirked and sipped her champagne.
Before Lloyd could question his bride, Neeri appeared to rush them to the center of the room for their first dance as man and wife.
While all eyes watched the happy couple dance and sing along to “Spend My Life with You” by Eric Benet and Tamia, Calla settled into her chair, grateful to be off her still aching feet.
©Felicia Denise 2017
July 16, 2017
Interview with Sarina Chandler from the upcoming “Family Matters (In the Best Interest of the Child, Book 2)”
Good day, WordPress bloggers and authors! Today we welcome a very special guest to the blog—Sarina Chandler, from the upcoming Family Matters (In the Best Interest of the Child, Book 2). Sarina is the mother of Books 1 & 2 protagonist, Olivia Chandler.
SC: Excuse me?
FD: Yes, Mrs. Chandler?
SC: Well… technically, I was in book 1, too.
FD: Yes, ma’am you were. But only in a flashback or two, and you weren’t… um, yourself. I thought it best to not approach the subject.
SC: Oh, please! Now you sound like my daughter, not approaching the subject! I was crazy as a loon, out of my mind, off my rocker! It’s not as if I planned it or wanted to be committed to an institution and leave my daughter.
FD: Of course not, ma’am. I’m sorry.
SC: Please call me Sarina… and I’m the one who should be apologizing. I shouldn’t have been short with you. It’s just… I’ve missed most of Olivia’s life and a big part of my own. It angers me, I just have no one to be angry with.
FD: May I ask… when did your mind begin to clear?
SC: It’s been… about a year.
FD: What was the first thing you remembered, Sarina?
SC: *Looks down, fidgets with hands* The accident.
FD: Sarina, if this is too much for you…
SC: No, it’s fine. I’m fine. I’ve been silent for a third of my life. I need to talk, but if you don’t mind, I’d like to share that story first with my daughter. I owe her that… she deserves that.
FD: Not a problem, Sarina. Glad to hear Olivia is coming to see you.
SC: Well…
FD: Sarina?
SC: I don’t know for a fact she is coming.
FD: Pardon?
SC: I talked with Willis a few weeks ago. Willis Benson, the administrator of my husband’s estate. He and Olivia are close. I asked him to see if my daughter would visit me. But… it’s… been a few weeks now, and nothing.
FD: I’m sorry.
SC: Ugh! Stop apologizing already! Olivia and I were separated twenty-eight-years ago! I can’t expect her to make a quick decision for something like this.
FD: Why do you feel it’s such a difficult decision for her?
SC: Felicia, you know the last time I saw my daughter she was a ten-year-old. We had no other family and when I voluntarily came here… Olivia spent time in foster care. I’m told she last visited me five years ago… and I didn’t know who she was. I’m sure she has some resentment issues with me… and I can’t blame her.
FD: Is there a specific reason you want to see your daughter, Olivia, other than simply a mother missing her child?
SC: *Sighs* I need to apologize to her… for leaving her. While it wasn’t intentional or could have been changed, I still left her. Even if she never forgives me or sees me as her mother, I have to say the words.
FD: Why is that so important to you, Sarina?
SC: I had… issues with my parents. Before Ben and I married, I hated them. Afterward, I reached out to them for a fresh start but was ignored. I gave up, but if my mom had softened just a little and acted like she cared about me, I would have been there for her. It never happened. I don’t want to hide behind the walls of this place and allow Olivia to believe I don’t love her. I must try.
FD: I’m sure you will, Sarina. I’m sure you will. I hope Olivia decides to see you.
SC: So do I, Felicia.
FD: Thank you for visiting with us today, Sarina. I know it wasn’t easy.
SC: It’s easier than accepting I’ll never see my child again. She just has to come.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Child-advocate attorney Olivia Chandler has made major progress in overcoming her childhood trauma and issues with abandonment. However, her refusal to see her mother is having a negative impact on her new romance with Bruce Bellamy and everyone Olivia is close to.
Olivia enters specialized counseling for adults who suffer from childhood trauma but hinders her own progress when a major loss sends her spiraling back into the emotional comfort of the shadows in her mind.
With her sanity at risk, Olivia Chandler needs answers to break free from the traumatic stress which holds her captive, but the answers lie with the one person Olivia refuses to see.
Sarina Chandler.
Olivia Chandler’s journey continues in Family Matters (In the Best Interest of the Child, Book 2), coming August 2017.
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Find out the back story.
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“In the Best Interest of the Child”
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July 15, 2017
How “Social” is Social Media?
Facebook’s mission is to “Give people the power to build community and bring the world closer together.” Is social media actually bringing us together? As a sociologist, I took a look at the research. Here is what I found:
Social media use is correlated with depression and low well-being. Yes, this conclusion itself sounds depressing, but let’s take a look at the data. A 2016 study surveyed 1787 19-32 year old men and women, finding social media use was “was significantly associated with increased depression.” Another 2016 study found “taking a break from Facebook has positive effects on the two dimensions of well-being: our life satisfaction increases and our emotions become more positive.”
Internet use is correlated with decreased loneliness among older adults. So it’s more complicated than the above studies might suggest. According to this 2015 study looking at individuals 65 and older, “higher levels of Internet use were significant predictors…
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Why Threatening your Protagonist ISN’T the Best Way to Create Suspense
We often think that suspense = dramatic stakes. The higher the stakes, the higher the suspense. Thus, threatening the character with whom readers have the most connection should create the most suspense, right?
Wrong. Yes, threatening your main character will enhance suspense. However, you’ll never achieve super-high levels of suspense because readers know you won’t really kill your hero halfway through the novel.
So, by all means – threaten your main character. But to achieve even more suspense, don’t threaten your protagonist: threaten the things your protagonist values.
Why You Should Threaten Values:
As I said before, readers know your hero’s probably going to survive. This limits the suspense you can create by endangering your main character.
However, readers don’t know if your hero’s best friend will survive. Or his/her loved one. Or his/her prized 1950s sports car. Or his/her cat.
It doesn’t just have to be people’s…
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July 14, 2017
EDITING 101: 46 – Recognizing Publishing Scams…
Chris The Story Reading Ape's Blog
Originally posted as the Dun Writin’—Now Whut? series on this blog, EDITING 101 is a weekly refresher series for some of you and brand new for others.
Courtesy ofAdirondack Editing
Recognizing Publishing Scams
There are so many publishers—and types of publishing!—on the Internet that it is difficult to know who is legitimate and who is not.
Let’s first discuss the different types of publishing companies available currently.
Commercial or Traditional Publisher: You submit your book to them, possibly through an agent, and sign over all rights. They handle all facets of publishing, including editing, layout, cover design, distribution, and (nowadays) a little marketing. There are no costs to the author, and the author typically receives a royalty advance plus additional royalties of 8 to 12%.
Subsidy Publisher: You submit your book to them and sign over some of your rights. They handle all facets of publishing, including editing, layout, cover design…
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July 13, 2017
What’s the Most Important Part of Your Novel?
Does your first chapter make a promise to readers? Do you live up to it? #WritersIssues
Writing your first novel-Things you should know
It’s the beginning and more specifically the first sentence, then paragraph, then page, then chapter. You have to grab your reader the minute they pick up your novel.
When you are ready to submit your work to an agent, one thing you will notice is they don’t want your complete work. They only want the first few pages, or some may ask for a couple of chapters. Don’t be bold and overconfident sending them the entire thing.
They probably will toss it to the side for your failure to follow instructions. If they do read, they won’t get very far if the first few pages aren’t compelling enough to draw them in (which was the part they wanted to see in the first place).
Agents as a rule, don’t want to see the entire manuscript until they know you can write a compelling story. You have to make them want to…
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July 12, 2017
Unconventional Research Sites for Writers
by Jacqui Murray
I read recently that 70% of millennials get their news from Facebook. Really? Isn’t Facebook a place to share personal information, stay in touch with friends and families, post pictures of weddings and birthdays? So why do students turn to it for news? And then, not two days later, I heard Twitter has reclassified their app as a news purveyor rather than a social media device. Once again: Who gets news from Twitter? Apparently a lot of adults. No surprise news shows are littered with references to listener’s tweets and the President breaks stories via his Twitter stream.
One more stat — which may explain the whole social-media-as-news-trend — and then I’ll connect these dots: Only 6% of people trust the press. I guess that’s why they prefer blogs, Twitter, and Facebook.
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How to Overcome FOMO as an Independent Author
Good insight and advice!
