Sharon Wray's Blog, page 42

History of Werewolves

Legends about werewolves have been around since ancient times, and the stories cross all continents and cultures. While werewolf costumes for Halloween are not hugely popular right now, stories about werewolves fill novels and movie screens, with more and more coming out every year. And when I was doing some research for a super-secret writing project, I learned all sorts of strange and interesting facts about werewolves that could explain our fascination with these stories.

Werewolves are people who can change or shift into a wolf/human hybrid. Most movies and legends say that these creatures are scary monsters who hunt and prey on people. Werewolves are supposedly driven by a bloodlust that kicks in during the full moon, or the three days when the moon appears to be full. The earliest literary references to werewolves roaming the earth are found in the Epic of Gilgamesh (a poem from ancient Mesopotamia from around 2100 B.C.). In this huge literary work, the author references a moment in Gilgamesh’s life where he rejects a lover because they turned their mate into a wolf.

Both the Mesopotamian story and the Greek version can be found in poetic and philosophical writings. In 425 B.C., the Greek historian Herodotus wrote about a nomadic tribe of men who could shift into wolves for several days a few times a year, usually around Ember Days which correspond to our solstices and equinoxes. This tribe was called the Neuri and they lived in an area call Scythia which is now part of Russia. These Neuri men used the fur from wolves to keep warm in the winter and it’s possible that the stories of these men came from their unusual cloaks.

Then, around 380 B.C., the Greek philosopher Plato told a story in his publication “The Republic” about a “Lycaon Zeus” (Wolf Zeus) shrine he saw in Arcadia, a region of ancient Greece. Plato talks about a harsh and brutal king named Lycaon who tries to trick Zeus (the head of all the gods) into eating the body of boy who the king had sacrificed. Zeus, horrified by the act and the attempt to turn a god into a cannibal, punishes Lycaon. Zeus changes Lycaon and his sons into a wolf/human hybrid. The story goes on to say that the character Socrates (who is narrating this part of the story) announces “…he who tastes one bit of human entrails minced up with those of other victims is inevitably transformed into a wolf”.

There is historical evidence that the members of this “Lycaon Zeus” cult used human flesh when they made ritual sacrifices to Zeus. Both of the ancient historians, Pliny the Elder and Pausanias, wrote about a young Greek athlete named Damarchus who was forced to taste the entrails of a young boy who’d been sacrificed to “Lycaon Zeus”. After Damarchus swallowed the meat, he turned into a wolf and stayed in that wolf form for nine years. But parts of this story say that Damarchus, who hated what had happened to him, became more of a protector of people than a predator.

Then Ovid, in his Metamorphoses, added a story about King Lycaon that included all the elements we see in modern werewolf legends like murder and cannabalism. In Ovid’s tale, Lycaon killed and mutilated one of Zeus’s prized prisoners. In retaliation, Zeus turned Lycaon into a wolf. Ovid even included a passage that details the Lycaon’s transformation–a transformation that requires the man must first be a human monster before turning into an animal monster.

“…He tried to speak, but his voice broke into an echoing howl. His ravening soul infected his jaws; his murderous longings were turned on the cattle; he still was possessed by bloodlust. His garments were changed to a shaggy coat and his arms into legs. He was now transformed into a wolf. “

This passage above gave the modern world the origin of the werewolf that we see in movies and read in books. King Lycaon’s wolf is now the “predator wolf trope” of today’s fictional stories.

Werewolves also appeared in the Nordic Saga of the Volsungs. This epic story offers a tale of a father and son who discover dead wolves who’d been skinned with their pelts nearby. When the father and son put on the wolf pelts to stay warm, they are turned into violent wolves for 10 days. Only after the 10 day period is up can they become human again. But while they are wolves, they grow fur and their teeth elongate. They run about the woods, howling and killing people and other animals. Finally, toward the end of the 10 days, the father and son turn on each other. But just as the father is about to kill his son, a raven (sent by Odin) brings medicinal leaves to the son and applies them to his wounds. Once the son is revived and healed, the 10 days are up and they turn back into men. Horrified at what they’d become, they burn the wolf pelts so no one else can ever suffer they way they did.

From the 15th to 17th centuries, people believed that werewolves were serial killers. France, especially, had trouble with serial killers in the 16th century. One story says that Pierre Burgot and Michel Verdun, who’d sworn fealty to the devil, were given an ointment so they could change into wolves. While in wolf form, they killed many children until they were caught and burned at the stake. They were burned instead of hanged because deviltry was a crime against the church, not the state. Some people also believed that burning was one of the few ways to truly kill a werewolf. Not long after these two murderers were executed, another man in France, Giles Garnier (aka the “Werewolf of Dole”) supposedly also used this devil’s ointment to change into a werewolf and killed a bunch of children and then ate them. Once the authorities caught him, they burned Garnier as well.

But France wasn’t alone in its werewolf troubles. In the early 1500s, in Bedbug, Germany, a man named Peter Stubbe was also supposedly a werewolf. He was a farmer who claimed the devil gave him a magical belt that turned him into a werewolf. While in his wolf form, he killed and ate livestock, children, and local townsfolk. After hunters finally caught him (in his human form), the authorities tortured and executed him by cutting off his head just to make sure he was dead. No one ever found Stubbe’s magical belt, but they did find more gruesome evidence to prove he was a serial killer who’d killed more people than they realized. After this event, people started “seeing” werewolves everywhere. Accusations were made and many innocent people got caught up in the hysteria. Although, there are also written accounts of criminals dressing in wolf furs and skins to terrorize the populace.

As time passed, stories about werewolves evolved. When blaming the devil, magical oils and belts, or ancient gods fell out of favor, the cause of lycanthropy (the disease of becoming a werewolf) shifted. Now more modern stories blame genetic links passed down through family bloodlines, or being scratched or bitten by a werewolf, or just wearing a werewolf’s clothing. The ways of killing a werewolf have changed as well. Where beheadings and fire were once considered the best way to kill the beasts, now silver is key to taking down a werwolf. But why does silver work? Because when silver spends time interacting with the air, the metal tarnishes and turns black. Silver, though, is nonreactive which means is stays the same in water and air. But when small bits of a particular element that floats around in air hits the silver, the silver begins to tarnish. And the element that causes the black coating on silver is sulfur.

When sulfur, aka “the devil’s element”, is combined with silver a chemical reaction happens and you end up with silver sulfide. While silver sulfide is isn’t toxic, it is not water soluble. That means that if you inject silver sulfide into an animal (or werewolf), it can poison the bloodstream and destroy blood vessels. Silver sulfide kills the werewolf (or any other animal infected with it). It’s possible that since burnings were also how witches were executed, storytellers wanted a unique form of execution to kill off their werewolves. Silver made the stories more “romantic” in a gothic kind of way, and once that concept was introduced in the late 17th century, it’s been with us ever since.

While werewolves aren’t real, they’ve become a huge part of our storytelling canon, especially around Halloween. And from their recent rising popularity in fiction novels, I have a feeling they’ll be howling at our full moons for a long, long time.

Subscribe

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Email Address

Subscribe

The post History of Werewolves appeared first on Sharon Wray.

View more on Sharon Wray's website »

Like • 0 comments • flag

Published on October 27, 2022 03:30

A Romance Writer’s Favorite Books for Halloween

As an author and librarian who loves to read and write happily ever afters, I have to admit I also read in many different genres, including horror. And this time of year, I tend to reread a lot of my favorite “scary and spooky” books that I’d normally not read at any other time of year. So I’ve put together a list of the books I read around Halloween. Some are classics and bestsellers, some are relatively unknown. Some are Young Adult novels and the others are Adult Fiction. (YA and Adult fiction are determined by the age of the protagonist, not the age of the reader). If you’re in the mood for a spooky read, I’m sure you’ll find something on this list to enjoy!

Book previews and blurbs are courtesy of Amazon.

The story of a young scientist who creates a hideous, sapient creature in an unorthodox scientific experiment.

Frankenstein tells the story of gifted scientist Victor Frankenstein who succeeds in giving life to a being of his own creation. However, this is not the perfect specimen he imagines that it will be, but rather a hideous creature who is rejected by Victor and mankind in general. The Monster seeks its revenge through murder and terror.

The novel was first published in 1818. It was written originally by Mary Shelley (1791-1851) as a short story when the poet Lord Byron suggested that each member of a group of friends write a ghostly tale to keep themselves entertained. Mary’s story was the undoubted winner.

Today, Frankenstein is regarded as a foundational, prescient work of science fiction.

Dracula by Bram Stoker…

“Welcome to my house! Enter freely and of your own will!” He made no motion of stepping to meet me, but stood like a statue, as though his gesture of welcome had fixed him into stone. The instant, however, that I had stepped over the threshold, he moved impulsively forward, and holding out his hand grasped mine with a strength which made me wince, an effect which was not lessened by the fact that it seemed as cold as ice―more like the hand of a dead than a living man.

I am where dead children go.

Okiku is a lonely soul. She has wandered the world for centuries, freeing the spirits of the murdered-dead. Once a victim herself, she now takes the lives of killers with the vengeance they’re due. But releasing innocent ghosts from their ethereal tethers does not bring Okiku peace. Still she drifts on.

Such is her existence, until she meets Tark. Evil writhes beneath the moody teen’s skin, trapped by a series of intricate tattoos. While his neighbors fear him, Okiku knows the boy is not a monster. Tark needs to be freed from the malevolence that clings to him. There’s just one problem: if the demon dies, so does its host.

Seventeen-year-old Aderyn (“Ryn”) only cares about two things: her family and her family’s graveyard. And right now, both are in dire straits. Since the death of their parents, Ryn and her siblings have been scraping together a meager existence as gravediggers in the remote village of Colbren, which sits at the foot of a harsh and deadly mountain range that was once home to the fae. The problem with being a gravedigger in Colbren, though, is that the dead don’t always stay dead.
The risen corpses are known as “bone houses,” and legend says that they’re the result of a decades-old curse. When Ellis, an apprentice mapmaker with a mysterious past, arrives in town, the bone houses attack with new ferocity. What is it that draws them near? And more importantly, how can they be stopped for good?
Together, Ellis and Ryn embark on a journey that will take them into the heart of the mountains, where they will have to face both the curse and the deeply-buried truths about themselves. Equal parts classic horror novel and original fairy tale, The Bone Houses will have you spellbound from the very first page.

Newly orphaned Peggy Grahame is caught off-guard when she first arrives at her family’s ancestral estate. Her eccentric uncle Enos drives away her only new acquaintance, Pat, a handsome British scholar, then leaves Peggy to fend for herself. But she is not alone.

The house is full of mysteries—and ghosts. Soon Peggy becomes involved with the spirits of her own Colonial ancestors and witnesses the unfolding of a centuries-old romance against a backdrop of spies and intrigue and of battles plotted and foiled. History has never been so exciting—especially because the ghosts are leading Peggy to a romance of her own!

In 1558 while imprisoned at Elwenwood Hall, a remote castle in northern England, teenaged Kate Sutton finds herself involved in a series of mysterious events that eventually bring her to an underground labyrinth peopled by the last practitioners of druidic magic.

When Kate Sutton is sent to Elvenwood Hall as a prisoner by Queen Mary in the summer of 1558, she learns of the Druids and the truth about the disappearance of Sir Geoffrey’s little girl

Ever since Cass almost drowned (okay, she did drown, but she doesn’t like to think about it), she can pull back the Veil that separates the living from the dead . . . and enter the world of spirits. Her best friend is even a ghost.

So things are already pretty strange. But they’re about to get much stranger.

When Cass’s parents start hosting a TV show about the world’s most haunted places, the family heads off to Edinburgh, Scotland. Here, graveyards, castles, and secret passageways teem with restless phantoms. And when Cass meets a girl who shares her “gift,” she realizes how much she still has to learn about the Veil — and herself.And she’ll have to learn fast. The city of ghosts is more dangerous than she ever imagined.

The Complete Tales & Poems of Edgar Allan Poe contains every know tale written by the famous gothic American writer. His often macabre and dark works, which span the years from 1827 to his death in 1849, include “The Raven,” “The Black Cat,” “The Tell-Tale Heart,” and “Annabelle Lee.”

For Poe fans worldwide, this elegant collector’s edition includes over 70 of Poe’s short stories, more than 40 melodious poems, and his only full-length novel, The Narrative of A. Gordon Pym. In addition, it also includes a compelling introduction by notable historian and biographer Daniel Stashower.

Set in 1482, Victor Hugo’s powerful novel of ‘imagination, caprice and fantasy’ is a meditation on love, fate, architecture and politics, as well as a compelling recreation of the medieval world at the dawn of the modern age.

In a brilliant reworking of the tale of Beauty and the Beast, Hugo creates a host of unforgettable characters – amongst them, Quasimodo, the hunchback of the title, hopelessly in love with the gypsy girl Esmeralda, the satanic priest Claude Frollo, Clopin Trouillefou, king of the beggars, and Louis X1, King of France. Over the entire novel, both literally and symbolically, broods the Cathedral of Notre-Dame.

Vivid characters and memorable set-piece action scenes combine to bring the past to life in this story of love, lust, betrayal, doom and redemption.

Ben Mears has returned to Jerusalem’s Lot in hopes that exploring the history of the Marsten House, an old mansion long the subject of rumor and speculation, will help him cast out his personal devils and provide inspiration for his new book.

But when two young boys venture into the woods, and only one returns alive, Mears begins to realize that something sinister is at work.

In fact, his hometown is under siege from forces of darkness far beyond his imagination. And only he, with a small group of allies, can hope to contain the evil that is growing within the borders of this small New England town.

With this, his second novel, Stephen King established himself as an indisputable master of American horror, able to transform the old conceits of the genre into something fresh and all the more frightening for taking place in a familiar, idyllic locale.

Following accusations that her scientist father gruesomely experimented on animals, sixteen-year-old Juliet watched as her family and her genteel life in London crumbled around her—and only recently has she managed to piece her world back together.

But when Juliet learns her father is still alive and working on a remote tropical island, she is determined to find out if the old accusations are true. Accompanied by her father’s handsome young assistant, Montgomery, and an enigmatic castaway, Edward, Juliet travels to the island, only to discover the depths of her father’s insanity.

Torn between horror and scientific curiosity, Juliet knows she must end her father’s dangerous experiments and escape her jungle prison before it’s too late. Yet as the island falls into chaos, she discovers the extent of her father’s genius—and madness—in her own blood.

When the mysterious fog of the Ruining crept over the world, the living died and the dead rose. Only the walled city of Viyara was left untouched.The heirs of the city’s most powerful—and warring—families, Mahyanai Romeo and Juliet Catresou, share a love deeper than duty, honor, even life itself. But the magic laid on the Juliet at birth compels her to punish the enemies of her clan—and Romeo has just killed her cousin Tybalt. Which means he must die.

Paris Catresou has always wanted to serve his family by guarding the Juliet. But when his ward tries to escape her fate, magic goes terribly wrong—killing her and leaving Paris bound to Romeo. If he wants to discover the truth of what happened, Paris must delve deep into the city, ally with his worst enemy . . . and perhaps turn against his own clan.

Mahyanai Runajo only wants to protect her city—but she’s the only one who believes it’s in peril. In her desperate hunt for information, she accidentally pulls Juliet from the mouth of death—and finds herself bound to the bitter, angry girl. Runajo quickly discovers Juliet might be the one person who can help her recover the secret to saving Viyara. Both pairs will find friendship where they least expect it. Both will find that Viyara holds more secrets and dangers than anyone ever expected. And outside the walls, death is waiting. . . .

For sixteen-year-old Dan Crawford, the New Hampshire College Prep program is the chance of a lifetime. Except that when Dan arrives, he finds that the usual summer housing has been closed, forcing students to stay in the crumbling Brookline Dorm. The dorm was formerly a sanatorium, more commonly known as an asylum. And not just any asylum—a last resort for the criminally insane.

As Dan and his new friends Abby and Jordan start exploring Brookline’s twisty halls and hidden basement, they uncover disturbing secrets about what really went on at Brookline . . . secrets that link Dan and his friends to the asylum’s dark past. Because Brookline was no ordinary asylum, and there are some secrets that refuse to stay buried.

Featuring found photographs from real asylums and filled with chilling mystery and page-turning suspense, Asylum is a horror story that treads the line between genius and insanity, perfect for fans of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children.

Micheline Helsing is a tetrachromat — a girl who sees the auras of the undead in a prismatic spectrum. As one of the last descendants of the Van Helsing lineage, she has trained since childhood to destroy monsters both corporeal and spiritual: the corporeal undead go down by the bullet, the spiritual undead by the lens. With an analog SLR camera as her best weapon, Micheline exorcises ghosts by capturing their spiritual energy on film. She’s aided by her crew: Oliver, a techno-whiz and the boy who developed her camera’s technology; Jude, who can predict death; and Ryder, the boy Micheline has known and loved forever.

When a routine ghost hunt goes awry, Micheline and the boys are infected with a curse known as a soulchain. As the ghostly chains spread through their bodies, Micheline learns that if she doesn’t exorcise her entity in seven days or less, she and her friends will die. Now pursued as a renegade agent by her monster-hunting father, Leonard Helsing, she must track and destroy an entity more powerful than anything she’s faced before . . . or die trying.

Alexis thought she led a typically dysfunctional high school existence. Dysfunctional like her parents’ marriage. Or her doll-crazy twelve-year-old sister, Kasey. Or even like her own anti-social, anti-cheerleader attitude. When a family fight results in some tearful sisterly bonding, Alexis realizes that her life is creeping from dysfunction into danger.

Kasey is acting stranger than ever: her blue eyes go green, sometimes she uses old-fashioned language, and she even loses track of chunks of time, claiming to know nothing about her strange behavior. Their old house is changing, too. Doors open and close by themselves. Water boils on the unlit stove, and an unplugged air conditioner turns the house cold enough to see their breath in.

Alexis wants to think that it’s all in her head, but soon, what she liked to think of as silly parlor tricks are becoming life-threatening: to her, her family, and to her budding relationship with the class president. Alexis knows she’s the only person who can stop Kasey—but what if that green-eyed girl isn’t even Kasey anymore?

First published in 1959, Shirley Jackson’s The Haunting of Hill House has been hailed as a perfect work of unnerving terror.

It is the story of four seekers who arrive at a notoriously unfriendly pile called Hill House: Dr. Montague, an occult scholar looking for solid evidence of a “haunting”; Theodora, his lighthearted assistant; Eleanor, a friendless, fragile young woman well acquainted with poltergeists; and Luke, the future heir of Hill House.

At first, their stay seems destined to be merely a spooky encounter with inexplicable phenomena. But Hill House is gathering its powers—and soon it will choose one of them to make its own.

Subscribe

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Email Address

Subscribe

The post A Romance Writer’s Favorite Books for Halloween appeared first on Sharon Wray.

View more on Sharon Wray's website »

Like • 0 comments • flag

Published on October 26, 2022 03:30

Sarah Munro’s Pumpkin Spice Latte

In my most recent anthology, Mister October, I have a short story called One October Night which takes place in a tiny fictional town called Kingsmill deep in the Shenandoah mountains. In the center of this town, there’s a small cafe owned by the heroine Clara’s Uncle Harry. Harry’s cafe serves as the meeting place for all of the characters, and Harry is a fun, quirky guy who knows way more about the all the folks in town than he admits. Harry’s cafe also offers fall-themed treats including Pumpkin Scones, Pumpkin Muffins, Apple Oatmeal Cookies, and Pumpkin Lattes.

Because coffee has been around for centuries, and was prized by the early American colonists, Sarah Munro, (my PhD historian and heroine in book 2 of the Deadly Force series, ONE DARK WISH), has added Pumpkin Spice Lattes to her collection of DIY herbal recipes. This drink uses fresh ingredients that were widely available in the 18th century and has none of the toxic fillers/flavorings found in many of the ready-made drinks available today. It’s not hard to make, and it tastes so much better than what you find at most coffee shops.

There are nutritional benefits in this latte as well. Pumpkin is high in Vitamins A, C, and E, all of which help strengthen your immune system and reduce free radicals. Cinnamon and ginger can help increase circulation and nutmeg warms you from the inside out. That makes this a perfect drink on cold Autumn mornings.

Sarah Munro’s Pumpkin Spice LatteIngredients & Equipment:1 cup freshly-brewed coffee or favorite espresso8 Tablespoons pumpkin puree2 Tablespoons real maple syrup (NOT corn syrup)2 teaspoons unsalted butter, softened to room temperature1 teaspoon Ceylon cinnamon1/4 teaspoon powdered ginger1/4 teaspoon nutmeg1/4 teaspoon allspice1 1/2 cups of milk (any type, dairy or non-dairy)Dash of Ceylon cinnamon and a cinnamon stick for garnishGlass jar with tight-fitting lid for frothing the milkBlenderDirections:

Brew the coffee.

While the coffee is brewing, use a small bowl and a wooden spoon to stir together the pumpkin puree, maple syrup, butter, Ceylon cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and allspice.

Add this butter/pumpkin mixture to a blender, along with 1 cup of coffee, and and pulse/puree until the mixture is smooth and creamy.

In a small saucepan, gently heat the milk. Do not scorch it! Heat it slowly, until just about boiling, and remove it from the heat. Add it to the glass jar and tighten the lid. Wrap a dish towel around the jar (it will be hot!) and shake until the milk has almost doubled in volume and looks frothy.

Pour the tea/pumpkin mixture into two cups (1/2 cup of mixture in each cup). Pour the frothy, hot milk over the coffee. For a garnish, add a dash of Ceylon cinnamon and a cinnamon stick. Or a glob of whipped cream–because everything tastes better with whipped cream!

Makes 2 mugs.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER ABOUT WILD PLANTS, FORAGING , AND MAKING HERBAL REMEDIES:

I am not a medical professional and nothing written on this blog is medical advice. None of my statements have been evaluated by the FDA (I am legally required to give you this disclaimer).

It is important to do your due diligence before foraging, harvesting, and/or consuming any type of medicinal plant.

If you are taking any medications, talk to your doctor about any potential drug interactions.If you are allergic to anything, make sure whatever you are foraging is not in the same family. Example: While dandelions are typically considered safe, those who are allergic to ragweed, latex, daisies, or any other plants in the same or similar families, may not be able to consume dandelion.

Always research potential side effects, dosage recommendations, and how to properly prepare and consume each medicinal plant.

Always make sure you are foraging what you believe to be. Fully prepare and study the anatomy before harvesting wild plants.

Always make sure your kitchen/work area is clean and that all materials are sterilized.

Do not forage plants from areas that have been sprayed within the past 2 years at the very least.

I am not legally or morally responsible for the health of any of my readers. Please do your own research!

Subscribe

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Email Address

Subscribe

The post Sarah Munro’s Pumpkin Spice Latte appeared first on Sharon Wray.

View more on Sharon Wray's website »

Like • 0 comments • flag

Published on October 25, 2022 03:30

NaNoWriMo Preptober: Part 3

This article is an edited repost from the archives. Most of the information from last year is still relevant, but I’ve added some new resources and video links as well.

In the last week, I’ve had a ton of messages asking me about the technology I use to plot and write my books. My absolute favorite way to plot and write is longhand. But as a working writer, that’s not fast enough. So I thought I’d give a brief review of the systems I use. But while I love these systems, there are a ton more apps out there that other writers swear by. Many of the programs I’ve listed below are ones I have used for years. And while I’m always interested in learning new and shiny programs, I don’t have the time right now.

Note: This list of tech is specifically for crafting novels. I do use other systems like Trello, Excel, and Canva to help run other aspects of my business but this list is just for writing. And, while I’ve added links to this post, I am NOT selling these programs. If you decide you want to purchase any of these, please search the internet for coupon codes. There are ALWAYS coupon codes available for these systems. Some of the coupons can save you hundreds of dollars!

Microsoft Word 365: My editor and agent expect my manuscripts to be submitted in Word. I write on multiple machines, sometimes in different places other than home, and I keep some of my manuscripts in a cloud to ensure I am always working on the most recent version. Although I do download and save my work every night. Then I email the manuscript to myself so there’s always a copy on my email provider’s server. But this program can get expensive so make sure to check the internet, and other writing organizations, for coupon codes.

Scrivener: I’m not even sure how to describe Scrivener. It’s part word processor, part indexer, part visual editor, and part story & plot designer. Imagine taking all of your writing notes (sticky notes, journal pages, jottings on napkins) and placing them in Scrivener so you can keep track of everything! You can build book worlds, develop character and setting sheets, and break down your manuscript into the smallest scene that can be moved around on a virtual bulletin board. It is a complicated program and takes some time to learn, but it’s worth the time. I’ve been using it for years so there are updates that I’m not even aware of yet! But after writing over 11 novels on Scrivener, I can’t imagine using any other program. Although, having said that, when my trad books are done and ready to submit, I reformat the book in Word 365 for my editor and agent. If It’s an indie book, I’ll move it to Word 365 before uploading it to Vellum (noted below). In Word, I’m able to strip out extra, hidden formatting that makes it easier to use Vellum. But the more I learn about Vellum, the less I need to take that extra step.

Abbie Emmons, over on YouTube, has a great playlist on how to personalize Scrivener and how to use it to get ready for NaNo. Here’s the link to her YT playlist. But I’m warning you–this will suck up hours of your time! I especially love the video on how to change your Scrivener aesthetic to match your current WIP.

Plottr: Plottr is a visual planner and outlining tool that helps you plan out your story. There are timelines, character and setting sheets, and scene builders. I’ve been using this program for about a year and the more I use it, the more I like about it. There’s also a free YouTube channel with tutorials so you can check out the program and how to use it. This software is for visual learners. So if you’re a hardcore journal scribbler, this may not work for you. There’s also an ability to create a story bible. I’ve been keeping my story bible in Scrivener but I may move it over to Plottr in the next few months.

Vanessa Keir has a great YouTube video on using Plottr to plan your NaNiWriMo project. And the Plottr YouTube Channel keeps adding videos on how to plan and structure your current WIP.

ProWritingAid: This is a grammar checker and style editor software. You just dump your manuscript into the editor and it evaluates your writing and tells you everything you’ve done wrong. What I like most about this software is that it helps me identify reused phrases and word echoes. It also evaluates your writing style and gives you ideas to improve readability. This is an AI program, but it’s not perfect. It is not a replacement for proof reading or copy editing.

Grammarly: This is another AI-based grammar checker and style editor software similar to ProWritingAid. There’s a free level and sometimes I’ll use it if I’m struggling with how to structure a particular sentence. Grammarly, ProWritingAid, and Google Docs all use proprietary AI systems and I’m always struck at how differently they evaluate my writing. I do love the more advanced version of Grammarly, but you have to pay for it. And since I use a coupon code for PWA, I can’t justify paying for two similar systems. But if I ever drop ProWritingAid, I’ll pick up Grammarly. It’s just as good.

Adobe Acrobat Pro: My publisher uses Adobe Acrobat Pro for both copyedits and final galley proofs. While I hate paying the monthly fee, the software does make it very easy to read through the final versions of the manuscript (which, I believe, are designed with InDesign). For my indie books, I’ve yet to run into an editor who works with Adobe. But if you’re a trad author, or hope to become one, you may have to sign up. Luckily you can sign up month-to-month so during the months I’m drafting and revising, I turn it off. It’s easy to turn back on once I receive a final version of the manuscript.

Vellum: I use this software to format my indie books and get them ready to upload to vendors like Amazon and Barnes & Noble. It even has an option to load up paperback versions to KDP and IngramSpark. But if you’re not using it to publish right away, you don’t have to pay for it. I’ve used the free version of this software to read through early versions of my book because sometimes reading drafts in a book-style format helps me see grammatical errors and pacing issues.

Reedsy: I am just learning about Reedsy and their free formatters (similar to Vellum) and AI manuscript checking programs (similar to ProWritingAid). While it doesn’t offer all of the fancy things Vellum does (like adding images on title pages), it’s super easy to use and it’s free!

Google Docs: This is a free word processor that works great, and is cheaper than Word 365. But I don’t use it to write. I use it as a free spell check because their AI system is different from Scrivener, Word, and ProWritingAid. I just upload the finished draft into a google doc and then run the spell check. You’ll be amazed at what the other AI programs have missed!

Aeon Timeline: I used to use this visual editor to help lay out my books in the Deadly Force series but I recently switched to Plottr. Aeon Timeline is a beautiful app and offers a ton of options but it’s just too complicated for me. I’d rather spend my time writing. But if you are working on a large series, like a space opera or a huge epic fantasy series, this may work really well for you. It’s at least worth checking out.

A Note on Story Bibles: These software programs are for planning, plotting, and writing. But Scrivener, Aeon Timeline, and Plottr can also be used to build story bibles which is especially useful if you’re writing a series. A story/series bible is crucial if you’re writing a long series with a large world, like in the sci fi or fantasy genres. I’ll be honest–these all work okay as series bibles but I’ve yet to find a software that can be a plotting/planning tool and offer a full Wiki experience. I’ve seen videos that the productivity tool Notion can do this, but that seems super complicated as well. So I’m using what I have… until the next shiny app comes knocking on my inbox!

While I don’t use Trello as an outlining tool (it’s more of a Kanban-type productivity tool), I do love this YouTube video by Megan Tennant on how to use Trello as a WIP outlining tool.

Two of my favorite author YouTubers also have great playlists for videos about NaNoWriMo, including the technology they use when crafting and editing their stories.

Here is Bethany Atazadeh’s Playlist and here is Sarra Cannon’s Playlist.

I hope this information helps and I can’t wait to hear about your journey on the other side of NaNoWriMo!

Subscribe

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Email Address

Subscribe

The post NaNoWriMo Preptober: Part 3 appeared first on Sharon Wray.

View more on Sharon Wray's website »

Like • 0 comments • flag

Published on October 24, 2022 03:30

NaNoWriMo Preptober Part 3