P.H. Solomon's Blog, page 265

Scrivener Tips Pt. 7: Elements For Your Document Template

A few weeks ago, I shared about using the document template feature of Scrivener. It allows you to create a template internal to your project with differing features and content so you can start writing more quickly without forgetting your commonly used elements for your documents. It makes the process of writing approachable.

But what should you include in a document template? How much should you include? What’s the benefit of this bit of work? Let’s take the last two questions first.

As to how much you should put into a document template, this depends on your needs. If you need a simple template with all the common formatting for your project then it’s a straightforward process. If the nature of your project requires more information then you should include that. For instance, with a blog or newsletter project (assuming you are using a year-long project for these), you can use the document template to include common content that appears in all your posts or newsletters.

As to the benefits, it’s a time-saver. You won’t waste time re-creating the same document conditions every time you start a new chapter, blog, newsletter, etc. Also, this template usage eliminates forgetting to include common content such as those used on blog posts and newsletters.

But what should you include in your Scrivener document template? Here are a some suggestions:

1. You may want to create several templates depending on what your project is. As an example, I’m using a year-long project for my blog posts and newsletters so I may need multiple templates for these. This is especially true of my blog project where I develop different kinds of posts. I can make different templates for Scrivener posts, interview posts, serial posts and general category posts.

Include your ending content for blog posts. Again, these may differ based on the type of post.

Include introductory content. Again this may differ depending on usage but it sure helps you jump into writing without much worry with getting everything correct.

Regarding formatting, do you have special formatting that will be used in your project several times? Then you should consider creating a template that incorporates this formatting. There’s nothing so time consuming than trying to re-create formatting to match earlier content. With the document template you can re-create that formatting by choosing to use the template.

The main take-away is to include as much as necessary to simplify your writing process rather than get bogged down with unnecessary details. As I run across a repetition of form in projects I’m creating a new document template or adding necessities to existing ones. That way I will spend less time on continuity and complete my writing faster.

How can you use document templates in your Scrivener projects to streamline your writing? If you’re already using this feature, what elements of your writing do you include in your document templates? Please share your thoughts and ideas in the comments section.

To find out more about The Bow of Destiny, click over to one of these online retailers:

       

      

About the Author

P. H. Solomon lives in the greater Birmingham, AL area where he strongly dislikes yard work and sanding the deck rail. However, he performs these duties to maintain a nice home for his loved ones as well as the family’s German Shepherds. In his spare time, P. H. rides herd as a Computer Whisperer on large computers called servers (harmonica not required). Additionally, he enjoys reading, running, most sports and fantasy football. Having a degree in Anthropology, he also has a wide array of more “serious” interests in addition to working regularly to hone his writing. The Bow of Destiny is his first novel-length title with more soon to come.

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Privacy Policy

This blog does not share personal information – including email addresses – with third parties nor do I store any information about your visit to this blog other than to analyze and optimize your content and reading experience through the use of cookies (which is a WordPress.com function and not mine).

You can turn off the use of cookies at any time by changing your specific browser settings.

I am not responsible for republished content from this blog on other blogs or websites without our permission.

 

Filed under: Blogging, Cover Reveal, Creativity, Editing, Fiction, Indie Publishing, Planning, Scrivener, Self-publishing, Social Media, Tech Tips, Templates, The Black Bag, The Bow of Destiny, Tips, Twitter, Writing Tagged: blogging, Coverart, creativity, Editing, Facebook, Formatting, Indie Publishing, P. H. Solomon, Planning, Scrivener, Social Media, The Black Bag, The Bow of Destiny, Twitter, writing

Corgren makes a living as a prize knife-

Corgren makes a living as a prize knife-fighter in the rough fighting rings along the Hart river. When a mysterious stranger offers him power to gain revenge on his enemies for his service, Corgren dismisses it as a con. But when the stakes are high against an opponent as skilled as himself, will Corgren accept offer?

“A prequel short story that surprised me by how entertaining it was. Especially great were the intense knife-fighting scenes.”

“Solomon has a taut and controlled way with words. His style reminds me a bit of Isaac Asimov but with a high fantasy twist. I was intrigued by this story after the first few pages and he definitely left me hanging and wanting more. I’d recommend this to lovers of fantasy for sure.”

FREE on:

Amazon: http://amzn.to/1UOkXt7

Barnes & Noble: http://bit.ly/1TOMOML

iBooks: http://ow.ly/y01O301vaU1

Kobo: http://bit.ly/1WyTz4h

Smashwords: http://bit.ly/1JcVHsM

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TOP TEN TUESDAY

I liked WoT and thought that Sanderson did a good job finishing off the series for Jordan. Mithgar was enjoyable and did progress to some good fantasy even though it was a Tolkien knock-off. I liked, an enjoyed to varying degrees, the Shannara books. I really liked Voyage of the Jerle Shannara but Brooks has been hit or miss for me since then. Reblogging on Archer’s Aim…

Welcome to Top Ten Tuesday! This is a weekly feature hosted by The Broke and the Bookish, where a new top ten list hits the web every week!

This week our topic is …

Books That Have Been On My Shelf Since Before I Started Blogging That I STILL Haven’t Read Yet

We all have them.  The books we buy (or receive as gifts) which we never read.  Maybe, we have them because they are by an author we have enjoyed before.  Perhaps, these novels are from a series we’ve been following closely.  But, for whatever reason, these books are put up on a shelf (physical or virtual) then stay there, never looked at again.  For years.  In my case, decades.  It is a sad truth of life that there is never enough time to read all the great books out there, but even I didn’t realize how horrible my…

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“THE LOST BOW” Blog Tour @ph_solomon #RRBC

Welcome to “THE LOST BOW” Blog Tour! Author, P. H. Solomon P. H. Solomon writes fantasy where the elements may sound familiar, but the story doesn’t follow well-trod paths. The first book of …

Source: “THE LOST BOW” Blog Tour @ph_solomon #RRBC

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Editing Tip #132 – The Dreaded Synopsis

Authors, need to write a synopsis? Here’s a simple, direct way to boil your book down to it’s basic points. Reblogged on Archer’s Aim.

While it’s nice to think that once you’ve written and edited your magnus-opus, your editing work is done … think again.

Time to Write Your Synopsis

If an agent or publisher doesn’t get a “taste” for your writing in the query letter (which calls for a paragraph summary of your entire book and often a 1-pager to attach) or “hooked” on your story, then you’ve lost a great opportunity to have them ask for your coveted manuscript.

Now, I must be upfront with you about this: I am NOT a master of editing Synopses.

In fact, I still struggle with writing my own but I have a good perspective for books I’ve edited for my clients. I can see when they’re adding too much back story, if their hook actually grabs readers, and if they’ve left out anything important (because they don’t want to spoil the story – trust…

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Using Scrivener Collections For Editing

Scrivener is a powerful writing tool. I write about it weekly with tips and usage ideas. To read more of my posts click the Scrivener tag or category at the end of the page.

Archer’s Aim Digest mailing list

In last week’s Scrivener post, I introduced the use of Collections as a multi-function tool. This week, I’d like to address the usage of this tool by focusing on my ongoing structural edit of my second novel, An Arrow Against the Wind.

First, let me define structural edit. This is the kind of editing where you might re-organize your draft so that flows better. It’s also the type of editing whereby you discover all the holes and inconsistencies within the draft and try to fill them. Another way of addressing the structure is to bring consistency to style as well as characterization, plot and other basic elements of the book.

Next let me describe the situation with my rough draft and how I’m approaching it. While writing An Arrow Against the Wind, I realized I had numerous holes to fill. This was due in large part to removing a sub-plot from the series to publish later as a parallel series. This left a need for more words for An Arrow Against the Wind. I’ve already made decisions about what needs to be added where.

My approach at this point, is to handle all the big structural issues of content. This means writing more in a number of places while I’ll handle style inconsistencies after the additions are completed. So at this point, I want to make a collection that includes all the planned additions and keeps something of a schedule at the same time – the latter so that I stay on-time for the first hand-over of the manuscript to the editor in a few months.

Help Thunderclap my Beyond the Cover Appearance

For this Collection, all I need to do is choose all the empty documents that need content added and include them. So I highlighted the first chapter that needs more content and created the Collection using the instructions I mentioned from last week. I named it “Structural Edit – Additional Content”. From there I began to add all the empty documents that need work by clicking on the Binder tab in the Collection and right clicking on each targeted document and adding it from the context menu as pictured.

Adding to the collection

When finished, my collection looks like this:

So now I have what I need to begin to set a schedule to complete each necessary document. I can assign a label and a status to each of these from the context menu – which is adding Scrivener meta-data. I chose to edit the standard status and label meta-data to fit my work. To do this go to either Label or Status to get a fly-out menu of available choices after right-clicking on a document. Choose edit and make your changes.

First I edited the Labels to add deadline dates for each of the documents and assigned them successively to each one. Then I created a custom status for each category I need: “In Process”, “Overdue”, “Completed” and “Not Started”. I then set all the documents to the last one. Now I have my deadlines and can assign a status to each document as I progress, finally removing them from the collection once completed.

Adding Labels

Adding Status Schedule

So now my Collection is complete. I can choose to view only the Binder by toggling off the Collection (Ctrl+Shift+9) or clicking View, slide to Collections for the menu and click Collection. To toggle the Binder on go to the same menu and click Binder. To go back into my collection, I can use the same menu and click on the named Collection where it appears in the list below Binder – in this case I only have one Collection (though I’ll have several over the next several weeks).

And that’s how I’m using Collections in Scrivener to begin editing An Arrow Against the Wind. Next week I’ll add another collection for my structural edit encompassing stylistic changes. After that, I’ll proceed onto other uses for Collections in my editing.

Have you tried using Collections yet in Scrivener? Please share your thoughts and ideas in the comments section. I’d also love to connect with you over social media so check my Contact page for that information.

To find out more about The Bow of Destiny, click over to one of these online retailers:

       

      

About the Author

P. H. Solomon lives in the greater Birmingham, AL area where he strongly dislikes yard work and sanding the deck rail. However, he performs these duties to maintain a nice home for his loved ones as well as the family’s German Shepherds. In his spare time, P. H. rides herd as a Computer Whisperer on large computers called servers (harmonica not required). Additionally, he enjoys reading, running, most sports and fantasy football. Having a degree in Anthropology, he also has a wide array of more “serious” interests in addition to working regularly to hone his writing. The Bow of Destiny is his first novel-length title with more soon to come.

Sign-up to receive my free ebooks today.

Privacy Policy

This blog does not share personal information – including email addresses – with third parties nor do I store any information about your visit to this blog other than to analyze and optimize your content and reading experience through the use of cookies (which is a WordPress.com function and not mine).

You can turn off the use of cookies at any time by changing your specific browser settings.

I am not responsible for republished content from this blog on other blogs or websites without our permission.

This privacy policy is subject to change without notice and was last updated on July 2nd, 2015. If you have any questions feel free to contact me directly here: ph at phsolomon.com (replace the “at” with @, it’s written that way to avoid spammers).

Filed under: An Arrow Against the Wind, Barnes & Noble, Blogging, Creativity, Editing, Fantasy, Fantasy Fiction, Fiction, Goodreads, iBooks, Indie Publishing, iTunes, Kobo, Mailing List, Pinterest, Planning, Scrivener, Self-publishing, Short Fiction, Short Stories, Social Media, Tech Tips, The Black Bag, The Bow of Destiny, The Bow of Hart Saga, Tips, Twitter, Wattpad, Writing Tagged: An Arrow Against the Wind, Barnes and Noble, blogging, Bookmarks, Collections, Coverart, creativity, Editing, Epic Fantasy, Facebook, Fantasy Fiction, Goodreads, iBooks, Indie Publishing, Marketing, P. H. Solomon, Pinterest, Scrivener, Self-publishing, Short Stories, Smashwords, Social Media, The Black Bag, The Bow of Destiny, The Bow of Hart Saga, Tips, Trading Knives, Twitter, What is Needed, writing

The Marriage of the Hero and the Fool — C. Brennecke

A bit of foolishness with the hero’s journey. Reblogging on Archer’s Aim.

John Robins Blog

Today I have the pleasure of welcoming a new regular contributor to the EFW gang. C. Brennecke, author of Seven Shards: The Colors of Wine, which is presently in production with Inkshares, joins us today with her first post, following this month’s lead on exploring character journeys in fantasy. 

In writing circles, especially fantasy writing circles, it is inevitable that the Hero’s Journey will be referenced from time to time. The same can be said of the Fool’s Journey in Tarot circles. By some stroke of chance, I discovered both of these sequential story structures around the same time. I realized almost immediately that, despite coming from completely different areas of study, the Hero and the Fool had a lot in common.

The Hero’s Journey, the story structure that appears time and time again in books and other stories throughout the ages, begins in the “known world” or “ordinary world,”…

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Welcome to RRBC 2016 Book & Blog Party!

One of the 8/21 stops on the #RRBC Book & Blog Party! Reblogging on Archer’s Aim. A fun post from Suzanne Burke. Watch out for all the critters in this one!

Welcome to the World of Suzanne Burke.

Hello and welcome to the Rave Reviews Book Club 2016 Book & Blog Party! Coming to you today from ‘Welcome to the World of Suzanne Burke’ … Located in Sydney, Australia.

Here’s what I am giving away today !

One (1) E-Book copy of “Acts Beyond Redemption” My Psychological Thriller.

One (1) E-Book copy of “Empty Chairs” Book 1 of my Biography.

One (1) E-Book  copy of “Faint Echoes of Laughter” Book 2 of my Biography.

# Number of WINNERS for this stop = 3.

Each Winner may choose which of my books they receive.



All Aussies love a great party! No party would be complete without some fun, so below I have shared with you some facts about my Beautiful Home of Australia.

There are 1500 species of Australian spiders.

Australian Funnel Web

If you read about our spiders you might not like this: the average person swallows…

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#RRBC #BlockParty, Why We Keep Her Alive…

Reblogging this special stop on the #RRBC Book and Blog Party stop! Why we remember a special member who’s no longer with us…

RAVE REVIEWS BY NONNIE JULES

There will be 3 winners at this stop:

(1) $5 Amazon Gift Card (courtesy of Bruce A. Borders)

(1) 2 FREE books from the Kathryn C. Treat Treasure Chest

(1) Entry into the Kathryn C. Treat VIP Lounge (it’s very private, you know)

Leave your comments below for a chance at these prizes!!!

***

WELCOME TO THIS VERY SPECIAL STOP ALONG THE BLOCK PARTY TOUR!

Well, we’re not really keeping her alive, but we are keeping her memory alive, and if you really think about it, you’ll come to realize that they are both the very same thing.

When I started RRBC, there were a handful of people that I wanted by my side as I took this journey…Kathryn C. Treat was one of those people. She served in the capacity of our first Membership Director but what she did, went far above and beyond the duties…

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Personal Tool Change: Opera

I had to write about a new tool I’m using and I really like it so far. I’ve only been using it for less than a month and I’m already impressed so much I had to share it. I’ve always heard other people talk about how much faster browsers like Chrome and Firefox were but I’ve never been impressed when trying them though there are some features that do work better than the standard Microsoft offering (currently Edge).

However, I’m stuck with a wireless data plan for all my internet usage which really limits what I can do since unlimited is so costly. We’ve been experiencing overages frequently over the last year so I’ve been doing some research how to limit usage. There are a number of tweaks I’ve made to Windows 10 that have helped but not entirely.

In doing some further research, I found that the browser Opera can be operated in Turbo mode to reduce usage. How does it work? Well this mode in Opera is meant to increase speed by routing your browsing traffic through its proxy servers where data is compressed, meaning the data packets over your connection are smaller. The result is faster browsing but the side-effect is less data usage. Perfect for me – I’m trying it out over my next billing cycle to see how much it affects data usage.

But as stated, the speed of browsing is much faster and smoother than I’ve ever seen. Pages from a variety of sites load very quickly. Where I was waiting using a variety of services for the pages to load and slow me down I’ve been able to run through a number of tasks rather quickly.

There are some drawbacks and caveats. I’ve found that a few odd pages don’t load. Also, secure pages (https) are not compressed. But these issues are minimal compared to my needs. I became a fan of Opera within minutes – and I’m a little hard to impress. I’m sharing my fandom now as my hearty recommendation simply to inform anyone else interested in a free product that might be beneficial. Just working with this post has been much faster and that’s very important to me.

How do you turn on Turbo mode if you download Opera? Simply, click Menu in the upper left to display the main menu and click on OperaTurbo. For anyone looking for better browser performance this might be just what you need. You can also use Opera’s import tool to transfer all your pertinent shortcut information from other browsers.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Interested in more of my writing? After checking me out on Wattpad, check out The Bow of Destiny.

Haunted by his past. Hunted in the present. Uncertain what is real.

Athson has seen things that aren’t there and suffered fits since being tragically orphaned as a child at the hands of trolls and Corgren the wizard. When a strange will mentioning a mysterious bow comes into his possession, he’s not sure it’s real. But the trolls that soon pursue him are all too real and dangerous. And what’s worse, these raiders serve Corgren and his master, the hidden dragon, Magdronu, who are responsible for the destruction of his childhood home. Athson is drawn into a quest for the concealed Bow of Hart by the mystic Withling, Hastra, but Athson isn’t always sure what’s real and who his enemies are. With Corgren and Magdronu involved, Athson must face not only frequent danger but his grasp on reality and the reasons behind his tragic past.

To find out more about The Bow of Destiny, click over to one of these online retailers:

       

      

About the Author

P. H. Solomon lives in the greater Birmingham, AL area where he strongly dislikes yard work and sanding the deck rail. However, he performs these duties to maintain a nice home for his loved ones as well as the family’s German Shepherds. In his spare time, P. H. rides herd as a Computer Whisperer on large computers called servers (harmonica not required). Additionally, he enjoys reading, running, most sports and fantasy football. Having a degree in Anthropology, he also has a wide array of more “serious” interests in addition to working regularly to hone his writing. The Bow of Destiny is his first novel-length title with more soon to come.

Sign-up to receive my free ebooks today.

Filed under: Author Platform, Barnes & Noble, Blogging, Choices, Creativity, Fantasy, Fantasy Fiction, Fiction, Goodreads, iBooks, Indie Publishing, iTunes, Kobo, Mailing List, Marketing, Pinterest, Planning, Self-publishing, Short Fiction, Short Stories, Smashwords, Social Media, The Bow of Destiny, The Bow of Hart Saga, Tips, Trading Knives, Twitter, What is Needed, Writing Tagged: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, blogging, Epic Fantasy, Facebook, Fantasy, Fantasy Fiction, Goodreads, iBooks, Indie Publishing, Kobo, Marketing, Opera, P. H. Solomon, Pinterest, Self-publishing, Short Stories, Smashwords, Social Media, The Bow of Destiny, The Bow of Hart Saga, Trading Knives, Twitter, What is Needed, writing