P.H. Solomon's Blog, page 268

Scrivener Project Management: Don’t Let the Beast Loose

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.

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Keep track of a project at any time can be difficult. If your not able to do so things can become a monstrous mess that can consume the good intentions behind your goals. The same is true of managing a project in Scrivener.  So let’s take a look at one way to keep a lid on the beast of disorganization and it consequences.

I got an interesting question a while back so I’m addressing it today. A follower on Twitter asked about performance issues with Scrivener. It was a rather general question so I followed up by asking for more details.

The answer I got went something like this: the person asking about performance issues had a project that was opening/closing very slowly. A little further explanation indicated that the project was one that had been in use for several years with daily input during that time.

It wasn’t hard to imagine how large the project had gotten and there’s the rub. If you still have auto backup enabled on closing a project (recommended) then the project will backup and close once you exit. The larger the project, the longer the backup will take. Opening is a similar story sans the backup. Also, the larger the project the more computer resources will be used.

Here’s a personal feeling about this issue so take it for it’s worth. I wouldn’t recommend using a project for daily work that stretches for years – it will just get too big to open and I can imagine it would be cumbersome to manage as well. Personally, I have a few projects that I’m using throughout the year such as those for blog posts and newsletters. However, I intend to close these out at the end of the year and create new projects for these purposes in 2016. That way they are easy to manage and don’t get too large. Most projects aren’t used this way – such as a book – which will eventually be completed.

So what do you do if you have such a problem? Easy! Export older or new content (depends on how you want to do it) out of the project and then import said data back into a new project. This means that you are essentially going to split the project. Make sure to take a snapshot beforehand as well as having a backup to which you can revert (check your backup folder which is in your Options by clicking on Tools => Options => Backup, click the button to open the backup folder). Once you’ve confirmed you’ve exported and imported the data successfully you can trash what you exported out of the old project. After that, if you’re still having performance issues, contact Literature and Latte for more assistance.

To export, select all the folders or documents you want to export in the Binder. Next, click File, slide to Export and click Files on the fly-out menu. There are options to choose such as the location & name of the folder where you are putting your data. There are other options showing but for these purposes only choose “Export Notes” & “Export Meta-data” since the other check-boxes will exclude data/content that you will likely want to retain.

Importing takes a bit more effort. Before importing, assess what you are doing to know how complex the work will be. You must import individual files into specific folders if you want to retain your folder structure. First, create your new project and duplicate your folder structure to your satisfaction.

To import, choose the folder into which you will import and click File, slide to Import and choose Files to navigate to the location where you just exported. You must navigate to individual files so select all the files in each folder and all the content will be imported into the specific folder you already selected. If you haven’t made your folder structure too complex it shouldn’t take forever, otherwise it may take some time.

I hope this helps you iron out any performance issues you may have as well as manage a project that has grown in size or complexity.

Please share your thoughts and ideas in the comments section.

I’ll make an appearance on 8/13 in RRBC’s Book & Blog Block Party. Then I’ll be on The Lost Bow Blog Tour from 8/14-20. I’ll post more news about the tour as it becomes available.

And one final tidbit – for those who might have seen it on my Twitter feed, I’ve been contacted by a teacher about including The Bow of Destiny in her curriculum. I don’t know much at this time other than it’s being considered. If it is, I’ll share more information ASAP. It’s interesting news at this point and another great reason to write!

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: Blogging, Creativity, Editing, Fantasy, Indie Publishing, Mailing List, Marketing, Pinterest, Planning, Pre-order, Scrivener, Self-publishing, Short Fiction, Short Stories, Smashwords, Social Media, Tech Tips, The Black Bag, The Bow of Destiny, The Bow of Hart Saga, Tips, Trading Knives, Twitter, Wattpad, What is Needed, Writing Tagged: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, blogging, creativity, Editing, Facebook, Fantasy Fiction, Indie Publishing, Marketing, P. H. Solomon, Pinterest, Planning, 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

Are We Undermining Our Own Writing Success?

This is very timely for me and I’m sure for many writers. Reblogging on Archer’s Aim.

Kristen Lamb's Blog

Image via Flickr Creative Commons, courtesy of Keith Roper

I rarely reread books, namely because there are so many new titles I want to consume and only so many hours in the day. But, there are a handful of books I read and reread namely because they are areas I struggle in and so reinforcement is tremendously helpful.

The three books I seem to cycle through the most are actually about money and investing: Dave Ramsey’s Total Money Makeover, Robert Kiyosaki’s Rich Dad, Poor Dad, and (even though it is an older book) Stanley and Danko’s The Millionaire Next Door.

There are plenty of money manuals that promise to make me a gazillionaire overnight with no effort on my part and those kinds of plans frankly give me hives.

The books I prefer are far more salt-of-the-earth and they say the same things, though in different ways.

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Did You Know…? Five Things Every #Author Should Know. #RRBC Book & Blog #BlockParty

5 good points from Nonnie Jules today on the #RRBC party stop today! Reblogging on Archer’s Aim!

4WillsPublishing Author Services

Location:  WORLDWIDE

#of Giveaways:  3

(1) 3-Day Weekend Blog Tour

(1) 24-Hr Twitter Support for winner’s book or blog

(1) $5 Amazon Gift Card

***

Hi, and welcome to 4WillsPublishing Author Services where our strong wills keep you moving forward!  We offer top-notch service with our book trailers, blog tours, book covers and more!  So, do take a look around and if you want the best, then you want to become a 4WillsPub client!

I know that you have been visiting some really awesome blogs along this block party tour, with really interesting blog posts.  Some were short and sweet, others were lengthy and filled with details.  Mine, well, it will fall somewhere in the middle.

I thought I’d feed you a little Author Stew…a little of this, and a little of that, but all in the helpful tips department.  So, here goes…I’m going to ask you 5…

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What are you writing – Crime, Horror or Suspense? Infographic…

Here’s an interesting infographic. Reblogging on Archer’s Aim.

Chris The Story Reading Ape's Blog

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Scrivener Tips Pt. 8: Keyboard Shortcuts

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.

There are many fantastic tools in Scrivener of which a writer can make easy use. But I often find that hate to pause too much while writing to click and change something. Or if I’m making changes there are just too many time-consuming clicks to reach a command on a menu. For this reason, I tend to use keyboard shortcuts in varying tandems with mouse clicks. Here are some favorite keyboard shortcuts for some of the Scrivener commands that I use:

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The following are normally reached by clicking Format and going to the Font fly-out menu:

1. Strikethrough – Ctrl/Shift/-

2. Underline – Ctrl/U

3. Italic – Ctrl/I

4. Bold – Ctrl/B

5. Bigger/smaller font – Ctrl/> or < (these do require using the Shift key to use the upper case otherwise you’ll get something else opening such as Project Stats).

The following are commands that also appear on the Format menu that I use. The additional ones listed you may use for non-fiction but I largely don’t for fiction:

1. Ruler – Ctrl/Shift/R

2. Add comment – Shift/F4

You can change views quickly by clicking on the View menu or using the shortcuts listed there

1. Document – Ctrl/1

2. Corkboard – Ctrl/2

3. Outline – Ctrl/3

4. Full screen – F11

I know many people use their mouse often but for those who like to use these types of shortcuts they can be very helpful. I make use of them often to keep my typing flow going and also because I’m on a laptop regularly without a mouse attached and stopping too much to use the mouse-pad can be a hassle unless necessary. It takes some memory but with practice I’ve gotten faster at using them without thinking too much.

These may be a bit of minute details however I find them easier to use than clicking so much. As an example, if I’m striking through a goal on a list I would highlight it and use the keyboard shortcut rather than waving the cursor around and clicking through menus. I hope these are useful to you, especially those who are new to Scrivener and may be looking for these shortcuts similar to those in Word.

What keyboard shortcuts do you like using? What shortcut from Word or another editor have you been unable to find/use with Scrivener?

I’ll make an appearance on 8/13 in RRBC’s Book & Blog Block Party. Then I’ll be on The Lost Bow Blog Tour from 8/14-20. I’ll post more news about the tour as it becomes available.

And one final tidbit – for those who might have seen it on my Twitter feed, I’ve been contacted by a teacher about including The Bow of Destiny in her curriculum. I don’t know much at this time other than it’s being considered. If it is, I’ll share more information ASAP. It’s interesting news at this point and another great reason to write!

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

Scrivener: The Essential Writing Tool

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. Sorry for the hiatus in writing a new post for several weeks but my efforts have been directed elsewhere. I hope to share more posts on this topic in the future.

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I was pleased to release my book, The Bow of Destiny, earlier this week. As you can imagine, Scrivener was a big help in self-publishing this fantasy novel. There are so many ways I’ve used the software to get to this point that it’s hard to imagine doing it all without Scrivener. It’s been a long hike – like doing the Appalachian Trail – and Scrivener has been in my pack the whole way. Here are some ways that Scrivener has helped me self-publish over the last year:

1. Newsletters – I used my newsletter template to write each volume this year and email it to mailing list followers. Scrivener has been instrumental in this since I have a project for all my newsletters for this year. I can open the project, write my content and transfer it to mail out easily. If I didn’t use Scrivener, I would have been hunting for all my information in separate files.

Multi-Function Tool – photo licensed via iStockPhoto

2. Editing the Book – The Bow of Destiny was largely completed when I really started using Scrivener so I imported it and completed my editing and development in a novel template. The same is true of the next book, An Arrow Against the Wind. However, with this second book, I still needed to complete the rough draft and do some structural editing. Scrivener was perfect for these tasks after I imported the book since I could use collections to organize my structural editing – see my posts on the topic: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4. However, the third book, The White Arrow, will be entirely developed in Scrivener and I’ll start that process in November with occasional, related posts about how I’m using Scrivener to do the development.

3. Project tracking – Scrivener allows me to do all kinds of project tracking. There are the built-in tools that track a project’s stats. Also, there’s meta-data to mark the status of sections and scenes in projects. However, I also used my Author Platform Manager, a custom project template I developed, to track what I’m doing overall as a writer. I can put anything necessary in it. If I develop an idea in it I can transfer it to an open project with the Scratchpad.

4. Blogging – Part of growing as an author includes blogging. I couldn’t have blogged near as much without Scrivener. It allowed me to put all my blog posts in one project for the year and create an ongoing schedule to follow. Without using Scrivener, I would have been lost and disorganized in the effort. It’s allowed me to often work ahead when I needed to and still keep the busy blogging schedule.

5. Blog Tour Development – I developed a blog tour project template based on my blog template and what a big help Scrivener was there. I was able to work on my tour ideas and posts well in advance as I developed all of my author content. It’s been a major help just to keep all that in one place and work steadily at the release. I’m starting a new one with ideas within the week for the release of An Arrow Against the Wind 4/18/2016. With editing on this upcoming title ongoing, there’s no time like the present to organize the next release.

6. Developing & Writing Short Stories – Part of my release has involved using short fiction. I’ve also written some other short stories this year that are being submitted to magazine markets. Without Scrivener I would have floundered through developing these stories. The good thing is that with Scrivener, I can easily import these into another project to develop an anthology if I want to go that route. I’ve been able to manage and organize my short fiction with ease using Scrivener.

7. Document Templates – This feature in Scrivener has been very important to me all year. I’ve been able to use these templates to create my basic blog structure in my blog project. What a time-saver! I’ve also been able to use this feature to save more time writing my newsletters, short stories and more. By making document templates in my projects, I’m able to do repetitive writing without duplicating the same material repeatedly. If the material for the template needs an update that’s simple enough to change – one time.

Scrivener has been with me all the way during the last year. It’s been indispensable for me as a writer. I would not have done near as much as I have without it. I look forward to continuing my usage and expanding how I use it. As I develop an entire novel from it I expect to use the composition tools more than I have such as the lay-out manger as well as features for word searches and more.

If you’ve published using Scrivener, how has it helped you get there? If you use it for other writing, how does Scrivener make you more effective as a writer?

I’ll make an appearance on 8/13 in RRBC’s Book & Blog Block Party. Then I’ll be on The Lost Bow Blog Tour from 8/14-20. I’ll post more news about the tour as it becomes available.

And one final tidbit – for those who might have seen it on my Twitter feed, I’ve been contacted by a teacher about including The Bow of Destiny in her curriculum. I don’t know much at this time other than it’s being considered. If it is, I’ll share more information ASAP. It’s interesting news at this point and another great reason to write!

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: Blog Tour, Blogging, Creativity, Editing, Fantasy, Fantasy Fiction, Fiction, Goodreads, iBooks, Indie Publishing, iTunes, Mailing List, Marketing, Pinterest, Planning, Science Fiction, Scrivener, Self-publishing, Short Fiction, Short Stories, Smashwords, Social Media, The Bow of Destiny, The Bow of Hart Saga, Tips, Trading Knives, Twitter, Wattpad, What is Needed, Writing Tagged: Barnes and Noble, Blog Tour, blogging, Editing, Epic Fantasy, Facebook, Fantasy Fiction, Goodreads, iBooks, Indie Publishing, Kobo, Launch, Marketing, P. H. Solomon, Pinterest, Planning, Self-publishing, Smashwords, Social Media, The Bow of Destiny, The Bow of Hart Saga, Tips, Trading Knives, Twitter, What is Needed, writing

TEASER TUESDAY

Thanks for the Tuesday Teaser! Nice surprise today! Reblogging on Archer’s Aim!

Teaser Tuesday is a meme held over at Books and a Beat.

To participate, all you have to do is:

• Grab your current read

• Open to a random page

• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page

• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

• Share the title & author, too, so that other Teaser Tuesday participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

The Bow of Destiny by P.H. Solomon

Genre: Fantasy

Series: The Bow of Hart #1 

Publisher: Self Published (September 28, 2015)

Author Info: Website | Twitter

Length: 302 pages

When his dead father touched his hand, Athson almost dropped the arrow.  He squeezed his eyes shut.  Ignore him.  Focus.  He took a slow…

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A Fantasy Tip from History: Medieval Graffiti

I remember seeing such graffiti in Notre Dame in Amiens, France several decades ago. Interestingly, people who sang in the choir tended to etch a number of things on the seats. This is good source material for most any genre dealing with history but very much for Fantasy. Reblogging on Archer’s Aim.

Nicholas C. Rossis

Name etched on a Suffolk church.
(Credit: The Norfolk and Suffolk Medieval Graffiti Survey, via History Extra)

In Kingston, a small village in rural Cambridgeshire, a stolid tenant farmer is wiping moist eyes. His three children had survived the 1507 outbreak of the ‘sweats;’ a sickness that could see you hale and hearty at lunchtime, and dead before supper. But by 1515 they succumbed to a particularly virulent outbreak of the bubonic plague. Having hastily buried them in unmarked graves, he is seeking a way to memorialize them. Without thinking, he fishes a knife from his pocket and neatly etches the names of his three dead children into the walls: Cateryn Maddyngley, Jane Maddyngley, and Amee Maddyngley.

Tagging and graffiti

Medieval Graffiti by Matthew Champion

When I was a young thing studying in Edinburgh, I watched with amusement our (older) best friend, Mike, rant against…

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Formatting Pt. 4: Creating New Scrivener Presets

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.

In previous posts on this topic I covered formatting for an e-book. using styles in Word and creating bookmarks/hyperlinks using Word to enhance your manuscript for publication. But I also mentioned using preset styles in Scrivener so I’m covering that today.

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Much like with Word you can use preset format styles to easily change formatting in your Scrivener documents. These are located in the Format toolbar at the top of the editor:

However, if you want to create additional presets to use while writing, here are the steps to do that:

1. Create some content with the formatting you wish to use or open a document in Scrivener that already has this formatting.

2. Make sure you’ve click into the formatted area you want to use for a preset.

3. Click on Format, Formatting, New Preset from Selection:

4. Name the preset and click OK.

To use presets you have created click within the content paragraph or highlight all the content to be changed and select it from the list of presets in the formatting toolbar (see the first screenshot above) or in the Formatting menu click Apply Preset to choose what you want. You can also delete presets from the Formatting menu should you find you no longer need a preset. Once you have your preset(s) created you can also apply them to your document templates and project templates to get to work even faster.

Have you used presets in Scrivener before? Do you have specific presets created that may help other Scrivener users?

I’ll make an appearance on 8/13 in RRBC’s Book & Blog Block Party. Then I’ll be on The Lost Bow Blog Tour from 8/14-20. I’ll post more news about the tour as it becomes available.

And one final tidbit – for those who might have seen it on my Twitter feed, I’ve been contacted by a teacher about including The Bow of Destiny in her curriculum. I don’t know much at this time other than it’s being considered. If it is, I’ll share more information ASAP. It’s interesting news at this point and another great reason to write!

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: Editing, Fiction, Indie Publishing, Planning, Scrivener, Self-publishing, 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, Self-publishing, Social Media, The Black Bag, The Bow of Destiny, Tips, Twitter, Word, writing

#RRBC Back-To-School Book and Blog Block Party!

One of today’s stops on the RRBC block party. Reblogging on Archer’s Aim

Hi! Welcome to Rave Reviews Book Club’s Back-To-School Book & Blog Block Party. (For all the stops and oodles of chances to win a myriad of prizes, check out all the posts. The list can be found here.)

This stop? Staci Troilo’s site in Fayetteville, Arkansas, USA. 

Here’s What I’m Giving Away Today to One Lucky Winner:

$15 Amazon Gift Card

All commenters are eligible.

Below is a brief introduction to my work. I’m a multi-genre author, so the selection is varied. I like to think there’s something for everyone, and I hope you see something you like.  I’m including a short blurb on each, plus links to samples and more information about them. Perhaps this guide will help you make an informed decision about your next reading choice.

I’m currently working on the third Cathedral Lake Series book, Pride and Fall. For those of you familiar with this…

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