Purple Prose [Search results for scrivener] 

Let’s see a show of hands. Who here enjoys writing the first draft?

I’m more of a revision-loving girl, but I do love the surprises that happen while I write the first draft, even though I spend time outlining my novels first.

One problem I have while working on my first draft is that I’m easily distracted. The other problem is I love to do research. This means when I stop to do “quick” research (e.g. look for a tattoo that would be symbolic to the story and scene), I end up wasting more time than I should and my writing flow is lost.

So, now I don’t do that anymore. When I need to stop to research something, I make note of it in the manuscript and keep typing. The only exception is if it’s something vital to the plot, and it could result in extensive revisions if I don’t do the research now. Once I’m finished with the draft, I’ll go through it and do the necessary research and edits.

Because I use Scrivener, it’s easy for me to make the notes in my manuscript. They show up in a separate window next to my manuscript. That means I just have to click on a chapter to see what research I need to do. It’s really easy, and it’s one of my favorite features in Scrivener.

When you write your first draft, do you power through it and research details later once you’re finished, or do you research them as you write?

Note: Scrivener is 20% off until June 14^th. So, if you’ve been thinking about getting the program, this is a great time to do so.

Last year, I reviewed the free version of SmartEdit and loved it. The creators recently asked me if I would test the new version (which isn’t free). In exchange for an honest review, I was provided a copy of the software.

PROS

• One of my favorite parts about SmartEdit is the list it generates from your manuscript. It lets you know which words and phrases you use repeatedly. This helps you identify those annoying crutch words and phrases that you might not realize you’re using. And after you’ve gone through your manuscript to correct for this, you can rerun the program to see if you’ve created a new list of crutch words. This is quicker and easier than figuring out your crutch words and using FIND and REPLACE in Word.

• SmartEdit not only lists the repeated words, you can click on the word (or phrase, depending on what you’re analyzing) to see the sentences you used it in. You can then edit those sentences that you wish to change directly in SmartEdit (or go back and make the changes in your word processing software).

• The program generates a list of potentially misspelled or misused words so that you can ensure you used the word correctly (e.g. breath and breathe), or didn’t accidentally misspell it.

• You can quickly check to see if you overused profanity (or a specific swear word), or if you accidentally used profanity when you didn’t want it in the story.

• You can analyze your sentence lengths. The results are shown in a chart. If you have an excessive number of sentences at the high end of the scale (e.g. thirty or more words), you might want to consider rewriting some of these sentences.

• You can analyze dialogue tags to ensure you aren’t abusing non-said tags.

• Another of my favorite features is the feedback SmartEdit provides on the beginning of your sentences. It’s a great way to see if you abuse certain words (e.g. ‘but’ and ‘and’).

• SmartEdit shows you when you’ve used too many spaces between words. A life saver for your eyes.

• There is a short video to show you how to use the software. I recommend watching it, but I know where are some people who are more hands on when it comes to learning a new program.

• If you use foreign phrases or non-English phrases (fantasy anyone?), the program will list them so you can double check that you’ve used them correctly. In the case of non-English phrases created for fantasy, it helps to ensure you’re consistent in their use (or spelling).

CONS

• Unlike other editing programs, Smartedit doesn’t tell you how to fix the issue. This enables you to have full creative control of your writing. Personally, I don’t think this is a disadvantage to the program, but it depends on what you’re looking for.

• Sorry Mac users (which now includes me), the program is currently only available for PCs.

• The program analyzes dialogue tags, but they are only available in past tense. I tend to writing novels in present tense, which means this feature has limited value for me. If I want to analyze them, I have to list the words under custom settings. This requires me knowing what dialogue tags I tend to use. The other issue is that you can’t save the list of words you compile under custom settings for future use.

Overall, I love SmartEdit. It’s the perfect program to help your polish your manuscript. It will definitely be part of my editing process.

Do you use any software programs designed for writers? Are there any you can’t live without? *

*I’m also a Scrivener girl.

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Last week I shared with you some of my favorite books on plotting and story structure. But what’s an awesome book on plotting without these cool tools?

Corkboard

I’m currently playing around with my corkboard as I plot my YA horror novel Save-the-Cat style.

Index Cards

During the spring, I posted on using a corkboard for plotting, and someone pointed out that colored index cards help you visualize the different subplots. Brilliant idea!

Plotting Software

Of course, if technology is more your style, it’s not too late to ask Santa for a software program like Scrivener.

Note Pads

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Unless you want to write on your legs and arms, like I’ve been known to do when I get an earth-shattering idea, don’t forget to ask Santa for note pads.

Pens

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And let’s not forget the cute pens. You can never have enough pen, especially if yours have a tendency to walk off like mine.

What would you like to see in your stocking this year?

On the tenth day of Christmas my true love gave to me:

A stocking filled with cool writing tools,
Gift cards so I can go on a novel-buying spree (yippee!),
Six books for page-turning plots,
Workshops to make me smarter,
One sexy dance outfit,
Membership to a writing organization,
Three books for kickass characterizations,
Tons of yummy chocolate,
AquaNotes, so I can brainstorm in the shower,
And Margie Lawson’s awesome lecture notes.