A writer’s dilemma

When I’m in my car, I listen to the radio, either the public radio classical music station or the public radio news station, except on Sundays when I tune into the local university station for folk, blue grass, women’s voices and world music.

Every once in a while, I’ll hear lyrics to a song or parts of an interview that compel me to make a quick note for future investigation. Trouble is, to ensure I’m not totally distracted from driving, I use a self-made shorthand. Generally, I don’t have a problem deciphering my notes.

However, since my writing comes from all the busybody people who are living in my head, I also often jot down phrases, descriptions, notations, reminders, and quick summaries that would otherwise be lost by the time I get to a word processor.

These are the notes that, when I find them wedged between the seat and the console or in the glove box, or on the floor in the back seat, that I have to wonder:

Did I hear these words on the radio or did I hear them in my head?

Happened today. I grabbed a piece of paper to record a phone number. On that paper were eleven words I absolutely don’t recall writing, yet alone pulling out of my head. They are good words, deep, almost poetic, but totally useless unless I can trace their origin. I think they’re mine because they fit a plot that’s been churning for a few months but I hesitate to use them for fear they might be labeled as plagiarized.

I know I’ll never be organized enough to transcribe the notes in a timely fashion. They’ll always be waiting for me to find them and follow up as originally planned. That’s the way I am.

In the meantime, I’ve decided to use a quick grading system for these notes. I’ll use a question mark to denote something I’ve heard and an exclamation point to indicate the words are mine.

I think this will work. Now, those eleven words … I guess I’ll just have to dig deeper to find out if they come from my imagination or from the radio.

Search engine optimazation and the writer

In my last post I ranted and raved a bit about my disappointment with the way websites required writers to write to a certain formula – specifically one that used target words that would draw searchers to the article.

Shortly after, while checking out my twitter page, I noticed a reference to some software that writers can use to turn one article into a half dozen different versions of itself. I guess it could be considered cloning? I guess I could be old fashioned but the very thought of this takes me back to high school and using the Cliff Notes or Classic Comics to avoid the real work of reading,

The idea behind the software is that it will save the writer tons of time in the originality seeking department while providing different ways to extract saleable material from a single article. The purpose is kind of wonky, if you ask me, because instead of requiring that a person write solid, well-researched, informative content, the software agrees that the real reason to have articles published on the web – beyond the monetary reimbursement – is to provide a website with search engine optimized verbiage.

All this certainly flies in the face of the rules George Orwell wrote should be followed by every writer.

(Image via Wikipedia)They are:
• Never use a metaphor, simile, or other figure of speech which you are used to seeing in print.
• Never use a long word where a short one will do.
• If it is possible to cut a word out, always cut it out.
• Never use the passive where you can use the active.
• Never use a foreign phrase, a scientific word, or a jargon word if you can think of an everyday English equivalent.
• Break any of these rules sooner than say anything outright barbarous.

To read Orwell’s entire essay, check out Politics and the English Language.

Getting readers to your blog

I'm on the hunt for readers.

Actually, I've been hoping to increase my readership since the day I started blogging. That's why I subscribe to bunches of newsletters and blogs that focus on luring interested folks to my party here. The trouble is, since starting this little gig, I haven't seen anything new that has increased my readership!

Of the dozens of tips I've explored, just a couple have brought positive results. But for the most part, each has been little more than a repetition of another. It's been so frustrating, I'm wondering if I should just rewrite some of those repetitive blogs. After all, they drew me in; maybe I can use them to draw someone here.

So far, I've resisted some of the hard-sell stuff because, athough it would be nice to see some green, my focus isn't on money making.

I look at the blog as a journal I've never been able to keep, a place to lay down the random thoughts that come to me like fireflies at night, to let the voices in my head be heard, even when they don't make sense to me.

It make sense to me to do this because I have an interest in random thoughts and advice -- not just from other writers but from readers of everything and anything. It's an unfathomable universe out there with a huge amount of information. And since life seems to be a never-ending learning experience, why join the hunt?

I can't see how search engine optimization (SEO) and pay-per-click would do much more than take readers away from the blog.

But then ... I'm not about to second-guess the people who are touting their advice for blogging so I'm off to explore some of the ideas I've tabled.

Free graphics software for starving writers and artists

Last time around, I promised some links to free graphics software and I’m about to deliver.

Back when I was a devout Mac user, I purchased all the software necessary to have fun creating graphics, do page layouts, and edit documents. You can imagine the cost was high. But I learned enough to put my new skills to task, and for many years, I worked in editing and production jobs for several different publications.

Then one day, one of the companies that employed me as a freelancer decided to go PC, which meant I'd have to acquire different skills to keep the job. The learning curve wasn’t a problem, but as an independent contractor, I had numerous assignments that had to be done at home. That meant a new computer and all new (costly) software.

Time passes; I’ve moved away from the gainfully employed world and morphed into a full time writer. From time to time, as it happens to every user of technology, I have to replace equipment.

A couple of months ago, my aging (only three years old but full of fragments of junk accumulated over those three years) laptop decided to develop a mind of its own. Crashes, slow response, programs refusing to work, that kind of thing.

So it was off to the marketplace for a new laptop.

Image via Wikipedia

A screenshot from the vector graphics editor Inkscape

Trouble is, my older software wouldn’t work with my newer technology.

That’s when I started searching for an alternate choice and that’s when I found Inkscape and Gimp.

Inkscape is a super piece of vector graphics software similar to Adobe Illustrator, except it’s FREE.

Gimp is a free image manipulation software similar to Adobe Photoshop, except it’s FREE.

If you’re in need of either kind of software, try these out before spending big bucks on the other products.

Related articles

• No Photoshop: 15 Amazing Logos & Portraits Made With Open Source Tools (makeuseof.com)

Six phrases a writer should NEVER use

Why would you say something that’s “needless to say?”

Every time I see these words as they introduce a statement, I’m tempted to skip anything that follows them.

After all, if something is “needless to say,” why say it?
Do we really need to write “for example?”

Admittedly, I do it all the time. I know if my words are clear, concise and comprehensive, I don’t need to tell someone I’m citing an example.
I guess the usage goes back to my high school English teacher who insisted we use examples in all our writing. I vow to stop using these two words together again.

Do you really mean you “could care less?”

If I hear this phrase one more time, I might slap myself on the forehead. If I see it on a blog or in an article again, I will definitely respond.

Think about how the phrase breaks down. If you COULD care less then you must care.
Here’s one I find strange: “Let me state …”

No! I’ve already allowed you to state numerous things. Why do I have to give you permission now?

Who’s saying (writing) it anyway? “If it were me” (also known as “If it was me”) I already know it is you.

Finally, this one bothers me: “Plan on.” From what I know about the English language, “on” needs some kind of contact. You can put your plan on something but you plan to do something.

Redundancy lives. It breathes – in books, articles, blogs, columns, practically anywhere a writer writes. We’re probably all guilty. I know I am. At least, though, I won’t uses these six demons again.

Setting aside a day for reading

I usually have two books open and available for reading at all times. One sits on the nightstand by my bed; the other on the coffee table, next to my laptop. But my reading is sporadic, squashed in between meditation, walking, writing, dusting, and eating.

All this is a far cry from long ago when I would devour a book without thinking about the stereotypical tasks of life that should be attended to ... things like washing the dishes, vacuuming, answering mail or calling friends.

Yesterday, I decided there was something fundamentally wrong with the way I have been treating my recreational reading, and I determined to do something about it. After all, a writer should read as much as possible.

I've set Tuesdays aside for nothing reading.

I've just finished the book on the coffee table: The Brain that Changes Itself The Brain That Changes Itself by Norman Doidge, M.D.(loaned to me by a friend) and I'm now picking up Deception: An Alex Delaware Novel by Jonathan Kellerman (purchased because Kellerman is one of my favorite fast-read mystery writers.)

I think this is  going to work out well. Of course, I'll still read sporadically, but now I won't feel guilty about reading just one more paragraph before getting back to the mundane.

Promoting your eBook: Part One

Promoting your eBook has to be one of the tougher parts of the writing and publishing process. You have to sell yourself and your title. If you're the more reticent type, someone who is good with words as long as they aren't "personal," you have to figure out how to come out of your shell and spread the word.

I used to be that reticent person but the more I read and learn about self-promotion the more I realize there's no sin or crime or negativity attached to tooting your own horn.

Shameless commerce works!

As I figure out ways to tell the world about my own work, I'll post them here so you don't have to travel all over the Internet trying to figure out how to get more sales.

I started out by announcing The Mine on my facebook page. That encouraged my friends to post the news on their pages.

Immediately after, I tweeted the announcement.

I'm not sure the twitter thing has brought any visitors to look at the title. I know facebook resulted in a couple of sales.

Next, I joined the Kindle Board Community because I see that many independents use the boards to hype their work and discover what's going on in the eBook world. I started by reading other posts, making lists of books that sounded appealing to me, and then dropping into the Indie Authors: Plug Your Book Here discussion to introduce myself and my work.

For now, I'm off on the hunt for more. As soon as I find them, you'll know about them.

More on the future of the publishing industry

Joe Konrath's latest blog post features an interview with Mark Coker, founder of Smashwords. His comments on the future of the printed book are interesting and his comments about the publishing industry are on target.

The ebook journey - Part seven: Finding formatting gliches

Finally!

It’s time to upload the spiffed up, cleaned up, formatted, reformatted, html file of the novel.

Or so I thought.

After following the directions and confirming the coding by searching for and finding several sources, I believed the product was ready to upload and preview.

Hmmm. We know about those “best laid plans.”

Apparently, after fifteen reformats, there’s a problem getting the images to show up in the preview. I’ve used only two – a version of the cover and a little vignette to separate some of the sections in the novel.

Neither image shows in the preview. In fact, there’s some little camera icon with that scary little exclamation point inside a triangle – you know, the one that serves as a warning that you’ve done something wrong.

Interestingly, both images displayed properly in the two ebook readers I used to review my changes.

So it’s back to the drawing board to see if I can figure out what the deal is.

The ebook journey: Part five - editing and proofing

Following the guidelines from Guido Henkel, the first pass of the ebook formatting went well.

Viewing the results in my browsers (I used Firefox, Explorer and Chrome), I was able to read it over. This doesn't show page breaks, of course, but it's a good way to check for coding errors. I also noticed a couple of problems with chapter heads and italics. (I use italics a lot.) So, it was back to html for redo.

I'm not a perfectionist in my everyday life. Good enough works for me most of the time. You know, a swift wipe with a cloth works; no need for polish and wax. That sort of thing. But when it comes to something that's going to last, it has to be as perfect as I can make it.

Even though I have kindle for the PC, I'm not able to use the app to review my own work. So my next step was to look for some kind of software that would output the look and feel of an ebook. For this, I downloaded Calibre and followed the directions outlined in Henkel's post.

Great! Except! Viewing the draft wasn't okay but some cliches did occur, so I opted to get some additional reader software, just to double check. Firefox has a an add-on reader called EPUBReader that worked well.

Finally, we're getting somewhere! I'll soon be ready for a kindle upload.

The ebook journey: Part four - copyright permissions solved

I've decided.

The lyrics are gone!

Maybe one day some big movie company will option the rights to the novel and I'll hand over the original manuscript, lyrics intact, and let them work it out. (One can aspire!)

Maybe one day my ebook will become an electronic best seller and I'll be able to hire someone to get the permissions needed for the copyrighted lyrics and I'll do a second edition. (One can aspire.)

The book journey: Part two - formatting your ebook

A few years back (Please don't ask how many.), I decided to do an online newsletter at work. Using Microsoft Word as my platform, I created the content then exported it as html.

Let me tell you, the output was outrageously complicated, not so much in the look in feel of the copy as in the editing phase. The html code looked like an ancient foreign language.

This lead me to research html for beginners. Thankfully, the web was (and still is) filled with instructions for html coding. I dug in, opened my file in Notepad, and began deleting all the extraneous Word stuff in the coding. Trial and error, undo and save, hit and miss, start anew ... eventually the newsletter made it to the web in (almost) perfect coding.

Remembering all this made my decision not to format my ebook directly from Word easy.

What made it even easier?

I came across a nine-part post by Guido Henkel titled Take pride in your eBook formatting. Suddenly, the task is turning from a dark and stormy night to a breezy, sunny day. If you haven't seen the post, take a look at it and you'll understand that the task of formatting doesn't have to weigh you down.

Henkel recommended some editing software but I've been using a free and extremely easy program called html kit, which I found back then, so I'm using that.

Granted, the conversion will take time, but right now it's looking up.

(For those who need an even tighter, more thorough look at formatting for Kindle, check out this book.)

***

(See Part One of the journey)

The ebook journey begins: Part one

Been reading instructions for ebook formatting ... so many different opinions. Should you use pdf, transfer directly from a word processor, format in html, hire a pro, download software?

Just to muck up the works, it looks like different readers use different submission guidelines.

Decisions, decisions, decisions.

Zane Grey and my brother

In his youth, one of my older brothers was an avid reader. I should qualify that. Paul read and read the same books over and over, constantly.

I can picture him still, decades and decades later, his skinny body perched on a wooden stool next to the refrigerator, his feet set firmly across the rung, his head down close to the paperback in his lap and his fingers close to his mouth. (He was a nail biter.)

It’s not so much the image that evokes memories as it is my brother’s focus on his reading. He read nothing but Zane Grey novels and it didn’t matter if this was his first, second or fifth reading. There was no way to divert his attention from that damned book – short of smacking him somewhere.

We could call his name, ask a question, call his name louder, make a statement, call his name even louder, ask another question, shout his name loud enough to wake every baby in the complex. Paul never heard. (That's where the smack came into the picture.)

Thinking about this now, there’s a lesson to be learned. I realize I have to read something by Zane Grey. I have to find out what it was about Grey’s characters and his plots that consumed Paul to the point of deafness to the world.

Amazon has a number of Zane Grey titles in print version and for the kindle. (I’ve already selected two.) Now, all I need is the time to read them. (Sigh.)

Finding time to write

I’m guessing that a lot of writers don’t have my problem – too much writing? Right?

I read a half dozen writing-related blogs regularly, as in daily. At one time or another almost all the bloggers covered the subject of “how to find time to write” in detail. This concept stymies me. Even when I worked two jobs I found time to write. I might not have been pounding the keys on my laptop but I did write.

Until I got smart and started carrying both a tablet and a recorder, I’d find myself jotting notes on the back of grocery store receipts while waiting for a traffic light to change. Once, while standing in line at the bank, the people in my head were engaged in this lively conversation and since I didn’t want to put the words on the back of my deposit, I actually jotted them down on the palm of my hand.

I keep my laptop powered up at all times but if I’m involved in another project in some other area of the house and an idea or thought materializes, I can’t just dump what I’m doing, run to the computer, and put it down. Besides being inconvenient, this move can be counter productive. How many times do you go from one room to the next to take care of a task but forget what the task was when you arrived? My solution?

I keep three things in every room of my home, a radio, a notepad and a pencil.

The radio isn’t too germane. But the other two items are.

In essence, the notepad and pencil mean I can always squeak out a minute to write.

My crazy method might not work for everyone. I just point it out to illustrate how I worked around the problem of finding time to write.

(If you're still searching for your own solution, try these books.)

Why do we write; why do we read?

I suppose the reasons for writing and/or reading vary according to the number of different people who write and/or read. Some use the written word as escapism, entertainment, information, excitement, knowledge some because they love language.

On a recent day excursion to the mountains, I had a conversation (a real one, not one in my head) with my companion. He told me about the time he signed up for some self-improvement seminar. The first question the speaker asked was, “How many of you have purchased a self-help book or tape or attended a seminar?” The entire roomful of people raised its collective hand. Next he asked, “How many of you purchased a second self-help book or tape or attended a second seminar?” Again, the hands rose.

“Why, he asked in summary, “If you finished the first, did you need a second?”

It’s that way with fiction, isn’t it—reading it or writing it?

You buy one fiction title today, finish it and you’re ready for the next one.

You finish writing one masterpiece and you rev up the motor to start on the next one.

We hunger; we need; we feed

It doesn’t matter why, does it?