Cheryl Cowtan on Writing

1-2-3, 1-2-OMG! I finally did it. I purchased Scrivener. Now I have to hold onto my self-worth as I try to wrap my brain around the interface. I keep telling myself, so many experts can't be wrong , right? Surely, when I've mastered this program, I'll come out on top. On top meaning I will have a tool that will give me more functionality, save me more time, and overall, make me a more organized and efficient writer. Currently, I'm doing pretty good with a combination of MS Word and Excel, so this baby better be awesome to convince me to convert for long term.  So I start to learn it like I learn all things - jumping in with both feet. Click, click, click, click.... cli... That didn't work. So basically, I've purchased the Scrivener software that experts are saying is functionally amazing, but its user interface is so non-intuitive, I can't figure it out, and I used be an Internet Business Consultant. Surely my skills aren't that rusty...

Wordle for Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice Wordle is probably the easiest tool for finding overused words in your novel, because you just paste your entire manuscript into Wordle and wait for the results. Wordle creates an image of the most often used words in the text, increasing the font size of a word based on how many times it was used. The Pride and Prejudice Wordle is interesting as a comment on societal manners at the time it was written by Jane Austen (Mr, Miss, Mrs). Wordle will increase the font of words used more often in your Manuscript. The Wordle above is from my current manuscript The Fergus She . If you notice, the word "Angus" is in the largest font. Angus is hotter than this! The visual  is telling me I used "Angus" more than any other word, which is good beca use he's the hot highlander my protagonist, Rachel, is lusting for. W here is Rachel's name? you might ask. The Fergus She is written in first ...

Writers often practice their skills when writing their first books. When listening to the "Writing Excuses" podcast, the hosts stated that many writers learn while they are writing, and as a result, may have some earlier materials available online that may not reflect the author's current skills. It makes sense. Some authors write and quickly publish, some keep their books longer, editing and polishing, and some hold on to those manuscripts until completely assured the writing is the best it can be, which can take years. I know I have learned so much working with beta readers and an editor, and if I were to crack open an earlier unpublished manuscript, that I had previously thought was complete, I would be able to make many revisions and improvements. For authors who published and moved on to the next book, learning the craft as they produced, their published books may be examples of that learning in action. In other words, earlier novels will...