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Posted on 13 August 2018
In Scrivener

Spotlight on style Writers, we each of us have our own voice and a style of writing that we employ for particular types of material. What do I mean by style? My writing style varies according to what I am writing and my intended audience. In an email, I might be formal, giving only facts eg of a forthcoming workshop. In a letter, or on a postcard, I might be informal, sharing anecdotes...

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Posted on 6 August 2018
In Scrivener

TASK RESEARCH The keywords TASK RESEARCH included in a comment indicating that I need to spend time, probably on the Internet, gathering more information. As with other tasks, I set up a collection. When do I tackle the Research tasks? I tackle research tasks when my circumstances dictate that other - maybe more important or pressing - tasks would be impossible or impractical. For example, I save the research tasks for when I'm too...

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Posted on 30 July 2018
In Scrivener

Every story needs an information highway Within a story, information travels to and fro between characters and, as a witness to these interactions, to the reader. Add to this, the narrator's contribution and you should have a story, one that works. How does logic fit into a story? Whatever your premise, there will be some logic in how you took that premise and turned it into a story. You dreamed up a plot. ...

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Posted on 23 July 2018
In Scrivener

The Devil in the Detail In the previous blog post, I focused on the global 'Big Picture' tasks. Now it's the turn time to address the 'Devil in the Detail'. Global 'Devil in the Detail' tasks Global 'Devil in the Detail' tasks affect the whole manuscript but lend themselves to being addressed piecemeal. For example: Overuse of a particular word eg very, always Lack of variety in sentence starts eg overuse of 'It...

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Posted on 16 July 2018
In Scrivener

Global tasks affect the whole manuscript Hence the term. The issue is not confined to one sentence or one paragraph or one scene or one chapter. I have to address all of the manuscripts, from start to finish. Categories of global task Global tasks also fall into two further categories: Big Picture Devil in the Detail Global 'Big Picture' tasks These are tasks that affect the whole manuscript and have to be addressed, preferably, in one hit....

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Posted on 9 July 2018
In Scrivener, Training

Editing is a series of fixes Those familiar with building terminology will recognise 'first fix' as a stage in which electricians and plumbers and joiners get so far and then leave the site, only to return when work has progressed sufficiently for them to complete their part of the jigsaw. I see editing in the same way. It's a series of 'fixes'. Each round of editing serves to improve the manuscript, taking it...

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Posted on 25 June 2018
In Scrivener

I use inline annotations while I am writing. Rather than stop to set up a comment or a footnote, I click the annotations icon and type a message to myself, click the button again and carry straight on. I don't let my internal editor interrupt the flow! Annotations: an example This is an extract from my Aide Memmoir novel. While writing, during NaNoWriMo, I needed a few pieces of factual information, but I'd...

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Posted on 11 June 2018
In Scrivener

Comments are my post-it notes This blog post is one of a series about how you might process your first draft. Many of the features are also useful later in the editing process! Why post comments in Scrivener? While reading or listening to your first draft, it's impossible - at that precise moment - to fix everything that you realise needs attention. Instead, you need to leave yourself messages and come back to...

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