AI and Writing - A Series of Looks Inside: Part Two - ChatGPT

Good morning, and happy Friday, good people of the blogosphere! Today, we're taking a light look at creating prompts and how ChatGPT fares on the chapter production scale. To say this was fun is giving it way too much credit. I'm the kind of writer who enjoys pantsing, so creating all this plot is really far outside my wheelhouse. I usually have a beginning and an end, and all the character details, and then I write fast doing mini points along the way. My process can be found in this blog post.

Now that the intro is out of the way, let's dive into creating a prompt and making a chapter. I can already tell you I was less than impressed, but the authors I know that do this spend just as much time creating prompts (it's an art form in and of itself) and editing as I do just writing it myself. BUT! Not everyone can do that, so if you need a little help along the way, you may find something here that will assist you. If not, just read it for fun. :)

Bold is from the AI until we get down to the yummy part. Okay, let's get going! Grab a drink and a blankie, and read on.

I started on Vertex AI to get an idea of how to write a prompt (again, I have no clue how to do this). It gave me what I thought was a stupid one, so I used my writing skills and came up with this:

I’m trying to be as vague as possible here, but it seems like that won't work.
I clicked Generate Prompt a bajillion times and got nothing. Trying something else. Went back to here and tried this:

Here’s what it gave me:
Okay, here's a short outline:
Chapter 1: Elara, a lonely vampire, hunts in the forest. She senses a strange presence.
Chapter 2: A unicorn, Rhys, shifts into human form. He's lost and confused.
Chapter 3: Elara finds Rhys. She's drawn to his innocence, despite her vampire nature.
Chapter 4: Elara takes Rhys to her secluded home. He learns about vampires and her solitary life.
Chapter 5: Rhys reveals his unicorn origins. Elara is shocked but intrigued by his magic.
Chapter 6: A growing attraction sparks between them. A threat from Elara's past emerges.

Interesting. Now we’ll take our little idea and head over to ChatGPT. For this experiment, we’ll use GPT o1. I’ll always start my chats off this way and use the EXACT same prompt/outline:
Me: Hello, (addresses the AI)! I need some help writing a book, and I'm wondering if you can help with that.
Response: Absolutely! I’d be happy to help. Could you share a bit more about what you’re working on? For example:
    Genre: Is it fiction, nonfiction, or a mix of both?
    Topic or theme: What’s the main focus or subject matter?
    Audience: Who are you writing for?
    Stage: Have you started writing already, or are you still in the idea/outlining phase?
The more details you can give, the more specific my suggestions and guidance can be. Feel free to let me know what you have in mind!
(these are excellent questions and I didn't think to include them, so I'll make them up now)
Me: Nice. It's a fiction novel, and the main focus is two supernatural creatures coming together to defeat something I haven't come up with yet. Over the course of the story, the two will fall in love and end up together.
It will be a YA romance fantasy novel.
I have a loose outline I can give you for each chapter. Chapters should be no longer than 3000 words.
Response: Great! I’d love to see your outline. Go ahead and share the details you have for each chapter, and then we can develop them further. Once we have your outline fleshed out, we can start drafting scenes, refining the plot, and shaping your characters’ arcs.

Whenever you’re ready, feel free to share as much or as little of your outline as you’d like!
Me: Awesome. My two main characters are a vampire and a unicorn that can turn into a human. Here’s the outline for the first six chapters, but I only want to do the first chapter for now. *pastes in the loose outline from above*

Also, can I just say how much I hate the character names? Ugh. It’s like every YA novel of all time was examined, and these are the most popular two names. Gross.

Response (this will be long, but I’ll go through and note stuff - my notes will be in italics):
Crafting chapter details

Elara, a solitary vampire, traverses a forest with heightened senses, their sounds and scents filling her awareness. As her path unfolds, a distinct and unfamiliar essence emerges.

*******NOTE: GPT reasoned for 11 seconds before beginning. Insert eye roll. BUT it did expand upon the loose outline. One point for GPT.******

Below is a possible draft of Chapter 1, written in a YA-friendly style and designed to be fewer than 3,000 words. Feel free to adjust, expand, or shorten as needed to match your personal style and overall vision.

---

## Chapter 1

Elara stilled beneath the canopy of towering pines, her heightened senses tingling. The thick forest was home to many creatures—deer, foxes, even the occasional elk. But tonight, she hunted something different. The quiet hum in the back of her mind told her prey was near, though it wasn’t any ordinary animal. This was something… else. 

Now, this isn't my writing style at all. I probably would've dropped something like this:

Death. Scents of blood and pine filled the air, and Elara lifted her face to catch the scent like the predator she'd been turned into several hundred years ago. Her ears pulled back, listening for the faintest rustle of a leaf or twig snap. Forest creatures stilled, making the air silent but for one sound. It was coming from her left, and she recognized the rattle of last breaths.

Which means I set the scene without naming a bunch of things that didn't matter and allowed the reader to insert some imagination. Moving on...

Moonlight threaded through the swaying branches, illuminating Elara’s porcelain-pale face. Her long black hair hung loose around her shoulders, blending into the shifting shadows. She took slow, measured breaths, out of habit more than necessity. Vampires didn’t need to breathe, at least not like humans. But old habits clung to her like the memory of sunlight.

Who says vampires automatically can't go out in the sun? Also, what's with the dropping of commas? This sentence: Vampires didn't need to breathe, at least, not like humans, but old habits clung to her like the memory of sunlight. Not the way I would've constructed it because there are too many asides for a novel.

She stepped forward, boots crunching softly in a thin layer of pine needles. Her eyes glimmered with preternatural awareness, scanning the darkness. She was used to the hush of the forest at night—it was usually comforting. But tonight, the silence felt charged.

**Keep moving,** she told herself. **It’s just a hunt, no different from any other.** 

By the way, the ** means italics and ### means bold. They don't copy over.

But deep down, she knew this night was different.

### A Lonely Existence <----- WHAT THE FRESH HELL IS THIS?!?!

Elara had learned to move quietly, to keep her presence unnoticed. A lone vampire traveling from region to region without a coven had to rely on stealth. She’d chosen this remote forest for a simple reason: no people, no prying eyes. The last thing she wanted was to hurt a human. She never drank from them unless absolutely necessary. Animal blood left her weaker, but it still kept her alive, as alive as a vampire could be.

Never said she didn't have a coven OR only drank from animals...

A pang of guilt stung her chest as she recalled her early days of transformation, when she couldn’t control the hunger. She squeezed her eyes shut at the memory of the first—and last—time she’d drained a human. That life, the bright red warmth on her lips, haunted her. It had forced her to live alone, far from temptation.

**Loneliness is better than regret,** she reminded herself. A mantra she’d repeated a thousand times.

And so, she made her home in the outskirts of this dense woodland, gathering enough sustenance from wild creatures, never staying long enough to be discovered.

### The Scent of Prey

Elara crouched behind a cluster of ferns, inhaling deeply. The crisp night air carried a medley of scents: damp earth, crushed pine needles, and distant water from a creek. But there was something else, faint but unmistakable.

**Blood?**

Her senses sharpened at the possibility. The metallic tang was subtle, as if carried on a stray wind. She rose to her feet and followed the scent, each step driven by a hunger she tried to ignore. Her heart—still and silent in her chest—almost seemed to thud with anticipation.

She slipped past a thicket and found a small clearing. The moonlight fell on a wounded doe, its flank gashed by what looked like a predator’s claws. It panted in shallow bursts, eyes wide with fear. Elara hesitated, compassion warring with her instincts. Animal blood was part of her routine, but the creature’s pain made her heart twist.

Still, her thirst had grown; she’d put off feeding for too long again, hoping to avoid it. **It’s this or risk losing control.**

She moved closer. The doe shuddered, and Elara knelt beside it, wishing she had another choice. She murmured an apology before sinking her fangs into its neck. The warm rush of blood soothed her burning throat. She drank carefully, mindful not to prolong the animal’s pain. Within moments, it went still, its suffering ended.

Elara pulled back, chest tight with guilt. Another innocent life taken. She placed a trembling hand on the doe’s side, silently thanking it for sustaining her. It was a ritual she’d created to ease her conscience, though the sadness never fully left.

### An Unexpected Aura

Just as she stood to leave, a ripple of energy coursed through the clearing. The hair on the back of her neck rose, and the gentle night breeze turned still. A strange awareness pulsed in the air, as if the forest itself was holding its breath.

Elara whipped around, scanning the tree line. The shadows seemed unchanged, but she could sense something—a presence unlike any she had felt before. It was vibrant, emanating a warmth that starkly contrasted with her undead coldness.

**Another vampire?** she wondered. No, this didn’t feel like one of her kind; there was no scent of bloodlust, no suffocating aura of death. This presence was bright, more akin to life than the darkness she was used to.

A thousand questions shot through her mind, but she forced herself to stay calm. She was no stranger to unique beings—werewolves, witches, creatures that haunted the edges of mortal understanding—but this presence was different. It beckoned her somehow.

She swallowed, wiped her lips clean of any lingering blood, and took a cautious step forward. **What are you?** her thoughts sang in the silence.

### Compelled by Curiosity

Usually, Elara would slip back into the shadows after feeding. She avoided confrontation and kept interactions minimal. But tonight, curiosity tugged at her like an invisible chain.

She ventured deeper into the forest, following that warm, pulsing aura. Quiet as a wisp, she skirted gnarled roots and ducked under low-hanging branches. The canopy grew denser, blotting out moonlight, but her vision remained sharp. The path led her to a crooked birch, its trunk scarred by lightning. She paused, pressing a hand against the rough bark.

The presence flared again, tingling beneath her fingertips. It felt closer now, impossibly bright. Her pulse—if she could call it that—raced, and she rubbed her arms in a futile attempt to ward off a sudden chill.

Her instincts screamed for caution. **Anything that radiates this kind of energy could be dangerous.** And yet, she couldn’t bring herself to retreat. Something about it was… comforting. Inviting, almost.

The night continued in its hush, save for the rustle of leaves overhead. As she edged around the tree, her eyes locked onto a footprint in the soil—bare, human-shaped, and fresh. She knelt, tracing its edges with her fingertip. **Someone is out here,** she thought. **But who walks barefoot in this forest at night?**

Rising, she scanned the ground. There were more prints, each moving steadily in one direction, as though the person knew exactly where they were heading. She trailed them, stepping carefully in the footprints to stay silent.

### A Flicker of Light

A faint glow shimmered through the trees, halting her mid-step. At first, she thought it was a trick of the moonlight, but it danced—like a wisp of silver flame, darting from trunk to trunk. Elara’s sharp eyes followed the flicker, adrenaline spiking. Could this be a witch’s spell? A wandering spirit?

She crept closer, half expecting a spectral figure or even a group of forest nymphs—she’d heard enough stories of supernatural creatures drawn to moonlit groves. But the glimmer vanished as swiftly as it had appeared.

The trees thinned, revealing another small clearing. In the center rose an ancient oak, its thick branches twisting toward the sky. A broken stone circle lay scattered around its roots, remnants of some lost structure. Elara approached warily, sensing that the presence had led her here.

But the clearing was empty. Only the whisper of wind in the grass kept her company.

She sighed, shoulders slumping. Perhaps the aura had been nothing more than a fleeting magic or a trick of her imagination. She eyed the footprints again, but they seemed to stop at the edge of the clearing.

A primal part of her warned her to leave—daylight would come eventually, and she’d have to seek shelter. Still, she lingered, scanning the ground for any clue. A tuft of silver hair snagged on a broken stone drew her eye. She reached out to pick it up.

It felt soft, like strands of silk, shimmering in the moonlight. She turned it over in her hand, confusion knotting her brow. A faint energy radiated from the hair, matching the presence she’d been tracking.

She slid the strand into the pocket of her cloak. **I’ll figure this out later,** she told herself, heart fluttering with an uncharacteristic sense of excitement.

### A Lingering Unease

Elara stood there for a moment, soaking in the night, trying to calm the swirling questions in her mind. That strange warmth still buzzed in the atmosphere, calling to her. Part of her wanted to stay, to uncover the mystery, but her practical side urged her to go back before sunrise—or before something else found her.

With one final look at the clearing, she turned and made her way back through the forest. Each step felt heavier, as though the ground clung to her feet, wanting to drag her into something unknown. She glanced over her shoulder once, half-hoping to see a figure in the moonlight. But the clearing remained silent.

As she slipped past the pines, the distant hoot of an owl reminded her she wasn’t entirely alone. She smiled wryly to herself. She’d never been afraid of the forest. It was people—human or otherwise—who had the power to terrify her. And this presence? She couldn’t decide if it scared her or intrigued her beyond reason.

### Back to the Shadows

Navigating back to her hidden haven, Elara practiced her usual caution: she took a winding path, backtracked a few times to cover her scent, and finally reached the small, dilapidated cabin she called home. Nestled between thick firs, it looked like an abandoned woodsman’s shack, uninviting to any casual traveler. To Elara, it was a sanctuary.

She shut the rickety door behind her, leaning against it with a quiet exhale. The interior was sparse: a single cot, a small table, a few chairs she’d scavenged from a nearby ghost town. Moonlight from a single window provided just enough illumination for her to see by—though her vampire senses had no trouble in the dark.

Slipping off her cloak, she hung it on a nail by the door. Her thoughts lingered on the shimmering strand of hair she’d found. She pulled it from her pocket, holding it up to the thin moonbeam. It looked almost silver, but it glimmered with a faint rainbow sheen if she tilted it just right.

Her curiosity flared again. **What kind of creature leaves hair like this?** She had encountered werewolves, whose fur could be thick and coarse, but never shimmering silver. Some fae had iridescent hair, but she’d never known them to roam in these woods. And what about that human footprint? So many questions—and no answers.

Despite the steady hum of curiosity, exhaustion from the hunt pressed in. The doe’s blood would sustain her for a while, but it also made her feel weary. She set the hair on the table, where it caught the moonlight like a sliver of ice.

In the silence, she could almost imagine a soft voice drifting through the trees, calling her name. She shook her head to clear the thought—**just a trick of the mind,** she reasoned.

Stepping to the cot, she lay down, arms folded beneath her head. Vampires didn’t need sleep like humans did, but resting helped pass the long, empty hours until dusk. As she closed her eyes, she couldn’t shake the feeling that everything in her life was about to shift. The loneliness she’d worn like armor felt different now, lighter and somehow more fragile.

**Tomorrow night**, she promised herself, **I’ll go back and search for more clues.**

She didn’t yet realize how entwined her fate would become with that mysterious presence in the forest. Nor did she know that soon, she would meet the being who possessed that silver hair—someone lost and just as alone as she was.

For now, she succumbed to the quiet. Outside, the forest remained watchful, illuminated by the silver moon. And somewhere, not far away, a warm, glowing magic flickered in the darkness, waiting.

---

### Author’s Note and Next Steps

- **Tone & Style**: This draft sets a slightly moody, introspective tone for Elara. If you prefer something lighter or more fast-paced, we can adjust the prose accordingly.  
- **Chapter Hook**: The chapter ends on a note of mystery—Elara finds a silver strand of hair and senses an unusual presence. This naturally leads into the next chapter, where we introduce Rhys’s perspective.  
- **Word Count**: The chapter is under 2,000 words, fitting within your 3,000-word limit.  
- **Further Development**: In subsequent edits, you might want to deepen Elara’s internal conflict, add more sensory details, or foreshadow the looming threat.  

Feel free to revise or let me know if you’d like any changes. When you’re ready, we can move on to Chapter 2, or refine Chapter 1 further until you’re happy with it. Enjoy writing!

*******************************BREAK BACK TO ME*******************************

I mean, it's not the worst I've ever read, but why the desire to insert all the bold subheadings is beyond me. What novel does that?

As you can see, it gives a basic idea of where the story might go, but we're moving awfully quickly through the narrative, and there are a ton of descriptors in there I'd, personally, remove. It would take me as long to do rewrites/edits on this as it would to write it myself, in my voice. My voice is nice. I adore the tone I have. My readers love it.

Now, could I train it to write like me by feeding it tons of my writing? Sure, kind of. It would probably help, but I'd prefer to spend that time writing. If you're a new writer, I could see how it would be a good assistant, but there again, you need to find your own voice and use it.

I know this post was LONG, and I appreciate you hanging with me this long. Again, we're only testing what each of these gives when you're new to all this. No deep dives here. I forgot to mention it above, but a lot of these things limit your usage to so many outputs/words before you have to buy more, and if the AI is lacking in its ability, that could end up costing you a lot of money. 

You all know me! I love free. :) The cheaper it is with better function, the more I like it. ha!

Well, that's all for today, folks!

Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo

How to: Microplot

Happy Monday, everyone! I hope you had a fantastic weekend and are ready to crank out the words this week! Today, I'm talking about microplotting. You know, that thing you do when you're furiously writing your novel. Oh! You don't do that? Don't know how? Well, sit back, relax, sip your coffee, and read on!

Some people have a detailed plot when they sit down to write their novels. If that's you, this post isn't your friend. But if you're of the other kind, the plansters, who only know where the story begins and ends when you start writing, and maybe have a couple of plot points you want to hit along the way, you may find this useful.

Microplotting isn't a long, drawn-out plot. You make decisions on the fly about what's going to happen to your characters, and you type them out like so:

In this chapter:
Beatrice will discover who has betrayed her.
How that happens:
She finds the key.
She opens the door.
She reads the riddle.
She solves the riddle, but has to seek help from Hayman to do so.
When Hayman reads the riddle, he becomes ill.
Beatrice must speak the answer aloud.
The betrayer's name appears in smoke, and it disappears just before Hayman comes to.

Then, you go above the microplot and write furiously. When you're typing out the microplot points, that's when you look up any names or important features you want to remember as you're writing. If there's something you don't know or forgot to include, type XXX in the place of the item and move on. Keep writing. Don't slow down to look it up. If you're consistent with your marker type, then you can do a find later and take the time to fact check or do research.

Microplotting can push your novel to a whole new level, but be careful of getting sidetracked. Stay on the path to the conclusion you're pushing toward. It's fun.

I don't know about all of you, but every time I've tried plotting out each chapter, I fail and end up having to scrap it and re-do the whole thing. Now, I go high-level plot points and fill in the blanks as I write. My loose outlines look something like this:
Chapter 1 - Introduce character, tone, and setting. Be sure to drop nuggets of what's coming (the beginning of change from now to the end).
Chapter 2 - Beatrice gets in trouble at school for something and a letter is sent home.
Chapter 3 - Beatrice is grounded because of the letter, and she ends up acting out at school again in some way.
Chapter 4 - Beatrice is suspended.
Chapter 5 - Beatrice meets Mark, and he ignores her because she's a "bad girl" (this makes her want to change because she really likes him).
... other chapters I fill in like the ones above.
Last Chapter - Beatrice and Mark finally get together.

So, in each chapter, I microplot how to flesh it out once I get there. Those outlines are treated as living documents and are changed often.

I hope this helps some of you when you're sprinting!

Did you find this useful? What do you do when writing? Plotter? Pantser? Plantser? Hit me with your process!

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo

Is it Wrong to Expect Readers to be Active Participants in the Story?

Happy Thursday! Today, we're gonna talk about description, how it might impact the reader, and what authors might or might not expect from the consumer. Ready? Grab your coffee or tea, and let's get going!

So, I'm on the phone yesterday with an author friend of mine, and we got into talking about what we expect from our readers. Both of us agreed that we write with the assumption that the person picking up the book has a brain and understands the basics of the world they live in.

For example: If you say someone walks into a bedroom, do you need to write out to the reader that there's a bed, or is that something you can expect them to infer by telling them it's a bedroom?

Several writers will go into great detail about the room's furniture, but those machinations are usually reserved for the times that it matters, right? Say, if there's something "off" about the decor, or if the bed is an antique and should be admired for a moment. Even if the scene calls for a description to tell the reader it's a male's room or a sex cave, that's okay. But if the character is just walking into a bedroom, is it really necessary to bog the reader down with minute details right off the bat?

Here are some other ways to work those details into the story without having an information dump--again, unless the character is actively admiring, or scrutinizing, the decor:

• As the person is active in the room, they run their hands over things like the brocade on the chaise lounge.
• When they tell someone else to sit, it could be noted they made the choice of where to place the person based on potential comfort level.
• If the character lies on the bed naked, the satin sheets could feel cool on the skin.
• While they're being made to wait, they can then notice one thing about the room and scrutinize it to give their brain a distraction.

There are several ways of describing a room's contents without going into infodump mode, as you can see above. Unless you're actively trying to slow the story down, is it really necessary to tell the reader everything that's in a common room (bedroom, bathroom, living room, kitchen, etc...)?

I think, perhaps, we should give our readers a little credit and assume they have brains in their heads. If I read that someone is sitting at the bar in the kitchen, I have a pretty good idea of what that room will look like.

I've gone into description and when it's useful in this post, and I went into how to paint the scene in this post. If you're looking to heighten tension with description, here's a post I wrote a while back that breaks it down (this post also compares showing and telling).

What do you think? Do you expect a more active participation from your readers, or do you spoon feed them all the things?

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo

Friday Funday Part Four

Happy Friday, everyone! So, I used to do this awesome thing called Friday Funday. It's all about authorly word games or writing games you can play alone or with friends and family. If you'd like to check out past posts, click these links: Friday Funday, Friday Funday Part Two, Friday Funday Part Three. Keeping with the theme, I'm gonna do one today! These are all about observation to revise your work in progress. Get your brain ready, and let's get going!

Game #1 - Acting Crazy for Revisions (3+ players)
Use your phone or computer camera. Set it up so it can capture the area and hit record. Pick a scene from your work in progress, and read it aloud while the other people in the room act it out. You now have a live visual to draw description from. Pay attention to facial expressions and movements when you're revising the scene. You can also just do it for fun with a book you've read to see if other people picture it the same way you do. Costumes are optional, but fun.

Game #2 - What Happens Next? (3+ players)
Pick a scene from a book and read the first part. Players in the room act out what they think happens next. Whichever one is correct wins candy (or some other little prize). Who knows? If you're the author, you may revise the scene to make it fit what they acted out rather than what you've written. *grin*

Game #3 - Where am I? (2+ players)
Again, choose a scene (or two) and leave out any location details. Read the scene aloud, and let the other person/people guess where you might be. Have them tell you what they think the location looks like. This one can get pretty fun if you have imaginative friends.

Game #4 - Internet Meme Search (1+ players)
I find this one fun because you can do it yourself. Take a 2-4 word phrase from a book, add the words "meme" and your first name to the end, and type it in the search bar of your favorite engine. Choose image, and have fun laughing. In a group, whoever comes up with the funniest one wins a small prize.

I hope these provide you with a ton of laughs this weekend.

If you try any, come leave me a note to let me know how it goes!

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo

A Complete Guide to Sprinting During NaNoWriMo

Happy Friday, everyone! Whew! Day three of NaNo and I'm sitting at 12.5k words (and I'm not done writing for today).

What's that you ask? How?

Easy.

I've been doing writing sprints.

What the heck is a writing sprint? Great question!

Writing sprints are set amounts of time where a writer produces words as quickly as they can. Once the timer buzzes, they stop and do a word count, then pick up again when the next sprint starts.

Person with the most words gets a round of applause (or sometimes, a prize, depending on the sprinting group--however, this comes with an issue: cheating to win--when there are no prizes, no one has a need to falsify their stats, and nothing needs to be verified).

Sprints (typically) last anywhere from 15-60 minutes. They can be done on any social media site, though the preferred space is usually a designated thread on Facebook.

Brought to my attention by fellow author Ali Winters (thank you, woman!), there's a sprinting page on the NaNoWriMo site that will accommodate individuals as well as groups. Click here to be taken to that page. If you look below, you'll see the two options at the top and a "Dare Me" button near the bottom. I'm the curious sort, so I clicked mine. Below are the results. It changes every time you press it, too. Fun stuff.

I didn't play around with the group sprint button yet, but I have half a mind to get some of my writing buddies together and do just that.

Now, here's how to get the most out of your sprints:

1. Know where your story is going. I like to plan a point about 10k words in that I know I want to get to, and build the prose up to there, but some folks go 2k. Whatever floats your boat, ya know?
2. Write furiously for that half hour. Turn everything else off and be with your words.
3. Give yourself plenty of time between sprints to refresh, go pee, or get coffee.
4. If you can, take your eyes off the page and look elsewhere (or just close them) while you type. This will prevent you from noting and backspacing out misspellings, bad punctuation, or other flubbubs we writers make.
5. Don't burn out. Take long lunch breaks or whatever other break you need when you need it.
6. Try not to write a lot during your lulls (the periods between sprints). Use that time to plan what you'll write when you come back to sprinting or to just veg.
7. Keep something to drink handy. Though you may not need it, it's better to have it and not use it. *grin*

Here's how my sprints are set up:

• In the morning, I set a block of 1-3 hours aside (lately it's been 10AM, 11AM, and NOON). 
• The first 30 minutes of those hours are used for sprinting, and the second 30 are used for tweaking, fixing my crazy misspellings I got from not looking at the screen, and marking things I want to take a closer look at later (during edits). 
• Then I break for a long time (like 2-3 hours--NOON-2 or 3PM).
• More time is set aside for later. Again, 1-3 hours (it's been 8PM, 9PM, and 10PM, but this week is a special one, so that will likely be cut by Monday.)

I'll show you next week's projected schedule so you have a better idea (life things have to happen on different days, but I'm not going to worry about it). I also don't write on weekends. Those are for my family. I refuse to succumb to writer burnout.

M-F

9AM - Sprint for 30 minutes

10AM - Sprint for 30 minutes

11AM - Sprint for 30 minutes

NOON-2PM - BREAK TIME (real break--no looking at my WIP)

3PM - Sprint for 30 minutes

4PM - Sprint for 30 minutes

Thing about it is, it works. I'm averaging 1k words every 30 minutes. If I sprint for 30 minutes, 5 hours a day, I've written 5k words. I know that doesn't seem like a lot, but when you see that counter go down on your NaNo dashboard under "words per day to finish on time," you'll feel like a flipping ROCK STAR.

Any tips to add to the above?

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo

How to Win NaNoWriMo in 7 Easy Steps

Happy Wednesday, good people of the blogosphere! Wow. Just wow. I started NaNoWriMo yesterday, and I'm pumped. I missed NaNo the last 2 years, but I won in 2012 and 2013. Not only did I win, I did so while taking days off to spend with my family and getting down time. I'll show you.

I've marked the days I had no progress with a red bar over the top.

These were my stats for The Bird in 2012:

As you can see, I took Thanksgiving week off.

These were my stats for I, Zombie in 2013:

Your eyes aren't fooling you. I wrote that book in just 10 days.

HOW DID I DO IT?

Well, I stuck to the following seven rules:

1. Know where your story is going. Something not a lot of folks realize is you can plan ahead, and even create an outline, before November 1. Even if you haven't sat down and thought about it yet, there's no time like the present. Even rough plot points you want to hit over the course of the novel will help more than I can say.
2. Don't shoot for the word count NaNo says you need per day. Double it. If you can, triple it.
3. Set aside time to write each day. UNinterrupted. No social media. No email. No work. You'll be surprised what you can do in fifteen or thirty minutes when you're focused. Schedule around things you have going on in your life. Stick to the schedule like glue.
4. Have a NaNo survival kit ready. Even if you haven't put anything together, take a day and do it now. It'll save your forehead later on. I no longer use Evernote. I now use MS Word 365 with the sync across devices feature. I have my MS on my phone AND my iPad, and it updates to my computer automagically. Here's a link to my kit: Jo's NaNo Survival Kit
5. Do NOT panic. If you fall behind, you CAN still catch up. If you need that break, take it, but be disciplined enough to come back when you're done.
6. Make sure friends and family know what you're doing so they can respect your time. 50k words in 30 days isn't a joke.
7. Stay on task. Tack these on the wall behind your computer. I know that may sound hokey, but looking up the tiny details will bog you down as you write. Take some time and make them now. I swear it helps. Don't edit. That can come later. To go along with that: Don't read the whole story until December 1. Make notes of changes and put them into action later.

I'm pretty sure I didn't miss anything, but it's early, and I'm eager to write today. *grin*

Several groups have write-ins, so check the forum for your local chapter. You can also scour Facebook to find people doing writing sprints. Those are AWESOME.

This year, I'm not shooting for one novel; I'm working on several novella-length titles for the current F5 project. Using the NaNo dashboard to keep up with my progress. No, I won't validate once I'm done. I'm just in it for the fun of writing.

Here are my current stats:

Abysmal. LOL! But I'll get there.

How are you all doing? If you wanna be my writing buddy, add me here.

Well, that's all for today, folks! WRITE ON!

Jo

Guest Post - 5 Self-Editing Tips that Will Make Your Book 10 Times Better

Happy WHATEVER, good people of the blogosphere! Today, I have a super special guest post for you all on editing. The fabulous Alicia Rades is going to take you through a number of tips to make your book awesome. Don't forget to give Alicia a follow on all the social media things linked at the end of this post! Ready? Grab those pens and notebooks and let's get going!

 5 Self-Editing Tips that Will Make Your Book 10 Times Better

As authors, we go through a lot of stages of writing. There’s brainstorming, outlining, actually writing the first draft, self-editing, beta reading, more self-editing, repeat, repeat, sending to an actual editor, and so on. I don’t know about you, but for me, self-editing is one of the longest and most stressful stages.

It’s also one of the most satisfying. Seeing your story transform into something better than you imagined is a magical experience. What’s better is that you get the satisfaction of knowing you made that happen.

Self-editing should never be used to replace a professional editor. However, tweaking scenes, improving wording, and catching your own mistakes can all help you make your story better. Here are a couple of techniques I personally use when self-editing my novels.

Take a Breather

The first thing I do is set my manuscript aside. I recommend forgetting about it for at least two weeks. I know. It sounds like torture to not be working on your book. But this strategy allows you to approach your manuscript with a clear mind. Once you start to forget a little of what you wrote, it almost feels like you’re reading someone else’s writing. It makes it so much easier to spot your mistakes.

Focus on One Thing at a Time

Don’t go through your manuscript looking to fix everything at once. Instead, take it in stages. The first time back through it, you might read for plot holes or areas that need clarification. Next, identify unnecessary scenes. Then focus on characters actions and their development throughout the story. Do they act like themselves the whole time? Do they grow from beginning to end?

Once you have the bigger kinks worked out, you can move on to focus on your wording. Is there a better way to describe an action? Do you repeat the same words too often? Are there misspellings that spellcheck didn’t catch, such as “weather” versus “whether”?

That’s not to say you should ignore certain parts if you’re not explicitly looking for them. For example, if you are reading for plot holes but notice a misspelling, feel free to fix it. Just don’t try to fix everything at once or you’ll end up missing too much.

Search for Overused or Misused Words or Phrases

Once I get down to the nitty gritty and start looking for ways to clean up my phrasing, one of the most effective tactics I’ve found is to use the search function. In a Microsoft Word document, there’s a “find” button, or you can click CTRL + F. Then type in the word you know you want to clean up throughout the manuscript.

For example, like many authors, I’m a culprit of using the word “that” far too often. As a general rule, you should only use it provide clarification. Overusing it makes your writing seem somewhat amateurish, and it can pull readers out of the story. So by searching “that” in your document, you can identify areas where it’s needed and where it can be removed.

Don’t stop the search at phrases you tend to overuse. Also take a look at words you tend to misuse. Examples include:

• good/well
• affect/effect
• their/they’re/there
• your/you’re
• lay/lie
• that/which
• further/farther

Read Your Manuscript Aloud

It’s a tedious task, but reading your manuscript aloud is worth it. Doing this makes it easier to catch strange phrasing or repeated information in the story. I personally read each of my books aloud to my husband like an audiobook when we’re in the car together. This gives me a chance to hear mistakes while my husband can give me feedback on the storyline. If you’re not comfortable reading aloud to someone else, it can be just as effective to do it in private.

Don’t Over Edit

As authors, we want the work we send out to the world to be perfect. The reality is that it isn’t going to be perfect because you’re always going to want to change something. And when you’re always changing something, you may end up working backward and hurting your manuscript.

The good news? You can get pretty darn close to perfection! To manage that, though, you eventually need to set down your manuscript and say, “I’m done!” Self-edits are an important part of creating a professional product. They work together with a professional editor to make your story the best it can be. Not only that, but working with an editor can help you become better at self-editing.

Do you have any personal strategies when it comes to self-editing? Tell us your secrets in the comments.

Would you like to follow Alicia? Here are all the stalk links!
Website: aliciaradesauthor.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aliciaradesauthor
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aliciarades
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/aliciarades
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Alicia-Rades/e/B00F9ZFTE8/

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo

Write Better. Write Faster. Right Now. A FREE 4-Part How-to Video Series

Happy Wednesday again! *grin* Okay, you guys, strap in, because this post is a doozy!

I'm so excited to share this!

Want to write faster (and BETTER)?
Want to finally write that novel?

This is where you start.

This 4-part video series is designed specifically to teach you—for free—how to start writing better, faster, today.

FYI, the makers of the videos are Heather Hildenbrand & S. M. Boyce: published, best-selling authors. They’re the real deal, with a NBC film option and published novels to drool over. They run a company called Find Time to Write and in true Find Time to Write BOSSness fashion, they decided to tackle the largest issue first.

Authors hire these ladies to level up their careers and propel them forward. But today, they’re doing this video series for free.

Check it out here.

Now, there's a place at the bottom where you can stick your e-mail address in and get the next three videos absolutely FREE, too.

What do you think? Will you be checking it out? Let me know in the comments.

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo

Whatever Jo Wants Wednesday #3 - Tips and Tricks on Writing, Marketing, and Much More

Happy hump-day, everyone! Today, I'm talking about my little tips and tricks page here on the blog. I spend one month a year organizing it, adding alllll the posts from the year prior, and giving little descriptions so you can find what you're looking for quickly and easily. Let's dive into what's there, shall we? Get your clicking fingers ready, grab your coffee, and let's roll!

Here are the topics:

WRITING TIPS
This is broken down into Characters, Plot, Craft, and Tips and Tricks (like using MS Word to measure pacing, how to use Google Drive to collaborate, and more).

ADVICE ON EVERYTHING
Where to write, things to do to help you write, book swag, and other stuff. All clearly defined for your reading and browsing pleasure.

EDITING TIPS
If you're in the self-editing stage of your novel, this is where you want to be. Broken down into Punctuation, Dialogue, Pronouns, Variation, and Word Usage, you'll find everything you need to help your editor help you.

ORGANIZATION TIPS
Tips to help you organize yourself, your book, AND your files.

WRITING EXERCISES
Things to help you practice your writing. Games you can play with the family and dialogue exercises, too!

BOOK FORMATTING
What should be there, how you can get your novel ready to publish, and a few warnings.

EDITORS AND CONTRACTS
About the different kinds of editors and a breakdown of several contracts.

BRANDING YOUR AUTHOR SELF
Genres, look and feel, and why how you behave matters.

SERIES POSTS 
All the series posts I've written: Human Nature, Enneagram Types, Branding, Look at your xXx, Becoming a Book Blogger, and Punctuation (that one is fun).

FREE PDFS
All the PDFs I've created here for you to download, keep, and share for FREE!

BLOGGING AND BLOG TOURS
There's one on branding and one is a workbook to help you check your novel and fix holes (THIS IS A NEW TOPIC FOR 2016).

MARKETING TIPS  
Tools you can use to help you navigate the online waters and marketing ideas I've had.

I hope you find useful stuff on these pages. Every now and then, I throw archived posts out there into the ether and hope someone finds them when they're needed. I'm seriously considering focusing on social media how to this year.

Which one is your favorite?

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo

Character Posts

Happy Friday, everyone! Because I'm running around like a crazy person, trying to get caught up on things today, I'm giving you an awesome list of all the character posts I've written since starting this blog. Yeah, there are a lot! Get your clicking fingers ready, and let's get going!!

From the archives:
Characters, You Say? - A breakdown of characterization
Writing as the Opposite Sex - Getting into the mind of your character
Character Flaws - Why perfect characters, aren't
What's in a Character? - Character bios and what they should include
Flipping the Switch - Good guys, bad guys, and where the lines blur
Knights in Shining Armor - Causing your hero to have a fatal flaw
Is Your Character Sexy or Beautiful? - Know the difference, use it to your advantage
Character Arcs - More on creating great characters that feel real
Bringing Truth to Fiction - All about being true to your character even when writing BS
Your Supporting Cast of Characters - Talking about minor characters and how to keep them from taking over
Complex Villains - How to keep reader empathy in check when crafting a super villain
What's in a Name - Why the names you choose matter
3D Characters - More on making rounded characters
Coffee and Writing - How to use coffee to add dimension to your characters
Female Protagonists - Why Women Love Them - How to connect with women
EnneaApp - One way you can give your characters depth by clicking a couple of buttons
Being Emo - Emotional Triggers for Creating Rich Characters - Exactly what is says
Stealing Characters - How to use a character from life and other places
Character Bios - Visually - How to keep up with all the stuff about your characters with ease

I hope you enjoy the heck out of these :)

Which one is your favorite?

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo

Novel Research - How Much is Too Much?

Happy Monday, good people of the blogosphere! Welcome to another week of fun. Yeah, it's Monday, but you now have five whole days to get in your writing groove. Today, I'm talking about research. You know, that stuff that makes your book seem plausible to your reader. Ready? Grab those pens and notebooks and let's get going!

As you all are probably aware, when I was writing M, I had to do a lot of research for a few topics and scenes included in the novel. Here are a few:

Buying explosives online (yes, you can!).
What the range on a GPS tracker is.
Best sniper rifle.
What genes are responsible for reproduction.
What genes/chromosome strands are associated with malformations of the heart.
How to pick a lock (actually picked a lock to learn what this was like).
Self-contained cities (how they work).
Moving sidewalks and how one steps onto them.
What genes are responsible for "giantism."

And those are just a few. I've asked other sci-fi writers, and they have pretty much the same experience. You have to learn as much as possible so your story can ring true. Sure, you can ask an expert or read an article about how to pick a lock, but until you do it, you don't know what pitfalls may happen or how it feels.

I've talked about this before on my post Writing What You Don't Know, but sometimes you need to get into the meat of your story by heading out and experiencing things for yourself.

Don't leave your words to someone else. The way I describe something might not be the way you describe that same thing.

As a bonus, the next time you want to write about what it feels like to walk over hot coals, you'll already know. Those little tidbits will be stored in your memory bank or feelings workbook.

It's not just sci-fi that demands research. If you're planning a book where you deal with legal issues or historical facts, you have to look that up, too. Writers are born researchers, and we usually have a thirst for first-hand knowledge of topics.

What's been the most fun/interesting thing you've ever had to research for a book? What book was it?

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo

Being Emo - Emotional Triggers for Creating Rich Characters

Happy Tuesday! As the title of the post implies, today I'll be talking about emotional triggers you can (and should) use for your characters. As a writer, you're a student of human nature. Let's put those studies to use in your writing so people can identify with your MC. Ready? Grab those pens and notebooks and let's get going!

I often wonder why writers of an older generation have books that scream at readers with such truthiness. Now, I'm not saying younger folks can't write deep novels (because they can, and do), but those little sparks of talent are rare and have likely been cultivated. Many people tend to take up writing when they're in their late twenties or early thirties.

Why?

Because they've lived it. They have a greater well of life stuff to draw precious words and experiences from. Don't you love sitting and talking with older people? Listening to their stories is like reading a really great book that answers questions you want to ask. A teenager who's lived a normal life (no abuse or bullying or anything like that--you get my point) will find this more difficult.

So why am I bringing all this up?

Today is about emotional triggers. Older folk have more of these to draw on simply because they've been in the world longer and experienced more. Reading about something and feeling/living it are two different things. No matter how engrossed in a book you are, you never really know everything that was going on around the character or in their past. That novel would be like War and Peace. When you live it, you can draw on it more readily.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying only older people can do this exercise; I'm saying their lists will be longer--and probably easier--and that's okay. I just don't want you to be daunted or frustrated if you have nothing for a particular item. This could open up an opportunity for you to talk to someone else and listen to what they have to say about the emotion.

Exploring your character in depth like this can lead to a more rounded individual on the page. Heck, this may help a younger generation of writers hit that ever-elusive personified character we all strive for. Either way, it'll help you get to know your MC.

There will probably be more than one answer for each of these, but try to think of just one the first time through.

Here's the list:

• Shame - When did the character feel shame? Why? How has it shaped them?
• Joy - Yup, that moment when they felt they could fly without wings. What happened afterward?
• Fear - This is a big one because it fuels a lot of the ways we perceive ourselves. Insecurities can arise from fear. What change did it cause in your character?
• Guilt - Another big one. Carrying around guilt can cause your character to react a certain way in a specific situation. How heavy is the burden? Will they ever admit it?
• Love - When did they feel it the first time? How did it shape their perception?
• Failure - Will your character give up after a huge let down? What was it and how did they push through?
• Courage - What were they facing when they showed courage? Did they succeed or fail? How did that shape them?
• Forgiveness - There's always that one screwup. Who was the forgiver? Did it make the character stop and think about holding a grudge with someone else later on?
• Rage - How did they internalize it? Did they? What were the repercussions if they acted out?
• Indignation - Someone pushing the character to do something they refuse to do? What prompted it? Why didn't the character take part? Moral code?
• Sorrow - Profoundly. Stemming from death of a loved one. How did they deal with it?

I know that's a long list, but it'll give you some fodder to draw on as you write your story. You don't have to reveal all of them (remember that comment above about a book being different from a life?), but you'll have a better grasp of who your character truly is if you give them all the emotional baggage.

Have you ever done an exercise like this? How did you fare with this one?

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo

Men vs Women - Author's Voice

Happy Thursday, and welcome to another writing tips post, everyone! Today, we're talking about your author voice and how it translates to the reader vs how you want it to translate. Ready? Grab those pens and notebooks and let's get going!

How about a slice of truth to start us off?

If you're a female, chances are very good that, no matter how hard you try, you'll sound like a female when you write (even if from a male POV). Same goes for you males.

While there are authors who've managed to pull off writing as the opposite sex, I'm positive their editor made a huge difference. If that editor was male and the voice in the book was male, he likely told the author that a man/boy would never think/say/do "this." Likewise for the male writing as a female, using a female editor.

So how can we, as writers, fix it?

Let's go into the male writing as a female first:

Women are emotionally driven creatures. We cry, we care, and we talk about our personal lives a lot. When we talk, we generally use softer words like "would you mind" and "what do you think about this." We're often unsure about what we say or how it will come off to other people (we care about what you hear), and we don't like to hurt feelings or be crass.

Our thought process leans toward our families or responsibilities when we're in peril, and most of us aren't as highly competitive as men. To get us interested, you have to put out a ton of feeling and market to our gentle, helpful, feminine side. We also love to be empowered.

Now, women writing as men:

Men are action and solution driven creatures. If there's no clear goal, and the character isn't fighting toward something they can achieve against all odds, men won't identify. They use clear, demanding speech, that tends to lean toward sarcasm and "taboo" topics. They don't talk about personal things, and they generally prefer confrontation to descriptive floweriness.

Their thought process leans toward the thrill of the moment, and most of them desire to win. To get them interested, you have to market to their competitive, thrill-seeking side.

How do you get to know a woman's thought process? Spend time talking with them, asking questions, and paying attention to how they interact with their peers. Same goes for how to get into a man's head. You have to really immerse yourself in the gender if you want to be believable.

Go now and take a look at ads geared toward women, and then look at some geared toward men. See any difference? That's what connecting with a gender is all about. Books work the exact same way.

If you're a non-fiction writer, you may need to create two separate books; one that uses language women want, and one that appeals to men.

Male readers consume only 20% of the literary fiction read today. Know what that means? Right! Women are left with a whopping 80% of the pie.

Wow.

So what do the other 80% of men read? Sci-Fi, History, and Political. Certainly food for thought.

Have you stepped into the shoes of the opposite gender? How did it work out for you?

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo

13 Rules for Stronger Writing

Happy Friday, everyone! Wow, it's the weekend already. I feel like I've missed out on a couple of days in here somehow. Anywho, today is all about making your writing stronger. I have thirteen tips that'll help you keep your writing flowing. Ready? Awesome. Grab those pens and notebooks and let's get going!

No dallying today. Right into it. When examples are given, what you shouldn't do will be in red, what you should do will be in green.

1. Use active voice. Don't use were. Reconstruct your sentences to read as it is. Example: There were fifteen girls standing on the field. Fifteen girls stand on the field.
2. Kill the truth. If reality is blocking, make up new rules. You're writing fiction, after all.
3. Unite common phrases. Things that go together, stay together. Example: Molly lifted her arm and then, with a roar like a lion, she began beating the door. Molly lifted her arm, roared like a lion, and beat the door.
4. Write as you see. When you're writing, think visually about the scene, and use the imagery as fodder.
5. Catch the beat. All writing has a rhythm. You know it. Use it.
6. IT is a horror story. Beware of dangling "it" in your prose. Example: I thought it was strange. I thought the chair scooting across the floor by itself was strange.
7. Sentence structure variation. Don't write the same sentence over and over. Example: I walked into the kitchen. I got a glass from the cabinet. I filled the glass with water, and I drank. I drank it in one gulp. I walked into the kitchen, grabbed a glass, and filled it with water. As thirsty as I was, it went down in one gulp.
8. Marry related words. Keep things together that go together. Example: Henry stared at the float in the pool that was spinning in the middle. Henry stared at the float spinning in the middle of the pool.
9. Allow the reader to infer. Don't over explain. Example: "I'll do anything I can to help," Tina said lovingly. "I'll do anything I can to help," Tina said.
10. Create parallels. Mix some ideas and compare two unrelated things.
11. Kill repetition. Don't use the same word more than once in a paragraph; your reader will feel like they're reading the same sentence again and again.
12. Use one instead of two. If you can delete a word and not lose meaning, do so. Example: A scary, creepy spider is crawling up my leg. A creepy spider is crawling up my leg.
13. Beef up with stronger verbs and concrete nouns. Use these to replace adverbs and adjectives.

I hope you got some good tips today. Any of these that you didn't know?

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo

Pick Up the Pace

Happy Monday, everyone! Today, we're talking about ways to increase the pace in your novel. I assume you've used the tools in my previous post on measuring pace and scene writing, so now I'm going to give you ways to speed it all up. Tomorrow, I'll tell you how to slow things down. Grab those pens and notebooks and let's get going!

You hear folks talk about how a novel dragged on and on, right? To keep your readers interested, you have to have the right combo of a fast pace and a let's-look-at-each-and-every-flower-and-tree pace. Those novels that dragged had more of the second kind. *grin*

Let's fix that.

• Word usage. This is the most basic way to increase a novel's pace. Shorter words and sentences make reading and processing easier. Seek out places you can cut a sentence to six words or fewer. Oftentimes, you can remove introductory words: Then, However, Often, etc... Independent clauses can come out if they aren't helping the sentence. MS Word has a checker that will seek out wordy sentences for you. You can highlight the section and tell the program to look at it. Easy peasy.

• Dialogue with few to no action tags. If you refrain from giving description of the characters' movements or expressions during dialogue, it'll help. Stick with invisible tags (tags readers see but don't actually have to process): Said, Asked, Answered. Don't go down the rabbit hole, and keep the back and forth going.

• Action! This is where you can leave off the telling and show. You aren't trying to increase tension, just give the character some kind of goal and get him or her there. If it's a battle scene, you want to do a little telling and describe a few things, but don't go into paragraph after paragraph of description. Action happens quickly, and you, the writer, can just sit back and watch as the beauty unfolds.

• Suspense. Yeah, that's right, keep the reader turning the pages to find out what the heck is going on. You'd think dragging something out would slow things down, but it actually engages the reader's brain and makes them read faster so they can find a solution to their twanging nerves.

• Scene cut/breaks. This is where there's no transition to a new scene. You can end the previous scene on a cliffhanger or not, but your story makes a leap into something totally different. Keep in mind, you can also create a scene cut by cutting out some of the tale where the prose is dragging.

• Summary paragraphs. Your character just spent three months getting to know the people around them? Awesome. Readers will be fine with a summary now and then if nothing significant happens during those three months. Cut the scene and summarize.

You can use some or all of these techniques. Either way, you're guaranteed to pick up the pacing of your story if you follow the suggestions above.

Which one(s) did you know about, and which are new?

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo

Excuse Me, is Your Caps Lock on?

Happy Thursday, everyone! Book review tomorrow! I know you're all excited as can be. Today, I'm bringing you a little information on when to use a capital letter. Seems like a no-brainer kind of thing, huh? Well, it's something many, many people confuse, so I'm gonna touch on it. Grab those pens and notebooks and let's get going!
 

DON'T YOU HATE IT WHEN FOLKS DO THIS?

Yeah, I do, too.

But caps lock isn't what we're talking about here. This is all concerning those horrible things called proper nouns.

What's the difference between:
Our sergeant told us we need to fall in.
and
Hey, Sergeant said we need to fall in.

?

Are you confused?

Because, in the first, you aren't using the term as a proper noun. Terms like doctor, sweetheart, sir, madam, etc... aren't proper nouns and shouldn't get a capital letter. These are terms of endearment, not names or titles (even with titles, there's a caveat, as you can see above).

When you're talking about a thing, a word that might be capitalized in a different use might get a capital letter. Examples:

I was going to make life hell for her.
I thought I was living in Hell.

Second one is the place, Hell. First one is referring to the state of living, not the place.

I dug at the earth with my hands.
I'm from Earth.

Same situation. Lowercase earth is referring to the dirt, uppercase to the planet.

Given names get caps.
States get caps.
Your Majesty gets caps.
Our King or our Queen gets caps, but not when saying something like: He's the king of all he sees. Only when you're referring to the actual monarch should you capitalize the title.

I hope this helps you avoid a little bit of confusion.

What have you put a capital letter on only to go back and smack your head over it later?

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo

Further vs Farther and Apostrophes with Dates

Yup, it's still Thursday! Here's your second post for the day (because I'm playing a bit of catchup). It's short, sweet, and to the point. We're going over further and farther--two words that get confused more often than I like to admit. To my point: I have a post-it over my desk to remind me which one is which. *holds fingers in L to forehead* Another post-it I have up is about dates. So, grab those pens and notebooks and let's get going!

To put it simply:

Further is figurative distance, or something intangible that can't be measured by standard means.
Farther is physical distance, or something you can apply a tape measure to, resulting in a concrete number.

Examples:
She didn't want to speak further on the topic.
If he'd pried into my mother's illness any further, I would've smacked him.

I walked farther into the woods.
Because my arms are longer, I can reach farther than you.

I hope this little tip helps you keep them straight, too. My post-it looks like this:

I have others, but that's one I need to reference often.

On to dates!

When you're writing dates, remember not to use an apostrophe with the S.

It should look like this:
1990s
or
2940s
not
1990's

Examples:
I used my time-travel machine to go back and visit the 1800s for a week.
In my research, I found that time-travel might become possible by the 2900s.

Get it? No apostrophes with dates! *grin*

If you want a tip on lay and lie, go visit my cohort, Tia Silverthorne Bach. She's got a cute image to help you keep them straight.

Did these tips help at all? What do you confuse?

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo

Collaborating on Google Drive

Happy Tuesday, good people of the blogosphere! I promised you this post last week and ended up not doing anything at all. Eeeeew. What can I say? I have my off days, too! *grin* But, as promised, it's a Tuesday and you're getting all the deets. Now, I'm not going into all the things Google Drive can do, because that's a vast amount of information, but I'll explain how it can be used to co-edit a document and a cool feature that's available once you're on the inside. Ready? Cool. Grab those pens and notebooks and let's get going!

Once you click on the drive icon from Gmail, you'll see something like this:

You'll want to click the New button (in red) on the top, left-hand side for this exercise. Here:

Now, you'll have a choice to make. Please choose Google Docs like this:

Drive will magically take you here:

Click on the words Untitled Document in the top left:

Type in the name of your new doc in the popup box:

I'm not going into all the menu options today, that's a whole other blog post. But, as you can see, you have a ton of ways to format your document (and it auto-saves your progress):

Now, you need to look on the top right and find the share button:

Once you click it, you get a popup like this:

Start typing a name. If you have them in your Google address book, you'll get a dropdown:

Choose one. Click on the dropdown on the right that says Can edit:

 

These are the options you get:

Be sure Can edit is chosen (it's the default, but...). Now, you've chosen your collaborator, so let's go look at advanced options. Click the button:

You'll see a screen like this:

Pretty self-explanatory, no? Make your choices and send it on. I'm inviting the awesome Casey L. Bond to join us for this tutorial.

Here's where the magic happens! Once your collaborators access the document, they'll have a little icon (based on their Google Drive photo) in the top right, next to your name (Casey's is the cover of her novel, Reap, mine would be my logo):

As they type, their name shows next to the text (this works for each person typing):

They can change options just like you can:

Now, see the little icon next to Casey's?

Click it and select launch chat. This pops up:

It gives you a way to discuss what's being typed in the document as others are editing it without making changes. How cool is that?

Add to the coolness, this document is automatically saved in the main menu of your Drive. You can pop it into a folder, or leave it with all the other stuff you have stored there. The sky's the limit!

I hope this little walkthrough taught you something you didn't know. The power of Google Drive is awesome, and I hope to hear about you guys using it in the future!

Did you learn something? Ever used that feature before? Tell me about it!

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo