T is for THESAURUS FOR WRITERS

Do you have overused words? I do. Looked is one of mine, when I could use stared, glanced, glared, gaped, gazed (wow, lots of g words). Sometimes the quickest way to find a fresh replacement is to use a thesaurus. No need for big heavy books on your shelf, there are these great online ones. 

VISUWORDS - This is a more graphic way of viewing words, you're provided with the synonyms, opposites, verb groups etc in a brainstorming style map.

THESAURUS.COM - exactly what you'd expect from a thesaurus.

Remember a few rules for thesaurus surfing:

• Only use the words that stay true to the voice of your narrator or character. Don't use big long fancy words for the voice of a young child.
• Check your spelling - a lot of the online sites are US spelling, so double check you have a UK site if you need that (or your computer might pick it up).
• Don't overuse the variety in words. Sometimes a character can just walk, in one stroll they shouldn't wander, trudge, storm, stomp, tread and race. The reader will get exhausted!

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S is for Scrivener

I listed Scrivener in my blog: 13 Best Resources for Writers, it's a amazing tool for writers and is available on Mac and PC. Here's some reasons I love Scrivener:

• You can write your scenes and chapters into separate documents, but have them all listed in your sidebar as part of your novel project. Then you can move them around into a new order or add scenes between others. 
• All your images and research handy in the sidebar. 
• There are templates for character profiles and settings.
• You can switch views to index cards, this is great for us visual people who like to chart out our story, it also helps with plot building before you start writing.
• Scrivener AUTOMATICALLY saves as you go - no more lost manuscripts.
• It can compile and export your files to Word, PDF or many other formats.
• Best of all, it will format your finished manuscript into a Kindle document or other ebook format.

There are many tutorials on the Scrivener site in video format, if you're thinking of switching to this program, check those out. There are also lots of blog posts about to help you with formatting your documents and getting the most out of Scrivener. This one is a real winner, it's a list of Scrivener templates you can download to suite your genre. Want to write to a traditional mystery novel structure? Download the template - I've grabbed all of these templates, they're gold!:

S M Worth - Scrivener Templates

At first Scrivener was only available for Mac, then they made a PC version, but soon (very soon I hope) Scrivener will come to iPad. That's exciting news for me, especially since the newest iPad just about replaces laptops. Check out the latest news on that:

The Cellar Door - Scrivener for iPad

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R is for Radio for Writers

There are many online radio shows for writers, and the great thing about these is if you can't listen when they're live, you can playback the show later. Here's a few I find helpful and interesting for the world of writing and publishing:

Publishing Insiders
http://www.litopia.com/radio/bringing-up-baby/ - podcast about books in the electronic era.
Indie Self Publishing Secrets
The Book Market Marketing Show

If you know any others, add them in the comments!

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H is for Help for Writers

H

Writing is a solitary task, but you don't have to be alone. Sometimes we need help to motivate us, help with techniques and help with evaluating our work. Here are just few ways writers can get help:

• Join your Writers Centre, I'm a member of QWC, they hold workshops, seminars and provide lots of services for its members.
• Books, there are lots of books that offer help for writers, including this one: 

• Writing courses, there are some online, or in person, through your writer's centre or educational centre (like TAFE or Uni). If you're looking for online courses, here's some I've tried and liked:

Sydney Writers Centre

How to Think Sideways - by Holly Lisle

• Blogs. I get the most help from other bloggers. So many offer help for writers, here's a couple of helpful posts:

Max Barry - Help for Writers

Lifehack - Fifty Tools which can Help you in Writing

Write Help - Help for Writers

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G is for Google and Goodreads for Writers

Had a conversation with my dad last week about the marvels of Google. He said he can still remember having to research in libraries, and even then you were very limited to the books that library had in stock. Now he's writing humorous, military thrillers, he often needs to check information and dates of political events and underworld activity. I have to agree. I grew up with computers only being able to move two white lines up and down the sides of the screen to hit a digital ball that bounced between them (go Atari!), and became very impressed with those tables that showed Space Invaders and Pacman. 

But now you can find out whatever you need from Google. But Google has plenty more to offer writers than just a search engine:

• Google Maps - actually see the street where you're setting your story without ever going there.
• Gmail - I got sick of my email changing every time I changed Internet providers. I've had my gmail account for years now and love the stability.
• Google Docs - If you work on your manuscripts at work and home or out and about, by putting them on Google Docs you can access them on the go and never worry about loosing your manuscript. I used this before I became a dedicated Scrivener user.
• Images - A great way to find pictures of your characters to add to their profile.
• Google+ - Social media site where you can connect and sort your followers into groups, such as writers or readers.

Another important G site for writers is Goodreads. This is a community of readers and writers where you can record the books you're reading. On Goodreads you can set up an author account, write your bio and have your own book launch or giveaways. Make sure your book is listed on there!

Now I have to figure out where to hide the chocolate eggs for my kids. It never failed to intrigue me why kids aren't scared of this giant rabbit that sneaks into their home at night and leaves chocolate eggs - Don't want to bust that bubble, but bunnies don't lay eggs, if they do leave round chocolate-coloured things... not sure you should eat them.

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YouTube and Writers

YouTube - not just for dancing cats

Do you YouTube?

One of the social networking suggestions Aleesah Darlison made during her 'Promote Your Book' workshop recently was to set up a YouTube page.

Sure, I had a YouTube account, who doesn't, but a page? This had never occurred to me. If I have one talent above all others, it's following instructions. I set about creating a YouTube page under my username charmaineclancy. I know I need to add some more exciting clips, because the most recent recommendation from YouTube for me was a clip called 'Schnauzer napping'... can't wait to see that one.

On Aleesah's page she keeps book trailers, interviews, interesting clips about native animals that feature in her books and more. This is a great resource to use for writers workshops, school visits, book launches and building up your platform. If you don't have a YouTube account it's easy. Go to the site and create an account - I recommend using your author name and if that's taken, add the word author in front. For example, if charmaineclancy wasn't available I'd use authorcharmaineclancy.

Once you've joined and signed in, you'll see some arrows by your name in the top right hand corner. That releases a drop box menu. Click on Channel and set up your channel (this is the page for you to share your clips). In Settings you can change the colour, add your author pic and bio. Videos is where you upload your own clips. I'm yet to do that, hey, maybe one day soon I'll even vlog. In the meantime if you'd like to see a vlog about the craft of writing, visit The Creative Penn's YouTube page.

Want to share YouTube clips on Blogger?

1. Find a clip you want to share, underneath is a button titled 'Share' - click it.
2. This brings up a link for sharing, but now click on 'Embed'. Here is the code you need to embed the clip into your blog. Copy the code.
3. You can change the size if you need to (if you have a narrow blog column), I always just go with the smaller size listed (560x315).
4. Now Blogger does not like code when you are in 'Compose', so I usually choose to go to HTML and insert the code. But there is another way.

Alternative - Probably easier:

1. In Blogger, when composing your blog, click on the button for 'insert a video'.
2. Choose 'From YouTube'.
3. In the search box you need to type in the title of the clip - the one I've chosen was called "Interview with Aleesah Darlison".
4. Choose the correct clip from the list of possibilities. Ta-da!

If you have a YouTube Channel set up already, share your link in the comments :)

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Will the App Replace the Ebook?

The Kindle VS iPad for reading debate is about to heat up again. For some time now bloggers and book people have been discussing the possibility of the ebook completely replacing paper books. I still love both, so can't see that happening, but I do see a shake up of the book industry and a complete revision of how books are chosen and a shift in power. The new book industry will be consumer run rather than publisher run (sorry writers, there'll still be someone to answer to - the customers).

But what I do see as an interesting innovation is the apps that are appearing in place of ebooks and books. Probably the best known one being Al Gore's Our Choice, as presented by publisher/app creator Mike Matas:

Just shows what books can become. But my favourite was when I came across this app for a children's book. Check this out it is amazing (and an Australian publisher!):

I was blown away by how easy the language could be changed (I'd love these for my Spanish class), the interactivity and the ability to have the book read to you (audiobook style, not Kindle robot style). This book wouldn't work well on my black and grey Kindle, but is a treat on the iPad - have they finally found a way to push Kindle aside? Maybe Kindle will produce a colour touchscreen device (rumoured for mid 2011).

I LOVE the idea of books as apps, although I'm not keen on fiction being distracted with videos and such, but maybe having an audiobook embedded into the ebook, so you could read, but switch to audio when you are driving or tired. It would sync to your place for you. Can you think of any creative ways to turn fiction into book apps?

Want to know more about the publishers of the children's book app? Check out:

Blue Quoll Publishing

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