Scott Moon's Blog - Posts Tagged "twitter"
Writing Love
How many writers have looked up from the keyboard and thought, "This is good. This is really good. Look out world, I am on fire!"
That feeling is something I live for. Success as a fiction writer, published or not, is a matter of finding this zone more often than wandering in the land of self doubt, self criticism, and "practical reasoning." These latter emotions can come at any time, day or night, and must be endured. By contrast, inspiration is best when there is an opportunity to do something with it. Odds are stacked against fiction writers. Fortunately, what the moments of inspiration lack in duration and convenience, they make up for with intensity and day dreams.
My favorite exclamations on twitter ( https://twitter.com/Scottmoonwriter ) are variations of "I love writing!" I tweet with friends. There are a lot of great people on Twitter. I promote my book and the books of other people. I make jokes. But being able to exclaim your passion is priceless. People even answer back! Of course, in my Twitterverse, the writer population is dense.
"Morning writer. How's your free day?"
"Great. Yours?"
"Did one last month. Top ten in free contemporary fantasy. Hey, hey."
"Yeah! You should do a blog tour."
"Wish I had the time, patience, and know-how. What is up with Stumbleupon? Do you know how to use it?"
"No idea."
"I love writing!"
"Me too!"
High five.
There are many tools available to the writer. Five months ago I attended the OWFI Writer's Conference. Each presenter spent at least some time addressing "platform" and “social media,” which are not actually synonymous. So I went home and opened a twitter account. Everything was about Twitter was strange and non-intuitive. My confidence in my computer / internet skills suffered a mental groin shot, but people answered my tweet questions and I now enjoy the community.
Google Drive (formerly Google Docs) is helpful because it allows me to take projects with me wherever I go, so that when life really comes down on the writer in me, I can at least stay in touch with my work in progress. I tried several iPhone word processing apps, this works best for me.
I now use Serenity Software Editor as part of my review and revision process. This program has limitations but is a big help. The program does not like jargon or slang. There is a free trial. The full version with in-document editing is easier and uses less paper, because the free trial and cheaper version require you to print out the suggestions and enter them by hand. http://www.serenity-software.com/
I have also experimented with Liquid Story Binder, which is really cool, but I have not fully bought into using it, primarily because I don’t have time to learn to use another complex system. For my current projects I am using an Excel spreadsheet to plot using scene lists, character charts, and chapter outlines. I would recommend the free trial for LSB http://www.blackobelisksoftware.com/ for world building in particular.
But I digress. I love stories. When I manage to write something exciting, it is a really good day. Just wanted to share.
That feeling is something I live for. Success as a fiction writer, published or not, is a matter of finding this zone more often than wandering in the land of self doubt, self criticism, and "practical reasoning." These latter emotions can come at any time, day or night, and must be endured. By contrast, inspiration is best when there is an opportunity to do something with it. Odds are stacked against fiction writers. Fortunately, what the moments of inspiration lack in duration and convenience, they make up for with intensity and day dreams.
My favorite exclamations on twitter ( https://twitter.com/Scottmoonwriter ) are variations of "I love writing!" I tweet with friends. There are a lot of great people on Twitter. I promote my book and the books of other people. I make jokes. But being able to exclaim your passion is priceless. People even answer back! Of course, in my Twitterverse, the writer population is dense.
"Morning writer. How's your free day?"
"Great. Yours?"
"Did one last month. Top ten in free contemporary fantasy. Hey, hey."
"Yeah! You should do a blog tour."
"Wish I had the time, patience, and know-how. What is up with Stumbleupon? Do you know how to use it?"
"No idea."
"I love writing!"
"Me too!"
High five.
There are many tools available to the writer. Five months ago I attended the OWFI Writer's Conference. Each presenter spent at least some time addressing "platform" and “social media,” which are not actually synonymous. So I went home and opened a twitter account. Everything was about Twitter was strange and non-intuitive. My confidence in my computer / internet skills suffered a mental groin shot, but people answered my tweet questions and I now enjoy the community.
Google Drive (formerly Google Docs) is helpful because it allows me to take projects with me wherever I go, so that when life really comes down on the writer in me, I can at least stay in touch with my work in progress. I tried several iPhone word processing apps, this works best for me.
I now use Serenity Software Editor as part of my review and revision process. This program has limitations but is a big help. The program does not like jargon or slang. There is a free trial. The full version with in-document editing is easier and uses less paper, because the free trial and cheaper version require you to print out the suggestions and enter them by hand. http://www.serenity-software.com/
I have also experimented with Liquid Story Binder, which is really cool, but I have not fully bought into using it, primarily because I don’t have time to learn to use another complex system. For my current projects I am using an Excel spreadsheet to plot using scene lists, character charts, and chapter outlines. I would recommend the free trial for LSB http://www.blackobelisksoftware.com/ for world building in particular.
But I digress. I love stories. When I manage to write something exciting, it is a really good day. Just wanted to share.
