Tools Revisited

I've posted about writing tools here before. However, I found myself replying to someone else's post about differences between Scrivener and yWriter and it started to get a bit lengthy. I thought it might be time to multitask and revisit the subject with my current state of affairs. Admittedly a lot hasn't changed. 
 
I've used yWriter5 for several years now. I've completed several short stories and have several novels under way. I got yWriter originally because it was free, and yes, I'm a cheapskate. Free is excellent. yWriter does everything quite well. 

I started using it on Windows XP, then Vista and now Linux Mint 17.3. There is no native yWriter for Linux yet, however the instructions they give on the yWriter website for running it on Linux work very well. I keep several backups of my work on backup hard drives and flash drives. My main files stay on Dropbox. I have very rarely lost any of my work but it has happened. A sentence maybe, or even a paragraph once. My fault, usually.
 
I've looked at Scrivener for PC. I have the free intro and start it up now and then. It's very slick, but so far I haven't seen much that makes it worth paying for above yWriter. Scrivener does have a Linux version.  I have also tried Power Structure and Storyweaver (paid) software. They seem marvelous, but really don't seem to work intuitively for me the way yWriter does. (Side note: Storyweaver is worth the price almost just for the informative newlsetters and free lessons they will send you after you sign up.) 

Another one I have that has possibilities is Writer's Cafe. That is more like a suite of writer's programs that looks interesting and useful. It has free and paid versions.
 
I occasionally write plays, for those I use Celtx. They have a nice bundle of applications for scriptwork, mostly paid and online. However I use their free version locally on my laptop since I don't need to collaborate particularly. Check them out if you have interest in screenplays and film production, though.
 
I've also played with mind-mapping software. It intrigues me as a brainstorming tool, but I can't really seem to get into it.
 
For collecting ideas I like to use Evernote, since  it is fast and easy and works on all my devices. There isn't a Linux version, but there is an online version working through both Firefox and Chrome that works quite well when I'm on my laptop. That's okay because if I'm using my laptop, I'm usually on wifi, if I'm not then it's only a little less convenient to check Evernote on my smartphone.
 
For some of us, though, and I do mean me, the proliferation of tools often means we spend more time playing at organizing than we do actually writing. If you just want to get the story down, and especially if you're a pantser as opposed to a plotter,  then a regular word processor will let you do that. I still use Word a lot. I have Word 2000 that still works quite well and I run it on a Windows emulator on my Linux machine. I also have Libre Office, a free alternative that is much newer and compatible with Word documents. I just know Word the best and I'll keep using it as long as it works. I'm stubborn that way. Old dogs/new tricks and so on.
 
Beyond that, there are programs such as Zen Writer and Omm Writer and the like that give you an even simpler text editor with even less formatting options and buttons to get in the way. Just fire it up and write in a clean space with no distracting choices to keep you from composing. Some even offer quiet music for the background.
 
I've dabbled with all of these now and then, and still play with them a little. However, since my novels and shorts have been parts of series it really helps to have a tool like yWriter that keeps things like storyboard, characters, places, objects and so on easily available. 

On my Android phone and Fire tablet I love having apps that I can rely on to access my work whenever/wherever I want to. I have the aforementioned Evernote, Celtx Script and Index Cards, Google Docs and Hancom Office which serves to read/edit Word or other Office type documents that come my way. I also have The Brain. 

I also consider the ereader apps on those devices as  important tools as well. I have the Kindle app on every device for Kindle books and Moon Reader for any non-Kindles I may find (and I find a lot). Of course, the Kindle Fire tablet actually is a Kindle reader from the start. It took a bit of finagling to get a non-kindle reader to work on it, but nothing serious. Amazon has a lot of books for the Kindle, but there are lots that are in other formats as well. I ALWAYS have something to read!

Okay. There you have it. Two of the three "R's" covered. Readin' and 'Ritin'. One good EMP and I'm officially back to the stone age again!

Review: Camber of Culdi

This is actually a re-read of an old favorite. The Culdi series by Katherine Kurtz is a wonderfully rich historical fantasy. I love every installment I’ve read. i consider it a must-read. Set during the time of the Inquisition, Camber is the patriarch of one of several families of alien origin who have integrated among humans. This story involves how he and his family survive in an atmosphere of growing discrimination and paranoia from The Church and Establishment.

Encounter at The Waffle House

    I had to drive into the big city early this morning for some lab tests. The tests required me to be fasting, so I was pretty famished by the time it was over. A Waffle House is on the way home. I like to stop there sometimes when I'm alone and waffle and eggs sounded awesome! The place was packed! Of course, it was almost noon by then, and Austin is right in the middle of SXSW. That tends to bloat local traffic and fill up restaurants. I'm sure the businesses don't complain nearly as much as the commuters!
    I had to sit at the counter, which isn't bad at all if you are alone. You get to watch them cook your food and you can observe the choreography of multiple cooks and servers sharing the same space. After a bit a gentleman sat beside me. 
    After a couple of "pardon me's", shared condiments, and so on we began to talk. I learned that his name was Ron, and he is a chauffeur from San Antonio working the music festival. As we talked we discovered several shared interests. We had ordered the same breakfast, for instance. We liked much of the same foods. When he found out I was a writer we of course got into this discussion:
    Ron said,"Everyone tells me I should write a book."
    "I agree, you should."
    "Well, I don't have a lot of education, I left school when I was sixteen."
    "That doesn't really matter. I'm a big promoter of school education, but honestly that's only that top ten percent of the iceberg, as they say. Life education is that big ninety percent left over."
    "Well, I've done a lot. Bad childhood, varied work, a lot of experiences."
    "There you go. Start writing it down."
    "You're right. I have friends who are highly educated and writers, they've offered to help edit it."
    "Then do it. The absolute main thing is to get the story down on paper, or computer, whatever. Get it all down so it doesn't get lost. After that you can do what you want to tweak it, correct it, whatever it needs. Just get it down."
    I went on to tell him about others I've known, including my mother. I'd encouraged her for years to write her story for the rest of us. She always said she would ... someday. There was always an excuse not to do it. Finally it was too late.  I didn't grow up around her, so I only heard parts of her stories. 
    This is what I told Ron. We all have stories, whether they come out as truth or fiction, memoir or fantasy or all four at the same time. 
    So, here I am writing this. My attempt at taking my own advice.
    I went on to show Ron the Evernote app I use on my phone to take notes and organize them, clip articles from the web and so on. He downloaded it right there and said he'd use it. He has a lot of down time between riders, or waiting for people.
    We didn't share contact info, other than names, so I doubt he'll read this. However, Ron, if you're out there. Good Luck! Tell  your story. You shared enough of it to let me know it's worth telling. 
    Of course, now it's part of my story as well. Perhaps somewhere, somehow, one of my characters will discuss life with a chauffeur in a Waffle House. That's how it goes!
    Write on!

Review: Hail Storme

For the first time in a very long time I have come across a book I can truly say was hard to put down. I actually read it in two spurts. Ripley is a writer who seems to truly know his stuff and I am looking forward to more from him. Wyatt Storme is as interesting and compelling a character as Robert B. Parker's Spenser. More please!

Tarot Interactions

I've been taking tarot classes and using tarot for almost ten years. Tarot Interactioins by Deborah Lipp gave me some great insights into the art of reading. tarot. I learned a lot from the exercises and sample readings. Chapters on interactions between tarot and other disciplines were concise but very well thought out. I'd suggest it to everyone I know who is interested in tarot. Five stars.

Review: Tail Gait by Rita Mae Brown

I just finished the upcoming novel Tail Gait, by Rita Mae Brown. It's a very good read if you enjoy a good cozy with paws. This one has Harry and her furry assistants ferreting out a couple of murders connected to the local university and its football team alumni. It has been awhile since I looked at this series of mysteries and I'm glad to see that it continues with vigor. The title comes out from Bantam in May of 2015 and it's worth watching for.

Merry Christmas. Happy Holidays. Happy Yule, etc.

     Up to almost 4K words on the third Parson Short mystery story, "Hanging Chad". Once again Short is drawn into a murder investigation in concert with the county sheriff's office. See how the Cedar City, Texas PI fares when dealing with a web of deceit and corruption.
     Probably close to 6K when finished. Might even make it before Christmas. Have a Merry!