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New Year’s Resolutions for Writers

January 1, 2014 2comments Modern Writer v1.0 , , , , Permalink 0

New Year's Resolution Coasters by Lucky Bee PressInevitably, around this time of year, people roll out their lists of New Year’s resolutions–these lists might include items like “Imma lose weight!” or “Imma quit dranking!”

Well, I have one more item to add to all of our lists: “We should be writing.”

It’s inspired by Mur Lafferty’s podcast, I Should Be Writing, and if you follow it or not, you might’ve heard of the Magic Spreadsheet.

It’s a self-calculating Excel spreadsheet that awards points for how many words you’ve written in a day (1 point for 250 words, 2 points for 500 words, etc.) and how many days you’ve continued writing (1 point for 1 day, 2 points for the second day, etc.).

The goal being that by writing 250 words daily, you would write over 90,000 words in a year, surpassing the industry standard of 80,000 words for a novel.

I’m a competitive person by nature (I think most people are), and by seeing the points I’ve scored for each month, I feel a need to score more points on subsequent months. It reminds me of an RPG, or something–that I’m actually “leveling up” as a writer as I accumulate more points. I started writing with the Magic Spreadsheet last March, and I’ve been the most productive that I’ve ever been. Hands down!

So if one of your New Year’s resolutions is increasing your productivity as a writer, you should try downloading and using this spreadsheet. It’s definitely helped me maintain a more consistent writing routine.

Happy New Year, Everybody! May this year be a more productive writing year for us.

Write your heart out!

 

Photo credit: BazaarBizarreSF / Foter.com / CC BY-NC-ND

I Love Dropbox!

October 23, 2013 4comments Modern Writer v1.0 , , Permalink 0

dropbox-logotype-vertical-colorIn a previous post, I mentioned how I wrote using a typewriter in my junior high school days. Today, I have another old-timer story for you. Ha.

In college, I often saved my work on 2.5″ floppy disks. Eventually I replaced these disks with USB drives. Even then, transferring my stories from computer to computer was a pain. (Oh, first world problems!)

I’ve since ditched those floppy disks and USB drives, and now that I have a smart phone, I can carry all of my documents with me all the time.

 

Best of all, I can save time by syncing all of my documents wirelessly through Dropbox. As written on its website:

Dropbox is a home for all your photos, docs, videos, and files. Anything you add to Dropbox will automatically show up on all your computers,phones and even the Dropbox website — so you can access your stuff from anywhere.

Dropbox also makes it super easy to share with others, whether you’re a student or professional, parent or grandparent. Even if you accidentally spill a latte on your laptop, have no fear! Relax knowing that your stuff is safe in Dropbox and will never be lost.

If you’re a writer, you’re doing yourself a great disservice by not taking advantage of Dropbox’s capabilities. Please see the following video if you are unfamiliar with Dropbox.

 

 

Signing up is free. You will earn 2 gigabytes of cloud storage, and it never expires. But I have a special offer for you today! As a bonus to our loyal readers, if you use this link to sign up, you and I will each earn an additional 500 megabytes of space! Win-win!

With Dropbox, I always have the latest drafts of my work with me all the time. And there’s a safety in knowing that. However, if you ever accidentally delete a file, you can always restore it, as long as it is within 30 days.

So what are you waiting for? Sign up for a free Dropbox account today, and write your heart out anywhere you go!

 

Photo credit: Dropbox

Portable Writing Solutions

September 18, 2013 0 Modern Writer v1.0 , , , , Permalink 0

In a previous post, I blogged about my current portable writing solution: my MSI Wind u100. I’ve since doubled its initial RAM; I’ve upgraded to a faster wireless card; and I’ve upgraded its original 3-cell battery to a 9-cell battery, which gives me up to 6 hours of battery life with my current configurations.

I’m always on the lookout for newer, alternative solutions, and so I thought I’d share some of these with you today.

The first is the most cost efficient: at $99, the NEO 2. It’s small and lightweight. It uses AA batteries (the company claims it can run for 700 hours off of one set of batteries!). It features a full-sized keyboard. It only provides you with four viewable lines of text at any given time, but this can be a plus if using this strictly during the drafting process. I imagine editing would be a pain! But, hey, we’re talking about portable solutions here. What portable solution wouldn’t be a pain when compared to a desktop setup, right?

AS Neo

Next, for people looking for additional functionality in a portable package, I provide an Apple iPad with Retina display paired with ZAGGkeys PROfolio+. The two essentially create a lightweight laptop alternative. With its sharp 2038-by-1536 resolution display and up to 10 hours of battery life, the new Apple iPad increases its word processing capabilities with a ZAGGkeys PROfolio+. Although no true Microsoft Word app exists at the moment (I’ve read rumors of a tentative 2014 release date), there are other apps that can function for you in the meantime. Also, the PROfolio+ is a Bluetooh keyboard designed to last 3 months off of a single charge! I like its backlit keys, too.

 

Last, but not least, Apple also released its new Macbook Air lineup for 2013. From the outside, not much has changed from last year. However, I’m most impressed with the 13″ Macbook Air’s battery life. It has been confirmed to last up to 12 hours with light usage. Weighing in at about two-and-a-half pounds, and featuring a full keyboard, it easily trumps my netbook. But it comes at a cost: the standard 11″ Macbook Air retails for $999, while the standard 13″ Macbook Air retails for $1099.

 

Of course, there’s always the classic option of paper and pen.

Moleskineh

Cost: Too low to advertise!

That’s it for this week. However you prefer write on the go, write your heart out.

 

Photo credit: Amir Kuckovic / Foter.com / CC BY-NC-SA

Oh, Brother: Selecting the Right Printer for Your Home Office Needs

August 28, 2013 0 Modern Writer v1.0 , , , Permalink 0

Cabinet InteriorMy wife and I share a home office, and recently, the All-in-One Kodak printer we purchased last year has started acting up.

Its wifi connection to our router is temperamental; and coupled with the fact that we replace its expensive ink cartridges at an alarming rate, we are looking for a new printer.

However, I have a few criteria that this new printer needs to address:

  1. As I prefer editing on paper, I need the printer to be cost effective. Since ink cartridges are a necessary evil, like gasoline, I’d like the new printer to print at a cost of three or four cents per page.
  2. I hope to have a rough draft of my novel completed sometime next year, so I’m anticipating that I will print approximately 320 pages per draft. I need a printer designed to handle lots of paper. Our current printer can only hold 25 pages at a time, so I always need to reload the paper tray before the print can continue.

Additionally, my wife has other criteria of her own:

  1. She needs the printer to also function as a reliable scanner and fax machine. (Late night runs to Kinko’s are no longer a viable option for us!)
  2. Aesthetics are important, so the printer should look at home on a bookshelf among our other possessions. (We would like to stash our printer and router and wiring out of view.)
  3. Space is also a concern to us. We’d ideally like the new printer to fit in a space measuring 17″ x 13″ x 19″. (This rules out most laser printers for us.)
  4. Price. We want to stay under $500 for the actual printer. And the ink cartridges should be reasonably priced, too, since they will be a regular expense. I don’t know how many of you have been bamboozled into buying a “cheapo” printer, like us, only to find out that its ink cartridges were ridiculously overpriced… [Shaking my fist at the sky]

After doing a little bit of research online, I have found a printer that meets all of our needs and more–the Brother Business Smart Series Inkjet All-in-One MFC-J4610DW. Note to Brother: How about simplifying your product names?

 

 

As writers, properly investing in a good printer can increase our productivity and lessen stress and frustration. (Oh, first world problems!)

What do you consider when buying a new printer? Have you found the right one for your home office needs? Please send me a comment below.

That’s it for this week. Until next time, write and print your heart out!

 

Photo credit: Thomas R. Stegelmann / Foter.com / CC BY-NC-SA

Judging Books by Their Titles

August 21, 2013 0 General Advice, Modern Writer v1.0 , , , , Permalink 0

Banned Books Week Banner

It probably goes without saying that strong titles are absolutely necessary to catch the attention of editors and readers alike.

A while ago, I read somewhere that people purchase books after first studying their covers and then reading their titles. (Though this doesn’t account for the power of positive reviews and word of mouth!)

If you’re like me, you probably spend a lot of time worrying about the titles of your stories/books. And it seems like every writer approaches titles a little differently: Some will create a title from the very beginning of a new writing project; it just comes to them. Others will wait until the project is completed.

I fall into the latter category. I hardly ever have the foresight to name my work before it’s finished.

Here are a few of my thoughts on this tricky business:

  1. List all of your favorite titles from your favorite authors. Analyze what they have in common. See if you can find patterns to steal. More than likely, each title uses active, specific language. You should, too! (I particularly like titles from Kurt Vonnegut and Haruki Murakami.)
  2. If you’re having real trouble naming your story/book, it could be that it just isn’t quite finished yet. Generally, when a story knows itself, it’s easier to name.
  3. Scan your work for a line or phrase that you could use as a title. Listen to what your characters say or think.
  4. Your title should give a hint as to what it is about, but it should also give a slight indicator of its tone. The most important aspect, though, is its ability to intrigue readers.
  5. Sometimes editors will rename your book to something that has more promise of selling.
  6. On a similar note, short story collections are not always titled by the best story in the collection. I used to spend lots of time analyzing title choices of some of these books, only to hear authors uncandidly confess that weaker stories often supplied a collection its title just because it sounded cool.

For an alternative approach to titling a book, you can also use Lulu’s Titlescorer. It will score the likelihood of commercial success for your book by referencing data from past bestsellers’ titles. (Although I’ve played around with this, and some of my favorite books fail to score well by its standards.)

So how about it? Do you place a high importance on titles for your work, or the books that you read? What are some of your favorite book titles? Please send me a comment or two below, and thank you for reading.

Write your heart out!

 

Photo credit: DML East Branch / Foter.com / CC BY-NC-SA

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