Writing / Research Tip Tuesday

Today's tip features a neat little writing tool and comes to you from the fabulous Heather Lane. Make sure to stop by and visit her blog, Edited to Within an Inch of My Life. But check out her tip before you go. She picked it up from Verla Kay's awhile ago, and it's a good one!

"When I am revising, I need to be able to get to each chapter easily. So, I highlight the words, Chapter One (or the title, if you use them for chapters) and right click to have the menu pop up. I select Paragraphs, and under Outline Level, I highlight Level 1. On the left hand side of my screen, an outline appears, and if I click there on Chapter One, I zap back to that first chapter, no matter where I am in the novel. Since I have different POV's within each chapter, I highlight the beginning of those, and right click to get me to the same menu. Then in Outline Level, I choose Level 2. So, my whole novel becomes outlined on the left hand side of the screen, and I get a feel for where things are, and am able to find anything quickly. All my chapter starts are at Level 1 of my outline, and all my POV switches are at Level 2. It makes revisions so much easier.

And I love anything that helps my revisions easier."

This little wonder is called Document Map and is a standard feature in Microsoft Word. I did a quick post about it here (and oddly enough, it was a Heather that introduced it to me!). It can be a little confusing at first, but give it a shot and I bet you'll be hooked. It's only a little effort for a lot of organization.

Thanks so much Heather!