Today's nifty tips were sent in by Nazarea Andrews. You can find Nazarea at her website and blog. Please consider visiting after you read her tips below!
These are two tricks I use when fast drafting, to keep the flow going.
When I fast draft, I often use Write Or Die--which doesn't allow for special formatting (such as italics) so I use a symbol, such as * or ^ to denote when I want to place emphasis on a word or phrase. When I edit, it's easy to translate that into the proper formatting.
When I'm using MS Word, and come to something I want to go back to, or know I will need for reference later (character description, what they drive, important dates) I add a # and insert a note. Later, when I'm editing, it's easier to go through the document by symbol and notes to make sure I've kept details straight, or to fix a passage that I didn't like on first pass. It doesn't replace editing--not by a long shot--but it does help in keeping the little things straight, or referring back to things I know need more work without slowing down the first draft.Hope that's helpful :)Nazarea Andrews~
Love the # idea - I'll be using that from now on. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteWagging Tales - Blog for Writers
I really like the # idea too. I'll try it on my next first draft. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteI too love the # idea. And then I might just tweet my notes as hashtags. LOL
ReplyDeleteGood tips! As recently as last Saturday, I started leaving myself little notes in my MS - things I knew it needed but didn't want to spend time on right at the moment.
ReplyDeleteAwesome tips! I've tried Write or Die and it freaks me out. But I do like the idea of making notes in my MS. I usually just do the square bracket [] and highlight in yellow. :)
ReplyDeleteThis kind of notation would have helped me a lot in my first draft. I frustrated myself by constantly editing as I wrote. It is definitely a skill to get the story down in first draft without continually stopping to edit. I applaud you!
ReplyDeleteExcellent idea. Then you can just use find to get to all those # symbols. I still love color highlighting questionable passages, but this is definitely worth a try.
ReplyDeleteGood idea! I haven't tried Write or Die yet, but I've thought about it. I don't know if I could stop myself from going back and fixing things like spelling errors. That might drive me nuts.
ReplyDeleteI like the idea of adding a # in Word to make it stand out.. I always use Word for writing.
ReplyDeleteYou should try Scrivener. I have a question.. Do agents accept manuscripts even if the author is not an American?
ReplyDeleteThank you for commenting, everyone!
ReplyDeleteAnon, most agents accept manuscripts from non-American authors, yes. Just make sure their guidelines don't specify "no international submissions" or similar. Many agents have clients outside the U.S. Good luck!