Posts

Y’all have a good time and stay safe

Published on by Jean M. Cogdell7 Comments

Over this long, 4th of July weekend stay safe, and have fun!

For all of my readers here in the states its time to enjoy the fireworks, BBQ, beer and hot dogs and dodge the crazy drivers on the roads. Although here in Texas that might be a bit hard to keep your cool as the heat flies past triple digits. 

   But, before you head out to have more fun than you can handle, I wanted to share a few tips for a great weekend.

Boaters– wear life vests.

 

Drinkers – don’t drive. 

Sunbathing – use sunscreen. 

 

 

BBQ – use Deet (on you, not the meat.) 

That concludes Jean’s Weekend Public Service Safety Tips

Now go out there, enjoy the weekend and act half your age.

Waiting for your comments, love to hear from you. 

And don’t forget to go over and “like” my Facebook page at Facebook at jeanswriting . Or to connect with me, click the “write me” tab. Don’t forget you can follow me on StumbleUpon,  on Twitter @jeancogdell , and Amazon.com.

Please stop by and say “hey!”  I’ll leave a light on. 

What is the best way to write that book?

Published on by Jean M. Cogdell37 Comments

Writing with an outline, by pantsing or somewhere between.

Where do you fall?

Everyone has an opinion, but there is no right or wrong solution, just the right one for you.

I spent most of this year studying various outlining styles, trying to find one that fits my style. What did I learn in the last six months?

What did I learn in the last six months about outlining?

  • There is a multitude of ways to outline.
  • An outline can be fluid.
  • You can choose to write without one.
  • Outlining can suck the life out of a story even before you start writing.
  • Or can be a road map to the end.
  • Scrivener is still a writer’s number one go to for outlining.
  • There is no right or wrong way.

I also learned…

  • I’m a panster. Stick with what you know is a good thing.
  • But I can outline a “little bit” as I go.
  • When I get stuck, stop, do a little micro-plotting.
  • Outlining is not for everyone.

But now what? After all of these months of research? Where am I?

At the bottom of a pit with a bunch of crap! That’s where. My WIP is barely recognizable as I’ve attempted to organize it in one after another of these different outlines.

Ouch!  Ibuprophen has done little to alleviate the writer’s block headache.

 

Now it’s time to get back in the saddle and make writing fun again. To hell with outlining. No offense to those who find it fun. But I gotta be me. LOL

For more about Outlining and Pantsing – Keep reading. I’ve listed lots of great articles for you.

Let me know, which are you? Pantster or Outliner?

Do you find Outlining a chore or fun?

Do you outline all of your stories? Even the short ones?

Do you have a favorite outlining style or program?

How To Write By The Seat of Your Pants by RUTH ANN NORDIN

How to Outline a Novel (Even If You’re Not an Outliner) by Jerry Jenkins

PANTSING: WRITING BY THE SEAT OF YOUR PANTS by Janalyn Voigt

7 Steps to Creating a Flexible Outline for Any Story Writers Digest

3 More Outlining Methods That Help Your Novel Along by Rachel Poli

Writing by the Seat of Your Pants by  Carolyn Kaufman | @CMKaufman 

 Waiting for your comments, please leave me one. 

And don’t forget to go over and “like” my Facebook page at Facebook at jeanswriting . Or to connect with me, click the “write me” tab. Don’t forget you can follow me on StumbleUpon,  on Twitter @jeancogdell , and Amazon.com.

Please stop by and say “hey!”  I’ll leave a light on. 

Do you know if you need one yet?

Published on by Jean M. Cogdell9 Comments

An ISBN for your book?

This question pops up again and again.

Free vs Purchased? Which is better?

Image source

I know authors who use both. The answer is a personal one and each #writer must decide what fits the goal for their book. But whatever you do, don’t take the decision lightly.

I purchased my ISBN from Bowker and published through both IngramSpark and Createspace.

Here is why:

  • I wanted hard copies, not just ebooks.
  • A purchased ISBN belongs to me. Giving me all publishing rights and control.
  • Allows me to publish under my imprint. (Second Act Press, not Amazon or Createspace.)
  • My books are available to my local library through the IngramSpark catalog. (Love seeing them there.)
  • Brick and mortar stores can order them. (One-day fingers crossed.)

But, I did not purchase an ISBN for the ebook version.

Here is why:

  • It is my understanding that ebooks use an ASIN which is provided by KDP free.  (Y’all correct me if I’m wrong on this.)
  • The ebook distribution does best through Kindle  (In my humble opinion.)

Virginia Anderson goes into a great more detail about the ins and outs of ISBNs in a recent blog post. So, head over and read her article before you decide to buy or not buy one for your book.

Help! Do I Really NEED an ISBN? by VS Anderson

Have you decided what you need for your book?

Did you buy an ISBN or use a free one?

Did you use a publishing service to handle this?

Did you find the process complicated?

Will you do it differently next time? How?

 

Waiting on your comments, please leave me one. 

And don’t forget to go over and “like” my Facebook page at Facebook at jeanswriting . Or to connect with me, click the “write me” tab. Don’t forget you can follow me on StumbleUpon,  on Twitter @jeancogdell , and Amazon.com.

Please stop by and say “hey!”  I’ll leave a light on. 

Do you know how to micro-plot?

Published on by Jean M. Cogdell15 Comments

Hold on- no charts involved.

I know you’ve heard all about all kinds of plot points. Turning, climax, action, rising, falling, characters, conflicts, well you get the idea. However, for most of us, pantsters, plotter’s, or half-assters we are all looking for better and easier ways to get the job done.

So how about trying micro-plotting?

Yes, you heard right. I just added another plotting point to think about.

What is micro-plotting you ask?

Today I read an article by David Farland about micro-plotting and had an ah-ha moment. If you’ve read many of my posts you’ll know I just love those flashbulb moments.

If I understood David right it’s where you give the reader a reason to care about the characters. A micro-moment in the story. A sympathy point.

So if you feel like something is missing in your WIP, go back and add a note to make the reader care.

In mine, I added stuff like (show Jack is furious) then found another place to add information about a different emotion I wanted the reader to feel and inserted that (show Em is hurt.)I discovered this sped up my writing process. It stopped me from rewriting the same thing over and over. I could add a little snippet about what I wanted to convey to the reader and get back to the story at large. This gave me the freedom to come back later and write about Em’s frustration.

Want to read David’s article? Click here… David Farland’s Writing Tips

So what do you think?

Will this stop you from getting hung up on rewrites before the first draft is finished?

Is this something you already do?

Do you have a better trick/tip?

Leave me a comment. I love talking to Y’all.

Please head over and “like” my Facebook page at Facebook at jeanswriting . Or to connect with me, click the “write me” tab. Don’t forget you can follow me on StumbleUpon,  on Twitter @jeancogdell , and Amazon.com.

Please stop by and say “hey!”  I’ll leave a light on.