Writers Resources – Down Many Roads…

Late December is here—almost Christmas—and the snow falls outside. Much yet remains to be completed on the revising and editing of The Bet, my current novel I’m hoping to publish soon, but I’m making progress on that all the same. Just need to get through the busy days ahead and get back on track once again. No excuses…just fact!

2013 has certainly been a year filled with many highlights for me. Meeting several new friends in the blogging world and in various other online communities has been fun and rewarding. I have truly enjoyed sharing common interests—particularly the love of words and writing—with a wide array of folks “out there” in the blogosphere. Reading their many thoughts and ideas, I usually learn something and actually feel that I’m a better writer after doing so. At least I hope that I am better when I post my own thoughts and ideas, striving to be as interesting and “readable” as those I read and follow.

The best thing that happened to my writing this year, though, was my discovery of, and immersion into, the world of Scrivener, a fantastic tool for writers! At first, I had very little idea what it was all about or how it really worked. Fortunately, however, I found Gwen Hernandez’s Scrivener for Dummies and spent February and March taking her online course Scrivener for Mac, and the rest is history, if I may throw out a hackneyed cliché.

Cliché aside, Scrivener has made my writing—novels and blogs—more organized, and the whole process much easier. Using Scrivener to write my novel for NaNoWriMo in November was a fun and well-organized, challenging experience. Of course, when creating my stories, I still have to come up with the right words that will successfully tell the tale, but Scrivener, from Literature & Latte, helps me do so. Without a doubt, it has become my best friend when I’m wearing my writer’s hat! Anyone reading this, who has not tried Scrivener, should do so and take advantage of the 30-day free trial. It would make for a wonderful last-minute Christmas gift as well.

So on this snowy morning here in northern Illinois, I send good wishes to all readers and fellow writers who, like me, need to get back to work on writing, revising, and editing. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! May 2013 close out warm and happy for you all, and 2014 hold many wonderful and exciting adventures every day.…CortlandWriter

Falling in love with Scrivener (everythingscrivener.wordpress.com)
Need a good class? (rionsworlds.net)
#Scrivener after 1 week of #NaNoWriMo (mikecoville.wordpress.com)

Seems as though there are many writer folks these days who are faced with the same dilemma of just how best to plan and schedule their “writing time” so it will satisfactorily work into the remainder of their daily lives. I suppose all writers have been faced with this very thing since writing began, and I would imagine that what works for one writer might not necessarily work for another.

Recently, I’ve read some blog posts regarding this very subject, and I come away from each with the realization that we’re all in this together! When poet Robert Burns wrote so very long ago about “the best laid schemes of mice and men” and how they often don’t work out as planned, is so very true when it comes to homing in on a workable and productive writing schedule.

Seems as though as soon as we settle in at our writing desk, fingers perched deftly on the MacBook, something invariably alters the course of the plan—the phone rings, the wife beckons, the wash needs changed, etc., causing any cogent thoughts to basically be washed away and any inspiration that had coursed its way to the fore becomes nothing but a speck in the wind!

One interesting take on this subject came from a blog I enjoy appropriately named Writing Fiction Blog. I have posted it on this site to share because I find it timely and a prime example of how many of us battle the time factor. I’m always open for ideas and suggestions and would encourage any from readers. Leave them in the comments area. In the meantime, it’s time to get on with writing!…CortlandWriter