The Confabulator Cafe

Tag: tools

  • My digital reference shelf

    Pile of books
    By Jhodson (Own work) CC-BY-SA-3.0 (www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0) or GFDL (www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html), via Wikimedia Commons

    When I was in college — this was back in the Dark Ages, before the Internet — my desk had several reference books I would turn to in times of need. Not surprisingly, I had a dictionary and thesaurus, as well as a worn copy of Strunk & White’s Elements of Style. At one point, I also had a Latin dictionary so I could pepper my scholarly papers with pretentious-sounding phrases.

    These days, the Web offers writers a number of reference tools for writing and blogging. Of course, Google and Wikipedia are my go-to jumping-off points when searching for information.

    I keep several bookmarked for repeated use. Depending on your needs, some of these tools may appeal to you.

    • Merriam-Webster Dictionary and Thesaurus — Merriam-Webster is my go-to source for double-checking my spelling and word choices.
    • OneLook Dictionary — This online dictionary has some added tools. You can search using wildcards (great for finding words that rhyme) or use the reverse lookup using a definition to find a word.
    • Grammar Girl’s Quick and Dirty Tips — Not a reference book, per se, but a great site for solving arguments about grammar and style. While I don’t always agree with her conclusions, nine out of 10 times, she is able to give a definitive answer to those annoying little grammar rules (like when to use “lay” vs “lie”).
    • AP Stylebook Online — If you need a good style manual, I recommend Associated Press. The online version is constantly updated, so it’s worth getting a subscription.
    • Wikimedia Commons — If you’re looking for media (images, video, sounds) that you can use without paying for them, check out this source. Wikimedia Commons includes royalty-free and public domain media.

    Of course, the best thing about the Internet is a never-ending supply of inspiration. From news to history to discussion threads (like this one about “glitch in the Matrix” stories), there is no shortage of great ideas to jumpstart a writer’s creativity.

  • The Work Standard

    Music and whiskey are the secret secrets, folks. Music and whiskey
    My NaNo Workspace in 2011

    You’d think that writing would consist of only a pen or pencil and paper or butt in chair and fingers on keyboard. It’s a  little more than that, sometimes and every writer that works on a computer has his favorite piece of software or favorite kind of pen. We all have rituals and peccadilloes that help us get into the Zone, where all the best writing happens. We use physical tools to trigger the necessary mental state.

    Yeah, it’s weird. Stay with me, though.

    (more…)

  • It’s me, with the blue laptop, in the coffee shop

    I may or may not have bought it just because it's blue

    I write with Professor Plum in the drawing room with the candlestick.

    Erm. Wait. That’s Clue. We’re talking about writing.

    Most of my writing happens on some computer or another. The only time I write by hand anymore is when I am jolted out of a dead sleep with a story idea and I’m too dazed to figure out how to work a computer. Sometimes I’ll turn on a lamp, but usually I use the flashlight and notepad I keep by my bed for just such occasions.

    I have a behemoth of a Dell desktop computer that sits steadfastly in my apartment and allows me to write when I’m home. I also have a pretty blue Dell laptop for write-ins and coffee shop visits. This particular laptop was purchased not for its memory, processing power, graphics card, or storage (all sub-par to a computer geek) but because it had the most comfortable keyboard. I bought and returned two different laptops before settling on this one because it was the only one I liked to type on. And did I mention it’s blue?

    I suffer from severe beverage abuse when I write. If I’m writing at a coffee shop, I’ve more than likely consumed at least one espresso drink (or possibly a magnificent chai latte from our favorite real-life café: Mirth). In the evenings at home, I am never without a glass of red wine by my side. It loosens the inhibitions enough for me to let go and just write.

    I mostly write at night. I have to. My creative juices never seem to start flowing until after the sun goes down. But it also has to do with my day job. Oh yes, the dreaded day job that most writers have to have. I work all day, do my extra curriculars after I get off work, come home and eat dinner, and then I have a small window of time before sleep in which to write. Sometimes two hours. Sometimes only one if I want to read before bed.

    It’s not enough, but I work with what I’ve got and make up for it on inspired weekends.

    With all of these various elements, perhaps one should invent a writer’s version of Clue in which the player discovers where, when, and with what the author is writing.

    It was Stephen King in the Library with the AlphaSmart.

    Hmm. Nope. Doesn’t quite have the same ring to it. I think I’ll stick to writing and leave the game invention to the experts.

  • The write tools

    Scrivener screens
    Screenshots of Scrivener in action. Copyright © 2005–2012 Literature & Latte Ltd. All rights reserved.

    Some writers have a special place to write. Others have a special time of the day. For me, the key to writing is technology.

    For the past 20+ years, I’ve used Microsoft Word for all my writing. But this November that changed. For National Novel Writing Month, I decided to test drive Scrivener — one of the sponsors of NaNoWriMo.

    Scrivener is described as a “complete writing studio.” It’s more than a word processor. It’s a writer’s office in virtual form.

    (more…)

  • What tools do you use? What’s your writing routine? (Week of 16 January 2012)

    In a place as diverse as the Confabulator Cafe, you’ll discover a wide range of things on each table as you pass through with your latte. Whether using a PC or Mac the writers type away in any number of word processors or software programs while creating their novels. There are even a couple of Confabulators who have written their novels completely on paper. Most of us take notes on paper whenever inspiration strikes and that’s just as wide a variety of pens, pencils and paper and napkins, too. (The napkins in the Cafe are heavy, 8″x 8″ luncheon napkins, by the way. We spare no expense because ideas have to be captured. There’s also a cup of pens on each table, usually left by previous patrons.)

    So this week, you’ll find what our bloggers prefer to use to write. What may be most revealing is that some of us change, some of us don’t. Routine is just as important as what tools are used. Everyone has his own way of doing things and that’s just how we like it around here. Never mind that sound of crashing cups, saucers and plates. It’s all part of the atmosphere.