Tip for Tuesday - Save the Cat

Do you ever forget to finish up a thread in your story? I do.

Do you ever get confused about aspects of your characters? I do.

Do you ever get sidelined in your story? I do.

Well here's help. Check out this link to tools for writers. Save the Cat offers a quick outline to use for your story. It's directed toward script writers but it can work for any kind of story.

If you try it, let me know what you think of it.

Tip for Tuesday

Sometimes writers need a little inspiration and I got some this past weekend from a friend. She said that, when she's trying to imagine a home for her characters, she goes out and drives around different neighborhoods looking at houses. She finds one she can imagine her character living in and then takes a few notes to help her when she's plotting out her pages.

I thought this was a great idea. I might even use it the next time I'm trying to create a setting for my character.

Do you have any ideas like this that you use when you write? Please share your inspiration in the comments section.

Tip for Tuesday - Writing Related - Word Tips

As writers, we all have to move paragraphs now and then. Sometimes we decide to have someone say something sooner or later and set a scene before the dialogue - whatever.

Here's one way to move a paragraph quickly, all you have to do is follow these simple steps:

1. Highlight the paragraph you want to move by triple clicking on it-this "blocks" it.
2. Position the cursor in the "blocked" paragraph you want to move.
2. While holding down the Shift and Alt keys, press the Up Arrow or Down Arrow to move the paragraph.

WAH-LAH, EZ-Smeazy way to move text around.

Tip for Tuesday - Writing Related

We all get confused by word usage some times or is that sometimes . . . ?

Here are some A to Z's of Writing Words or maybe the A to E's - beginning with "A"

Accept, except

Accept is to agree
Except is to leave out

Advice, advise

Advice is a noun and means a recommendation
Advise is a verb that means to give advice

Affect, effect

Affect is a verb that means "to cause a change in" or "influence" (however, it's a noun in psychology which means "emotional impact"
Effect as a noun means "result or conclusion" as a verb effect is to "bring about".

Hope these tips are helpful to some of you writers out there.

Tip for Tuesday: Writing Related- (P squared)

Find Your Passion and Be Persistent!

It's as simple as that.

And as hard as that.

People search, sometimes a lifetime, to find the one thing that sets their soul on fire.

If you already know you love to write, you're way ahead in the game.

Then you've got to send out your work, whether it's to a magazine, a newspaper, or a book publisher, it doesn't matter. Just send it out-of course you'll have to figure out which one is appropriate. But then, and this is the BIG important part of the tip, be persistent.

It's like one of those cheers from the high school drill team:

B.E. P.E.R.S.I.S.T.E.N.T.

It's like Rose said in Titantic, "I'll never let go."

Of my dreams.

And don't you let go either. We all need to hold on to our dreams.