Quick Tip: Search and Highlight in Word

On Monday (okay, it was Tuesday--my Internet was down on Monday), I shared some common editing foibles, including the use of words such as "just," "usually" and "very." Here's a quick Word tip to help you see if you have a problem with overusing these types of words:

1. Click on Find. (In Word 2007, this is located at the very right of your Home tab).
2. Enter the word or phrase you're looking for. 
3. Click on "Reading Highlight" (at the bottom of the Find and Replace box) and then "Highlight All" from the drop-down box. Word will highlight all the incidences of the chosen word AND tell you how many times you've used it.
4. Now you can use the "Find Next" button to move to find and delete or replace the overused word.

This technique works well with finding adverbs too. Type LY in the Find box, and then go through your adverbs and decide which ones you can delete or replace.

Links Tent: Editing Helpers

Here are some resources that will help you edit your writing:

Ask.Oxford.com has a whole "Better Writing" section on their website, including spelling and grammar tips. Do you ever use "adverse" instead of "averse"? (*See note below). Or are unsure if you should write "effect" or "affect"? Check out their commonly confused words page.

Cliché Finder will help you find just the right cliché...or search using keywords to make sure what you've written isn't a cliché. If you're a word geek looking for a time waster, you can also generate ten random clichés.

Writers Free Reference has a wealth of useful links on their site, including sections on grammar and common errors.

Purdue University's Online Writing Lab (OWL) offers over 200 free resources including style guides, grammar and mechanics and even a Grammar Blog. There is also a section devoted to Workplace Writing and Creative Writing (see the navigation links on the right).


**Note: I know that in my post yesterday I wrote "PITQ: punctuation in the quotation marks. Always." Well, there's always an exception to the rules, and this is an example one. Question marks only go inside the quotation marks when they are part of the quote, so the closing mark in this case belongs on the outside. I was trying to simplify things. Most of the time, you'll find even question marks inside the quotation marks.

Editing Tips

I've been doing a lot of editing over the last week or so, and have found some common mistakes in not just my writing, but that of others. I thought I'd share a few simple rules that I've repeatedly seen broken.

• Keep it simple. Don't use four words, or even three, when two will do. And don't use 12 letters when 5 will do. Big words don't impress anyone, except perhaps the people who publish dictionaries and the judges of grade three spelling bees. 
• Get rid of qualifiers. Actually, really, sort of, very, just (that's my big one) do nothing to improve your writing. 
• Get rid of all--or at least most--of your adverbs. You know, those pesky "-ly" words. Use a stronger verb instead. Not "she said haltingly," but "she stammered."
• Get rid of most of the adjectives. Used sparingly, adjectives can add rich details to your prose, but piling them on will lessen the impact of your description.
  

And a few bonus proofreading tips:

• PITQ: Punctuation inside the quotation marks. Always.
• You're all right, not alright. Always.
• It's till, not 'til. Till is a perfectly good word (as is until), but 'til is just plain old-fashioned.
  

Quick Tip: Brainstorming

The other day, a couple of my freelance writing friends and I got together online to brainstorm ideas and markets. I brought two ideas to the table and left with a pageful of notes, mostly spins on those same two ideas and potential markets for them.

Why not do the same with your fiction writing? Try getting together online, by phone or in person with a friend or two and brainstorm new story ideas, plot twists or solutions to problems.

Links Tent: Speaking of Writing Groups...

In my last post, I wrote about the importance of a writing group for even a beginner writer. If you don't belong to a local group--or even if you do--check out these useful online writing communities.

Stop by the Absolute Write Water Cooler. Whether you write novels, scripts, poetry or non-fiction, Absolute Write has a forum for you. Read about other people's experiences with an agent you're considering, find a critique partner or share freelance writing markets.

Querytracker.net's community also includes lots of information about writing, agents and getting published. There's a whole section devoted to critiques: the first five pages of your novel, your query letter and your synopsis. Be sure to check out the World's Worst [fictitious] Query Letters forum for a sampling of what not to do in your query letter.

Writer's Digest and The Writer magazines have useful online writing communities as well. In addition to "the usual" types of forums, Writer's Digest includes the Writer's Block Party and Success Stories, while The Writer has a forum for Unpublished Writers and an online Book Club.

Women on Writing lists several critique groups and writing organizations as well as lots of other resources and information. Take a look around their site.

If you have a favourite online writing community I haven't mentioned, please leave a comment and I'll add it to the list.

The 5 Cs of Writing Groups...+1

I finally made it out to one of my creative writing group meetings yesterday, and was reminded of all the reasons why I joined the group to begin with. I think it's easy for professional writers to see why they need a group or association—networking, resources, etc. But what about before becoming a professional writer? Here are the five top reasons I joined a creative writing group a few years ago.

A Commitment to my writing. Even though I am a disciplined person, I have five children and it is easy for my commitments to them to completely fill my every moment. Joining the group kept my writing in the forefront. If you are a less disciplined person, the group can help you stay focused. You’ll want to bring something to read to every meeting and you’ll probably begin announcing your goals—and then you’ll work hard to accomplish them.

A Challenge to grow as a writer. When another writer finished her novel, it motivated me to finish mine. I started doubling my targeted word count each week. If she could do it, so could I. It was as simple as that. You might also challenge yourself to try a new genre or a new form of writing, or simply to put your work out there.

A Community of writers. My husband is supportive of my writing, but if I told him I slept with my characters, he’d look at me like I had two heads. (For the record, I do not). He, like many non-writers, just doesn't get the process. It’s freeing to admit that I dream about my characters and have others tell me they do too.

A Cheering section. The writers in my group understand how disappointing a rejection can be, and they battle their inner critics too. We offer each other ideas, encouragement and support. And when that fails, I just need to look around the room to see an inspiring group of people who manage to write despite full time jobs, children and chronic illness.

A Coaching circle. Our group has members who write in various genres, both fiction and non-fiction, with varying degrees of experience and success. Some have been published, some have books to their credit, and others are beginners. But all of us have knowledge to share. The newcomer might have tips from a workshop, the veteran a contact.

There's one more reason to join a writing group, the +1 that I mentioned, but it's not a regular part of my group and I've turned elsewhere to find it.

Critique. Encouragement and praise can keep us going when we're writing, but critique will get us published. We need to know what's not working in a piece of writing, and we're often too close to our projects to see for ourselves. I have a wonderful critique partner who isn't afraid to tell me when my characters are immature or too angry, when a scene is weak, or when something is missing. I value her opinions, especially when they're hard to hear, because they make my stories richer.

Quick Tip: Do Less

I've been running on fumes lately and have had a tough time getting motivated. So, this morning, instead of trying to get anything done, I met some writing friends for breakfast, and then headed off to my daughter's school for an absolutely fabulous Thanksgiving feast. Filled with turkey, stuffing, the best potato salad I've ever tasted and a decadent eclair, I returned home to, well, do nothing. I read a bit, played Snakes & Ladders with my youngest son, knit a few rows (I picked up a knitting project again after bragging the other day that I do nothing but write. Guess I'll have to rewrite that post now!) ... In other words, I relaxed. Not something I do nearly enough of.

And now ... I feel refreshed and ready to tackle the next batch of queries, the rejection in the inbox and the rush article that's waiting on my desk, not to mention preparations for our big Thanksgiving feast, complete with the typical ridiculous assortment of desserts. Sometimes by doing less, we find the energy and motivation to do more.

Links Tent: Time Savers

Here are a few free tools that will save you time.

PDF Tools:

• PDF 995 allows you to easily convert your Word files to PDF files by clicking on your "print" command. A companion product, PDFEdit 995, allows you to combine PDF files or extract pages from a PDF. Both products are free, but sponsor pages will display when you use them. You can also purchase a key if you would prefer to not see the sponsor pages.
• PDF to Word converts your existing PDF files to Word or RTF files.

Time Tools:

• Online Stop-watch offers an online stopwatch and timer. You can keep track of how long you are spending on a project, or set the timer to ring when it's time to move on to something else (or collect the kids from the bus stop).
• Google Calendar allows you to create several calendars to manage all the rings in your circus, assign each of them a different colour, and then view them separately or all together. You can share part or all of a calendar with others and you can easily set up events from your messages in Gmail. 

Timelines/Days in History:

• Josh Hosler presents The #1 Song on Billboard on this Date in History.  
• WhoWhatWhen will display a timeline of events that occurred in a fictional character's or actual person's life from 1000AD to the present. 
• Any-Day-in-History lists the major births, deaths and events of any given day. On this day (October 7th) in 1950, the NY Yankees swept the Philadelphia Phillies in the 47th World Series, and in 1985, Lynette Woodward was chosen as the first woman on the Harlem Globetrotters.
• Writer's Dream Tools includes Today in History and History by Decades at no charge. Other databases, including clichés, slang and quotes are available with a one-time subscription fee.

Words, Words, Everywhere There's Words:

• Reverse Dictionary lets you plug in the definition, and it will tell you the word you need.
• Dictionary.com includes an online dictionary, thesaurus, encyclopedia and translator.
  

No More Excuses

Like everyone, I'm busy. On any given day I can be found knee-deep in paint and plaster (literally, unfortunately and embarrassingly), tied up with my kids (figuratively--thankfully) or chasing an uninvited squirrel or bird around my house. I have dozens of reasons for not spending more time writing. But I don't let that stop me.

I treat the freelance end of things like a job and put in the hours every week--writing, research, querying, digging up new markets--through rejection, discouragement and frustration. No excuses.

I'm more flexible with my fiction writing, but I still make time to write every day. When my hands are busy but my brain is not--when I'm vacuuming or folding laundry, for example--I write in my head. That way, when I have a free moment to put pen to paper, I always have something to say.

I figure I have two choices: I can make time to write, or I can make excuses not to. So I make time to write.  I don't go out often, I don't watch much (if any) TV, I don't surf You Tube, I don't pursue a bunch of hobbies. I've even cut back on my volunteer commitments. Instead, I write.

So that's my big secret, how I manage to fit my writing life into my busy home life. 

Don't make excuses. Make time to write. It's much more rewarding.

Friday Quick Tip: Google Reader

The blogs I list to the right are not the only blogs I follow, they're just some of the best ones--the ones that offer good information and advice on a regular basis. Others only have new posts once in a while (but those posts are worth the wait), some only have relevant (to me) information occasionally, some are friend's blogs, and so on.

I don't have a lot of time, and I definitely don't have time to waste sifting through blogs to see if there's any new information on them. Which is where Google Reader comes in.

If you're looking for a technical explanation of what Google Reader is, well, you're in the wrong place. Basically, Google Reader provides you with a list of new posts for the blogs you subscribe to. Then you can quickly skim through the posts, label the ones you want to easily find again, and discard the rest.

You can also receive news feeds from your favourite news sites in the same fashion. Just look for the "RSS Feed" button or a "subscribe to" link. You'll then be able to choose which feeder you want to subscribe with, and you're done.

You can even add Google Reader to your iGoogle page, making it faster and simpler to keep up with your favourite blogs.

If you're not yet sold, take a tour of Google Reader and try it out. And for more information about RSS, check out the What is RSS? RSS Explained site.