Free online workshop!

Publisher and editor Liz Pelletier (the lovely ed at Entangled that I got 'the call' from acquiring Busted in Bollywood) is running a free online workshop starting today at RWA Fantasy, Futuristic & Paranormal chapter.

WHY DID THAT EDITOR REJECT ME? will dissect sample submissions so you can see an editor's throught process, as well as a whole heap of other informative stuff!

More info here.

THE WRITE WHISPER: Tricks of the trade

These days, there are so many resources available for writers, it can be confusing.

What works?

What doesn't?

And what works for one person might be another person's version of personal hell?

Lately, I've been doing a glut of online courses (my personal favourite for learning new techniques...but that's another upcoming post entirely!) and during one of these courses, the use of recording data came up.

There are loads of fancy software programs out there (Writersblock, Powerstructure are examples) but what got me really interested was the use of spreadsheets.

Some people use them religiously for every book, plotting anything from word count per chapter, who appears in that chapter, to precise details like weapons used, animals, supporting characters, time, day, season, etc...)

Some use them as a rough plotting device while some use them while writing, filling in as they write the book (eg. at the end of each chapter) so that they can tell at a glance what has happened in their story and what needs to be filled in.

I've never used one but am intrigued.

For a mainstream book, I think I could be tempted, keeping track of all those extra characters and places and events...

Have you used anything like this with your writing?

Care to share?