Drawing from the Well
Queries Sent: 0
Total Queries: 19
Rejections: 3
Scenes Mapped: 11
Total Scenes: 263
I got another rejection yesterday. It happens. At least it wasn’t a form letter, though; it did read as personalized. Just part of the process.
As to the writing aspect (that would be a great name for a website), I hit my stride yesterday! I mapped out a strong chapter I’m excited to write and then worked on its aftermath. I think I’ve got a good rhythm now for mapping out scenes. I know; after over 250 scenes you would think I had figured out the rhythm. Authors are a stubborn bunch. Anyway, I’ve got a good rhythm now so I’m hoping that will continue to translate into more scenes per day. I’ve got a strong set of scenes planned so there should be much less “think-work” than I’ve needed in the past.
Plus I figured out a REALLY cool seed further into the series that will play into the series climax. It’s gonna be great.
Filling the Well
1984: 59%
Bloodwitch: 4%
Still no progress here, but I’ve got a good reason:
Polishing the Well
The local movie theater has Flashback Cinema twice a week. So last night my son asked if we could go see Monty Python and the Holy Grail. How could I refuse? Before last night I had never actually seen the whole thing through. Unfortunately, it wasn’t as funny to me as it is to most. Couldn’t tell you why. I totally see why it is one of the most quotable cult classics of all time, though.
Well Chat
Miscellaneous Features of yWriter
We’ve covered a lot of stuff the last week and even a lot the last two days as we’ve delved into yWriter. Today, I’ll close off that discussion with a few final features that I think are simply great in yWriter.
First off, on top of saving your project file, you can create a full backup as well. This is stored in a separate folder of your choice and is a great option for preventing catastrophic loss of project. It’s as easy as following the menu options shown in the image above.
You can also create a writing worksheet to hold yourself accountable for the day’s writing. I’ve never used it because my first foray into yWriter was for editing and the second is essentially a deep outline. When I get to writing, if I have full days for writing, I may use this. Self-accountability is itself a double-edged sword (I’ve talked about self-forgiveness before).
Then there is the Problem Words utility. This is pre-built with many common words as you can see here. You can also define your own problem words and analyze their use as well. This is a powerful tool for editing to trim down on over used words.
You can also see the number of times you used each unique word in your manuscript. This is from the second-half edit of my first book. Interesting stuff huh? This can also be used to detect new problem words.
Lastly you have your daily progress. This is logged every time you log into your manuscript. Again, this is from my second-half edit of Book One, that’s why most of the numbers are negative. This can help you plot how your doing, act as inspiration for working harder, or identify problem areas.
That’s all I have for yWriter. I have started looking at a new utility that is strongest for editing but can also be used for writing and planning. We’ll talk about that tomorrow.
May the tide carry you to safer shores.
BSG