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I finished the manuscript!

I did it! After two years—an ignominious record for me—I finally, finally, finally finished my latest manuscript. It was a challenge for so many reasons (end of a series, start of a new series, the pandemic, my adult kids coming and going for months at a time, elections, my husband working from home, me getting increasingly worried that I’d lost my ability to finish a book), but the first draft is D-O-N-E.

What a relief!

The best thing about having it done, besides restoring my confidence that I can actually finish a 75000-word book, is that I learned a lot about my writing process and how my brain works.

I had already planned to pay more attention to what worked for me while writing this book, and sometimes my experiments failed, which slowed me down. I’m also a heavy thinker, and my instinct is to sit and think about the book a lot. Turns out, that’s not the best practice for me.

In case you’re curious, here’s what does work for me:

  • Commit to 2-4 hours of time in the manuscript each writing day (even if I just end up writing about the writing, or doing research I need to move forward)
  • Wear headphones. Even if I have nothing playing, it’s creates a virtual cone of space around me that helps me get into the zone. I often work best with one song playing on repeat that kind of sets a mood and isn’t too intrusive, but neural beats or rain sounds work too.
  • Asking questions about whatever I’m stuck on (what should come next, how to resolve a situation, the villain’s motivation), and writing answers until something sparks. I’ve found this works even better with a large pad of drawing paper—a white board would also be great if I had the space—and colorful Sharpies.
  • Write some backstory, or just free-write thoughts about the manuscript and what’s going on. Writing begets writing. (And in my case, also triggers revisionist thoughts that help make the story better and move it forward.)
  • If stuck and writing about it hasn’t produced an answer yet, meditate, take a short nap, or go for a walk. Ask the questions before bed, in writing or out loud, and ponder them while falling asleep, or just after waking up.

I don’t think you should take that list as a prescription for your own writing. More as motivation to figure out your own best practices. If you already know, I’d love to hear about it!

Also, if you’re looking for the perfect gift for the writer in your life, The Emotion Thesaurus is hands-down the reference book I use the most while writing. It gives me ideas for how to describe the emotion someone is feeling or displaying. What it feels like, where they feel it in the body, and how it manifests physically.

If I could only have one writing book, it would be this one.

I hope your own writing is going well. Have a wonderful holiday!!

My only intermediate Scrivener course

Have you been looking for a Scrivener class that covers all the fun features like color coding, using the Corkboard, tracking versions, adding comments, and more?

Then next week’s webinar is for you!

The Scrivener 3 Next-Level webinar is my only intermediate-level course. In it, you’ll learn how to:

  • Format your documents
  • View files side by side (great for research!)
  • Block out distractions
  • Mark specific text for follow-up
  • Store links to web pages and files
  • Color code your documents
  • Customize file icons
  • Track word count & set deadlines
  • Split & merge documents
  • Use Styles
  • Store versions of documents
  • Customize the toolbar
  • Save frequently used searches as Collections
  • Create your own project templates
  • Set up a series bible
  • Compile a DOCX

Sound good? Click one of the buttons below to sign up now.

I’ve decided to leave the replay up through the end of 2022, so if you can’t attend live, no worries!

Need more details?

WHAT: Scrivener 3 Next-Level ($99)

WHEN: December 7th (Mac) or December 8th (Windows) at 10am PST

WHERE: Zoom (video replay and handout included)

The live class will run about 90 minutes and will include an opportunity to ask questions. (If you can’t attend live, you can submit your question ahead of time.)

If you’re looking for a gift for yourself this holiday season, consider leveling up your Scrivener skills. 🙂

Jump-Start Webinars are this week

QUICK REMINDER: If you wanted in on the Scrivener 3 Jump-Start webinar, sign up now. The Mac session is on Wednesday, and Windows is on Thursday!

Remember, if you can’t make it live, the replay will be available for 14 days after the event.

The Jump-Start is right for you if you’re still struggling to wrap your head around Scrivener, you’re using it—but aren’t very confident—or you feel like maybe you missed the key basics along the way.

Click a button above to learn more or sign up today. I hope to see you Wednesday or Thursday!

New Scrivener webinars

Exciting news! Over the next few months I’m launching a series of webinars to help you get better at Scrivener.

Each one is designed to take you from confused to comfortable—or comfortable to super-user, if that’s more your speed—in about an hour.

There’s no third-party group to join or give your information to; it’s just me.

Here’s the lineup:

Scrivener 3 for Mac

  • Jump-Start, Wednesday, November 16, 10am PT
  • Next-Level, Wednesday, December 7, 10am PT
  • Compile Ready, Wednesday, January 11, 10am PT

Scrivener 3 for Windows

  • Jump-Start, Thursday, November 17, 10am PT
  • Next-Level, Thursday, December 8, 10am PT
  • Compile Ready, Thursday, January 12, 10am PT

Each Zoom-based webinar includes:

  • 60-90 minutes of instruction, plus I’ll stick around for questions.
  • Access to the recording for 14 days after the event. So if you can’t make it live, or you want to review, no problem.
  • A handy cheat sheet.

Scrivener 3 Jump-Start ($99)

Slingshot up the learning curve with this webinar that will teach you what you need to start using Scrivener—or feel more comfortable with it—immediately. Are you barely getting by with Scrivener? Did you try to use Scrivener but found it overwhelming?

I can get you from cautious to comfortable. Whether you’re a plotter or a seat-of-the-pants writer, Scrivener can work for you. Give me about an hour and I’ll show you how.

Scrivener 3 Next-Level ($99)

Level up your Scrivener skills with all the fun bells and whistles and shiny features to keep you organized, track your word count, manage multiple storylines or points-of-view, keep research at your fingertips, and more. Whether you plot, or not, you’ll learn all the tips and tricks to customize Scrivener for your unique writing process.

Scrivener 3 Compile Ready ($129)

Learn how to export your Scrivener manuscript as a Word document, ebook, or PDF for print-on-demand. Whether you’re unpublished, traditionally published, or self-published, it’s good to know how to get your work out of Scrivener and into a nicely formatted file.

This webinar will teach you to create professionally formatted files for agents, editors, readers, and retailers.

Click a button below to view the available webinars and learn more.

I hope to see you on Zoom!

Frequently Asked Questions

Book rec for writers: The Heroine’s Journey

I’m not a plotter, but I still find it useful to study story structure and the craft of writing.

My latest foray into structure is The Heroine’s Journey by Gail Carriger. It’s an important counterpoint to the “hero’s journey” approach, and it’s not just for stories about or by women. Written in Carriger’s snarky, irreverent voice, it identifies the key elements of the heroine’s journey, gives examples of its uses in both myth and (some very) popular fiction/media, and discusses how to incorporate it into your own work.

Have you read it? If so, what'd you think? Do you find books on story structure helpful?