Writing Toolbox

Writing Tool Box March 2020

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I wish I had found a vaccine for my toolbox this month. On day 16… or is it 17 of lockdown here in Italy and I’ve found it very difficult to concentrate. In fact, I’ve fallen off my writing stool completely. And this morning we woke to snow. I know it’s Spring but it seems that Mother Nature has a plan.

  • Learn a Language – Easy Italian News: I’m always trying to improve my Italian, which is difficult when we’re on lockdown. Listening is one of the elements I struggle with. This does what it says on the tin, is broadcast four times a week and is relatively short and topical.
  • Writing Competitions – Patsy Collins regularly posts about competitions, usually related to words – which is the theme of her blog. A very useful site. Remember to comment and let her know that you are there!
  • Feedback on Writing – Critique Circle – is a large community of writers of all genres. Amongst other resources and forums you can give and receive feedback on writing – it’s credit based so a very fair system.

Ciao for now…

JoAnna Lamb

Writing Toolbox

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Here are some of the things I’ve come across this month which are helping me on my writerly road.  A lot of them are to do with preparation of NaNo – have I mentioned that it starts very soon?

A name generator – I’m building an alternative world so looking for inspiration in all kinds of ways. Rangen will generate details for characters, worlds, names, magic… all sorts of stuff and is also a great source for procrastination. Beware!

A website – and oh so much more. One Stop For Writers is run by the creators of Emotional Thesaurus, which is also a must for your bookshelf! I’ve signed up for a month at 9 dollars to help me deepen my characters and world through their very detailed work space which is very intuitive. They have all sorts of ways to flesh out the three dimensional side which is so important for readers to connect with. One of the best subscriptions I’ve made I reckon.

A map and town generator – I know, I’m into my generators this month! But donjon is great fun and gives you some ideas for place names and characters. More procrastination *sigh* it’s a good job I’m not really into these online fantasy games or you would never see me!

And another generator, each of them gives something different. This one is called Medieval Fantasy Generator. Love the look of the maps, you can change the colours and everything. As a very visual person, this kind of thing really motivates me about my world building.

Let me know any tools or tricks or resources that have helped you in your writing.

 

 

Writing Tool Box

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It’s almost the end of the month and the start of Autumn, my favourite season. I love to snuggle down on the sofa with a good book, or film with the fire blazing – when the temperatures drop that is! Although it’s gone down by a good ten degrees or more, it’s still not quite cold enough to get the wood burner going. These are a few things I’ve put in my toolbox this month…

A Tool – The Enneagram Test is a really useful method to put more flesh on your characters. I have used Myers Briggs in the past as I used to be a practitioner in another life. This tool helps to define their flaws in a more defined way and something I tend to struggle with sometimes. Test it out on yourself, it can be very enlightening!

A Writing Challenge – National Write a Novel in a Month starts in November so there is still time to get planning your time if you are planning to have a go. This will be my 6th or is it 7th year to participate and I find the challenge so motivating that I’ve produced a guided journal (see last weeks post) for getting your first draft down, any time of the year 🙂

A Newsletter – I love writing prompts and quotes, so much so I post examples every week on my Instagram feed. The Writers Write newsletter, not only provides daily quotes and prompts, but also a post about writing, a daily comic, a daily word and writers born on this day. It only takes a second to read through which is also a great bonus.

A Programme – The Free Online Editor  – I’ve just come across this little beauty this last few days. I’ve been working hard on my Instagram account and for that you need quality images . If you blog you also need to be able to produces images that attract an already distracted audience. Being able to manipulate them in a professional way is key and this particular programme is free and online so you don’t have to download anything!

 

Writing Tool Box

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Here are some of the tools, articles, snippets I’ve come across this month which credit a mention, in my book at any rate…

A Cheat Sheet – do you struggle to describe body language, defaulting to the same old same old? Well this handy cheat sheet has to have a space in your resource file…

A Book – if you want even more help with describing emotions and how they affect your characters, The Emotional Thesaurus is a must for your book shelf. I’ve been using this a lot during the 2nd edit of Wolf Moon.

A List – of ideas for Facebook and Instagram Stories for Authors… apparently this is the way to go and this is a great checklist of things you can talk about for these short term posts.

A Tool– this article ‘How to Mind Map Your Novel‘ includes useful apps and software to achieve this but essentially all you need are pens and paper. I used this method to revise for exams, many years ago but hadn’t thought about using it for writing purposes!

Writing Tool Box

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Every month I share some of the resources I’ve come across and found useful… for one reason or another.

A Book: I mentioned the Morning Pages in last week’s blog, which features in The Artists Way by Julia Cameron. Definitely a must have for my book shelf. And it’s geared to all creative processes, not just writing.

A Website: If you write blogs and social media posts then having access to a professional library of images is essential. At Pixabay, you can find images to suit every post and most of them are free to download and use, but make sure you check first.

A Writing Community: This is a bit of a personal plug… if you are (or have been) an expat writer and want some support why not check out Writers Abroad? I set up this community over 10 years ago and we keep the numbers fairly small so that it’s a more intimate setting. We’re open for membership at the moment.

An App: If you are into travel and writing, Polarsteps might be just what you are looking for. I used if for our last trip to Scotland in May and produce an album as a keepsake. It’s very reasonably priced (the app is free but you pay for albums) and very professional. I’m so impressed I’m going to plot our Irish trip last year!

I’d love to hear if you have any recommendations!

 

 

Writing Tool Box: June Favourites

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# Digital Planner: Last month I put One Note in my tool box as I’ve migrated from a paper based organisation system. The only downside is that I really miss the actual process of handwriting! So I downloaded the Awesome Planner for Bujo/planning – and I can use a digital pen or type in so I have the best of both worlds – what’s not to like? 😎

# Polar Steps App- I’ve been away travelling in our camper for the past five weeks and a bit and I always love to record where we’ve been. It’s lovely to have something to look back on. With Polar Steps I can track exactly where we’ve been and produce a travel book to print with photo’s after the event! It’s so easy, especially as I make notes most days directly into the app.

# A Newsletter – I regularly cull my email newsletters, I get a bit trigger happy sometimes and then when my inbox becomes overwhelming I panic! However Cathy’s Comps and Calls is one which is a keeper; packed with information about writing competitions of all kinds. Something for everyone!

# Another Newsletter – if you are into writing short fiction, Pamela Casto’s Flash Fiction newsletter is a must. This popular form of writing is beginning to attract lots of opportunities for submissions