Fun Writing Tools

I don’t know about you, but I love finding fun and funky stuff, not to mention when it helps with my writing, so I thought I would share a few I found here with you before the new year arrives. J  A while back, I read on a newly self-published author’s site what different things got her through the writing process of her book. She listed several online critique groups, articles, and books, but she also shared a link to a particular site called the EditMinion. It sounded kind of funky so I had to check it out. As it turned out, the site was built as a sort of personalized editor. You enter a chunk of text and check the boxes above for what types of thing you want it to look for and it shows you where you’re particular bit of text could use some help in those areas. I’m not very good at explaining it, so I won’t go into too much detail, but if nothing else, check it out. I find I have a lot of trouble figuring out when I’ve lapsed into a passive voice and the EditMinion pinpoints that as one of the things it looks for.

Also by the same creator of the EditMinion, is a program called Write or Die. It sounded a little extreme to be sure, but after I tried it out, it turned out to be kind of cool. The purpose of the program is to teach you to avoid writer’s block by using negative reinforcement. You select a time and/or word limit for which to follow and type until you exceeded one or the other. If you sit idle long enough, depending on which version you’re using (you may set the forgiveness and annoyance less of the punishment), the screen may start turning redder and redder, or start emitting irritating sounds. The free online version, which is the version I tried, only turns the screen darker shades of red until you start typing again. There’s also a kamikaze mode which sounds scary. It will start to erase what you’ve already written if you aren’t careful. Yikes! He he. J

Either way, these two tools were kind of fun to play around with. Check them out and see what you think. Or if you have some cool funky tools, share them below in the comments.

EditMinion                              Write or Die

Happy New Year’s everyone!!! ^^ :D

Merry Christmas 2012!!!

Merry Christmas everyone!!! I hope Santa brought everyone lots of great gifts, but more so, I hope everyone enjoyed spending time with their friends, family, and loved ones. ^^ This time of year is wonderful for getting together and reflecting back on the past year to look back at what we did well this year and to also figure out how we can do better next year. For a lot of people, this season can be a hard time, because they don’t have any family or friends to share with. If you know anyone that gets kind of down around the holidays, I would encourage you to give them a smile, or better yet, a hug, and wish them Merry Christmas. J Most times, it’s the small things that make our days brighter, so have a wonderful Christmas, and pass on that Holiday Spirit! ^^ :D

Merry Christmas!!!
 

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Blogfest

Welcome to the Hobbit Blogfest! I know I haven’t been around the blogosphere very much lately and I do apologize for that. Life and the holidays have been keeping me very busy lately. I hope you’re all doing well and staying safe this holiday season. J

 

 

Answering these four questions will transport us on an unexpected journey:

What is your favorite hobbit characteristic/or the one that you think closely resembles you . . .? 

I love how happy hobbits are! They enjoy life and from the looks of things, they know how to throw a super awesome party!

If you could choose between a scrumptious second breakfast and a perilous unexpected journey – which would you prefer?

A perilous unexpected journey of course! What better place to find a good story to write about! J

Have you ever left behind something on a journey (expected or unexpected) and wished you could have it over and over again? (A pocket handkerchief?)

Oh yes! My toothbrush!

What is your Favorite part or quote from the book that you hope will be in the movie?

The dinner party scene! “Chip the cups and crack the plates! That’s what Bilbo Baggins hates!”

As a kid I grew up listening to my dad reading The Hobbit to my brother and I at bedtime and watching the 1977 cartoon version by Rankin/Bass. One of my favorite things about the movie was the music. Enjoy! ^^ J

 

A big thank to Tyrean and Mary for hosting this bloghop! You guys are awesome!

 For a list of all the participants please visit here.

 

The Renaissance of Hetty Locklear Launch Party and Jousting Contest

Hear ye! Hear ye! Gentlemen and gentle ladies! Lads and lasses! Come and celebrate the release of Lady M.Pax's newest release and cheer on a noble knight in the jousting tournaments!

The Renaissance of Hetty Locklear

 

A New Adult Urban Fantasy, The Renaissance of Hetty Locklear is the first book in a new series. And it’s now out! The main character, Hetty, is a twenty-two-year-old, stumbling about in an effort to become a full-fledged adult. She struggles with self-esteem, weight, relationships, and making the transition between college and the real world.

 

 

Graduation from community college isn’t the magic elixir Hetty Locklear counts on for becoming an adult. Her parents, who work the Renaissance fair circuit, insist she spend part of the summer with them. Hetty doubts pretending to live in the Middle Ages will help her find her way.

 To make it worse, an entity haunts her at her dead-end job, warning her of a dangerous man she doesn’t know. The ghost leads her to a lover who has a lot of secrets. He pulls her farther into peril and into a strange, hidden world of genetic experimentation.

New Adult Urban Fantasy with a contemporary sci-fi twist. Mature content.

 

 

Available as an ebook at Amazon / Amazon UK / Smashwords / iTunes / Kobo

Visit www.mpaxauthor.com for more links.

 

 

M. Pax is celebrating her latest release with a jousting tournament and contest at www.mpaxauthor.com. Cheer for the knights to help them win the grand prize, and you’ll be put in a drawing to win an ebook copy of The Renaissance of Hetty Locklear. Five will be given away. Huzzah!

November IWSG

Hey everybody! Today is the first Wednesday of November so it must be that time again! J Since my last IWSG post, which was my first IWSG post, I’ve been getting back into the heart of my writing bit by bit and it’s great! I’ve also been reading a lot more writing articles as well which is kind of great, and at the same time, not so great. I’ve found a lot of great tips and techniques, but the more tricks I learn, the less I focus on moving my manuscript forward to stop and do tons of edits. Editing is a good and necessary thing, but I’ve found I really don’t make any forward progress when I switch out of my actual writing mode. I guess if I were to boil it down to one question I could ask my fellow IWSGers, I guess I would probably ask how do you go about your editing? Do you write out a chapter at a time and edit what you have? Or do you write the entire manuscript and then go back and edit?

If you're interested in joining IWSG, Alex Cavanaugh is the wonderful host and you can find his website here.

Happy writing everyone! ^^ :D

Happy Halloween!!!

Happy Halloween Everybody! I hope you all had lots of Halloween fun whether you went Trick-or-Treating, had a super awesome costume party, or just hung out with family. ^^ J I spent the evening with my family playing poker with rolls of nickels and dimes. I didn’t win very much, but it was lots of fun anyways. :D Do you have any spook-tacular traditions for Halloween?

October has been a busy month, but I’ve been working on a free read to make available soon. I’m hoping to have it up in the next couple weeks so we’ll see! ^^ Are you ready for November? Don’t forget that November is National Novel Writing Month!

Happy Halloween!!! ^^ :D