#writingcraft: Beginning Again

I know. It’s December, the month of a zillion holidays, events, and headaches. Yet, yes, I am beginning again. It was in September of 2014 when I had my crude draft done on my first novel, my only novel so far — maybe my only one ever. I tried several times to get into that folder to start the process of editing, only to shake my head and close the folder again.

Of course, I thought I had lost it for a year, which could have had something to do with my reluctance. Still, let’s face it, that wouldn’t account for all three years of procrastination.

Then, two weeks ago, I began reworking the character profiles of this story. I already knew my characters were flat, which also may have been one of the excuses as to why I couldn’t get myself motivated for editing. Although I had given them flaws, none of them was the caliber to enhance the characters into more the three-dimensional figures I want them to be. Seeing that my story is character-driven, this must be rectified. I’ll be looking at the long list on Writers Write as soon as I have other parts of them altered.

I also want to beef up my settings for each scene. Some writers are saying not to put too much into environments because it distracts from the story but the books I have enjoyed have fully explained the settings as the scene opens, giving me “a lay of the land” so I can get more into the characters.

The story, itself, will stay the same, although I want to amplify the story that is within the main story. Right now it seems to be acting more as an afterthought or a small addition, which is what I definitely don’t want. This second story defines who the protagonist is, why she is the way she is, and how it affects her inner growth. A little snip here and there just isn’t going to get the job done.

Yes, the rewrite must be done.

In order to do this, I decided to use a different software program. I had been using yWriter. Don’t get me wrong. This program is fine for basic story writing, especially if you are like me and feel you need some basic guidelines. However, I need something more for the preliminary work and actually slightly less for the writing of the story, itself.

I know Scrivener is known as one of the top programs for writers but it also costs $45US. Although that isn’t a lot to spend, I just cannot afford it. Besides, from what I’ve read, it’s just a better version of yWriter.

While scouting for a software program that would fit my needs and didn’t have a cost attached to it, I came across bibisco. It has what I needed, which was quite a shocker for me. It has all sorts of helps for writing character profiles and world building. It has a place where you can write strands upon strands of narrative. Within the same section, you can figure out your summary of the story and its premise. Plus it has a section to help with editing.

Those who have some books under their belts probably wouldn’t need anything like this software. However, people like me who have story ideas but are scared out of their wits need a program that soothes the chaos going on in their heads. Bibisco does this for me. I’m sure others prefer some of the other software out there and that’s fine too.

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Anyway, I am feeling the motivation I have been lacking for some time now. 😀

Do you use a software program for your writing? Or do you use spreadsheets and text programs? Or are you one of those who uses paper and pen/pencil?

“And by the way, everything in life is writable about if you have the outgoing guts to do it, and the imagination to improvise. The worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt.”
― Sylvia Plath, The Unabridged Journals of Sylvia Plath