8 replies to this topic

[nadinbrzezinski]

well, finally went back to a piece I have been working on for a while

This is a short story set in a future world after the end of the age of oil, and it is quite dystopic

But that is not the point.

This is around 4K words... and today, after three weeks of not looking at it, or even thinking about it, I went back and edited it

You'd be surprised how that fresh set of eyes helped in the editing process

It is not ready yet to go to market. It probably needs a couple more passes, which means another two months, but that will make it a stronger piece.

And yes, that is the way things get better. Oh and remember, rumor has it Heminway edited the last chapter of "For Whom the Bell Tolls" thirty five times.

So chin up, writing IS rewriting!

Oh and a note on software... for revisions I now use neo office... it is strong at tracking changes, and for the mac it is free... look at open office for you win or linux based writers... and yes as long as storyist, or the rest of my other writing programs don't have it... I will use Neo... and pages implementation of tracking changes is weak at best

[Isaac]

nadinbrzezinski, on Jun 25 2008, 10:55 PM, said:

You'd be surprised how that fresh set of eyes helped in the editing process

Since you're in the editing mood. . .

I seem to have lost the interest of my proof reader. Want a job? Sure, it pays nothing, the benefits are non-existent, and the boss is a slave driver, but it helps to pass the time.

nadinbrzezinski, on Jun 25 2008, 10:55 PM, said:

Oh and a note on software... for revisions I now use neo office... it is strong at tracking changes, and for the mac it is free... look at open office for you win or linux based writers... and yes as long as storyist, or the rest of my other writing programs don't have it... I will use Neo... and pages implementation of tracking changes is weak at best

Is that a feature request? It would be nice to be able to track changes so I don't have to do it all in my head, but I find it more inconvenient to convert to another tool, so I'll wait.

IF

[nadinbrzezinski]

Isaac, on Jun 26 2008, 07:27 PM, said:

Since you're in the editing mood. . .

I seem to have lost the interest of my proof reader. Want a job? Sure, it pays nothing, the benefits are non-existent, and the boss is a slave driver, but it helps to pass the time.



Is that a feature request? It would be nice to be able to track changes so I don't have to do it all in my head, but I find it more inconvenient to convert to another tool, so I'll wait.

IF

It has been a feature request for many a specialized writing program

Since it is not available I use NeoOffice, which will read in almost any format out there

And no, storyst does not do it, scrivener does not do it, storymill does not do it, but neo office does, and it is FREE. Hell, it even has my other feature request... bookmarks
which for whatever reason it is not considered important either


Hey, you could spring for either Word, which I may install using crossover, or pages, whose implementation sucks

As to editing your work... no thank you, but I will say this again, writing is rewriting

Hey I can even copy and paste if need be...

[Thoth]

Revision tracking, bookmarks, timelines (remember them?), series notes -- I wonder if Steve could give us a feel for the timeframe we're looking at (especially for bookmarks ).

Yes Steve, Storyist is a labor of love and love is eternal (labor).
-Thoth.

P.S. Nadin, it's probably worth pointing out that Ernest Hemingway committed suicide. Did his extensive revisions have anything to do with that? Maybe. It sure drives me crazy. More interesting though is that he did in fact publish several novels after his death.

[nadinbrzezinski]

Thoth, on Jun 27 2008, 03:30 AM, said:

Revision tracking, bookmarks, timelines (remember them?), series notes -- I wonder if Steve could give us a feel for the timeframe we're looking at (especially for bookmarks ).

Yes Steve, Storyist is a labor of love and love is eternal (labor).
-Thoth.

P.S. Nadin, it's probably worth pointing out that Ernest Hemingway committed suicide. Did his extensive revisions have anything to do with that? Maybe. It sure drives me crazy. More interesting though is that he did in fact publish several novels after his death.

Yes I could point that out... ah yes a nice shotgun... to be precise

As to a time line for those things... can't wait for them, so using what I have in my machine to do what I need to do

And I use programs as the mood strikes me... right now using storymill

Next week probably storyist

And I know that when I start my next RPG book, that will be scriv

and yes I wish LSB (shhh a windows program) behaved under cross over far better than it does... which is NOT very well

Then again I may surrender and install windows on this machine (there is a mapping program you see that will not run on cross over, no way, no how... not that it runs well on Vista either)... so I may just install it on this machine, which means parallels and probably that windows program....

Did I mention I can designate an OUTSIDE editor that will have a bookmark and tracking changes? That might be a solution for Steve... use an outside editor that already does that.


Oh and steve, here is that dreaded windows program...

http://www.blackobelisksoftware.com/

Yep, there are good things done over in the evil side.


Oh and it also does timelines.. but believe it or not, those are better implemented in ... storymill

[Steve]

Thoth, on Jun 26 2008, 08:30 PM, said:

Revision tracking, bookmarks, timelines (remember them?), series notes -- I wonder if Steve could give us a feel for the timeframe we're looking at (especially for bookmarks ).

I generally don't like to do that because

• I hope people make their purchasing decisions based on what Storyist does and not on what it will (or even might) do.
  
• I don't want to disappoint folks if the timeframes change.

-Steve

[Steve]

Hi Nadin,

Thanks for the links and the suggestions.

-Steve

[Steve]

nadinbrzezinski, on Jun 25 2008, 09:55 PM, said:

Oh and a note on software... for revisions I now use neo office... it is strong at tracking changes, and for the mac it is free... look at open office for you win or linux based writers... and yes as long as storyist, or the rest of my other writing programs don't have it... I will use Neo... and pages implementation of tracking changes is weak at best

Storyist 1.4 and later can export .odt files (on Leopard), so this help with the workflow. Note that like other OS X converters, the Open Office converter doesn't import/export style sheets (RTF does, though).

-Steve

[nadinbrzezinski]

Steve, on Aug 13 2008, 12:53 AM, said:

Storyist 1.4 and later can export .odt files (on Leopard), so this help with the workflow. Note that like other OS X converters, the Open Office converter doesn't import/export style sheets (RTF does, though).

-Steve

Installing 1.4 as I type