Personal Versus Promotional

I’m not having as much fun online as I used to. When I first got serious about social networking, I had a core group of people that I interacted with very regularly on Facebook and Twitter. It was personal and it was fun. I made a lot of real friends. When I met some of these people at Bouchercon, it was as if I already knew them. Read more

Writing Software

There was long and passionate discussion on a list serv recently (Murder Must Advertise) about writing software. Many people posted about how much they hate Word, especially the 2008 version, and others talked about the alternatives they use. But of course, they all have to copy/paste into Word to send manuscripts to agents and editors—because that’s the industry standard. I’ve always used Word but in a limited way. (I use Quark or InDesign if I have desktop publishing needs.)

But I recently discovered the Notebook Layout View in Word, and I love it! It’s such a convenient way to keep several small idea files in one document without having to scroll. It’s part of how I keep organized while I’m writing.

Which is the subject of my guest blog today at a new site called Better Software to Write. Theresa de Valence is not a only a mystery reviewer, she’s a retired software programmer who’s developing new writing software. So if you have software needs that aren’t being met by your current program, this is your chance to tell somebody who actually plans to do something about it. Stop by and share your piece.

Better Software to Write/How I Write (and Stay Organized)

PS: This is my 100th blog post! Help me celebrate by following.