Tools I Use

Every writer has their own routine and their own set of tools that help them keep moving forward.  I try to keep it simple.  Here are some of the tools I use to help me along.

I do all of my writing in MS Word.  I like being about to add notes and use track changes when I'm editing.  Before I could afford MS Word, I used the free program, Open Office, and it was almost just as good.  It has some of the same features and files could be saved as .doc files.

I backup my files using Dropbox, which is just an awesome program.  All of my writing file folders are kept in Dropbox.  I can access them from any computer, and no matter which computer I open files and make changes on, those chances will be there on any other computer, when I open the file again.  If my main laptop dies, I will still have the files on Dropbox and will be able to still retrieve them. 

When I am querying agents, I use Querytracker to keep it all organized.

If I'm stuck and need to push myself to keep writing, I will use Write or Die, which is just a lot of fun.  I recommend using the normal mode, because it's more evil to have to hear that song than to have my words erased.  LOL!  He's got a new editing tool that I want to check out too.

What tools do you use?

Got My 50,000 words. Moving On.

I did it.  Got my 50,000 words for Nano.  I had a bad month with computer woes and financial issues, but I somehow managed. 

Now that I've given myself a few days off from writing, I'm going to focus on submitting two of my completed stories, and I'll be writing two others.  I'm also thinking about what my realistic goals should be for the coming year.