The Latest News from Aelf by galvin on Blogster

"Many people hear voices when no one is there. Some of them are called mad and are shut up in rooms where they stare at the walls all day. Others are called writers and they do pretty much the same thing."- Margaret Chittenden.

The Rant 'N' Rave Section

Mind Mapping

I don't know about you but I've been looking for a good (but simple and in-expensive) software program that allows me to lay out my ideas for a story, add thoughts, research and notes to it and then, if needed, re-arrange the whole mess into something that makes sense. Well, I've found a couple of them that I'm trying out. The first one, called Freemind works quite well. I've used it for a year or so and it does help me organize my thoughts. Here are some ideas for using this free program:

Current users of FreeMind use it for the following purposes:

• Keeping track of projects, including subtasks, state of subtasks and time recording

• Project workplace, including links to necessary files, executables, source of information and of course information

• Workplace for internet research using Google and other sources

• Keeping a collection of small or middle sized notes with links on some area which expands as needed. Such a collection of notes is sometimes called knowledge base.

• Essay writing and brainstorming, using colors to show which essays are open, completed, not yet started etc, using size of nodes to indicate size of essays. I don't have one map for one essay, I have one map for all essays. I move parts of some essays to other when it seems appropriate.

• Keeping a small database of something with structure that is either very dynamic or not known in advance. The main disadvantage of such approach when compared to traditional database applications are poor query possibilities, but I use it that way anyway - contacts, recipes, medical records etc. You learn about the structure from the additional data items you enter. For example, different medical records use different structure and you do not have to analyze all the possible structures before you enter the first medical record

Thanks to Wikipedia for the above.

Next on the list is new one I've just picked up. It's called Idea Cruncher and allows you to test the program for 30 days, free. After which, if you like it and I do, you may purchase it for a mere pittance of $9.99, such a deal! I think the cost is well within the range of most writers and newbies. Here is a sample of what they have to say about the program:

Imagine you're about to start a new project (e.g., an essay, article, report, presentation, proposal, etc.). You sit down with a notepad and start planning. As you get into it, your mind starts bombarding you with ideas. The ideas are good, but they're coming in more-or-less random order. Notepads weren't designed for randomness; the only way to re-organize is to rewrite.

You spend a lot of time flipping pages and copying by hand.

Idea Cruncher gives you an easier way to capture your early ideas and work them into an outline. As the outline evolves, you can quickly move ideas around and incorporate new ones. Before you've written the first word of your first draft, you have a detailed, coherent plan. When you start writing, you refer to the outline as the roadmap for your document. Most importantly though, you should feel free to change the outline as you write. Don’t think of outlining and writing as separate tasks -- your outline is not a rigid structure that cannot change once you’ve started writing. Instead, think of the outline as your best representation of your ideas at that moment in time. As you write, you will naturally ask yourself questions about how well the outline represents the subject you are writing about. Make changes to the outline as you write to improve its logic, flow and completeness. (From Idea Cruncher Help menu).

I am using this program now and so far it's doing a really good job of laying out a novel I'm working on such that I get the kind of overview I need, allows me to see holes in my plot and re-arrange thoughts and ideas so that they flow through the stories time line and actually make sense, HA.

"TIDBITS"

Well for tidbits this time I'm puttin' on the Brag Rag. I just got word that one of my short stories, "It's All in the Cards," has won first prize for the July edition of The fantasy Gazetteer. For those of you who haven't yet stumbled on to this great site, here it is. http://www.fantasygazetteer.com/ . For any of those interested, as I am, in the Fantasy Genre, this is a great place to visit. It's a new e-zine venue that went live in March of this year. They run short story contests almost every month and a novelette length about every three months. There is usually a cash prize for the winner and second place and, get this, even some non-winner stories get published if the are good enough. Best of all, the publishers are looking for new writers. According to the editor, they love fantasy stories, lots of them. Be sure to check it out.

Last but Not Least

"I didn't know that!"

Kurt Vonnegut once managed a SAAB dealership.

The Bronte sisters lived in a house surrounded on three sides by graveyards.

Thanks to blogs.usatoday

Well, that's it for this time, see ya later gater…..Aelf

Sites to see, places to go and groups to join

Long Story Short:http://www.alongstoryshort.net/

Fantasy Gazetteer: http://www.fantasygazetteer.com/

My Writing Friend: writingfriend@yahoo