From: Crawford_Kilian@mindlink.bc.ca (Crawford Kilian)
Subject: Writing Fiction on Computer
Organization: MIND LINK! - British Columbia, Canada
Date: Wed, 27 Jan 1993 01:56:26 GMT

First of all, no one ever taught me how to write fiction on a computer, so if
you have a better way of doing something, please let us all know. While I
wrote several novels on a PC, for the last few years I've used a Mac and Word
4.0 and 5.0. Much of what I have to say is equally applicable to either
system; where it isn't, I'm sure PC users will see ways to get the same
results.

Format:
Maybe you like a lot of text on your screen; I don't, so I write with the
format I'll use when I print out--double spaced text with margins of about an
inch or so either side. I use 14-point Times, which is easy to read on the
screen, prints out nicely, and coincidentally puts about 250 words on a page
just like a typewriter.

I don't bother with a header. A simple Arabic page number goes in the upper
right corner. With Word 4.0 and 5.0 you can forbid splitting paragraphs
between pages, by invoking Keep With Next Paragraph and Keep Lines Together.
Do so, even if it sometimes means an extra-wide lower margin, because it will
simplify the editor's job.

I set a half-inch indent for paragraphs, which is more than some authorities
recommend, but it feels comfortable for me. Knowing that editors don't like a
right-justified margin (nor do I), I use a ragged-right margin. I don't put
an extra double-space between paragraphs unless I want a similar gap to
appear in the printed version to indicate a shift in locale or a gap in time.

"I use double quotation marks for dialogue," Crawford said pedantically, "and
I put commas and periods inside them. I don't use single quotes unless I want
to quote within a quote--for example, by setting off an unusual word like
'quotidian.'" The aged hack went on: "If a single quotation runs to more than
one paragraph, I leave the quotes off the end of every paragraph until the
concluding one.

"Then I close off the quotation."

Since Word for the Mac enables me to use "smart quotes" that curve like
typeset quotation marks, I use them--but if I used them in a textfile like
this upload, I would get slightly garbled text. I also use "em dashes," which
are solid dash marks about as long as two hyphens. Again, this may cause
problems if you're uploading your manuscript to your publisher. Smart quotes
and em dashes are pleasant but not essential in a hard-copy ms.

What about italics? Use them if you've got them, but do so sparingly. They're
hard to read in long passages, and your editor won't enjoy the extra advice
she must give the typesetters because of them. Please don't combine italics
and underlines--one or the other, but not both.

I'm going on about format because I want you to minimize your editor's
problems as she puts your manuscript into printable shape. She is one of a
very few people who will read your ms.; you should make her job as easy as
possible.

Production:
I create a separate folder (or directory for PC types) for every novel. Since
my chapters tend to run between 3000 and 6000 words, I create a new file for
each chapter. In Word, I can keep the chapters in consecutive order if I name
them Chapter 01, Chapter 02, and so on; otherwise, Word reads them as Chapter
10, Chapter 20, etc.

I can minimize hassle by creating a stationery file that I call A New
Chapter. It has all the formatting I choose, but I can't accidentally save it
as "A New Chapter." When I open it up, it appears as "Untitled 1" or
whatever; when I save it, I'll have to give it a permanent name. (By the way,
I've just named this file because I've set my Mac to prompt me to save every
20 minutes. The prompt can be annoying, but losing a whole day's work is a
lot worse!)

When I create a new chapter, I have to go to some trouble to start with a
page number consecutive with that of the end of the last chapter. (This is a
drawback in Word, and don't talk to me about linking files so paging is
automatic--that has drawbacks too.)

I often begin a new chapter with some notes to myself about what ought to
happen in it; the chapter usually fills up fast, so I have a few ideas left
over for the next chapter. I give my chapters simple, centered titles:
Chapter 1. No unusual fonts, no boldface. Then one doublespace and straight
into the first paragraph.

Here's one useful gimmick: When I stop, I do a word count on the chapter so
far. Then I open up a file titled Log, in which I enter the name of each
chapter, the word count, and the date on which I've last worked in the
chapter. I put my latest count into the current chapter. By keeping the
chapter word counts in a column, set off by tabs, I can hold down the Option
key, select the word-count column, and then hit Command-=. In the bottom of
the window I will see the *total* of all my chapters suddenly appear. If I
select (highlight) the existing total at the bottom of my column, and then
hit Command-v, I can paste the new total at the bottom of the column.

This is a good way to boost your productivity because you can see progress;
so you decide to bash away for another 20 minutes or so, and you're that much
further along. By the way, I put an "alias" of my Log file in my Apple menu,
so it's quickly available. I also close it up as a very small window, so it
won't take over the whole screen the next time I open it.

Spell checkers and grammar checkers are useful but limited. Use them by all
means, but don't trust them alone to support your reputation as a literate
person.

Backstage Work:
I keep a Journal file in my novel folder as well. This is a single,
increasingly long diary of my thoughts and ideas; it often starts as plot
summary, but soon turns into editorial self-criticism. By forcing myself to
articulate what's going right and wrong, I can usually solve any problems
very quickly. So if I can see the need for a tricky plot twist, just to get
someone from the living room to the kitchen, I usually come up with the twist
while writing in my Journal. Producing such messages to yourself is the
single biggest help I know of; if you think you can solve such problems by
talking them out with your significant other, your next novel may be about
the horrors of divorce.

Other files may include lists of names, resumes of important characters,
formal outlines, and so on. You can use an outliner, or a neat application
like Storyspace, but even the simplest word processor will let you rearrange
various ideas into a story line. And you may find it convenient to include
novel-related correspondence in the same folder.

You will of course make a couple of copies of your folder on floppy disks,
and keep at least one of them in a separate location. Fire, error or theft
could wipe out more work than you want to even think about.

Printing:
If you can laser-print your text, go to it! I use a Hewlett-Packard
Deskwriter, with ruinously expensive bond paper, because the result is very
good indeed. Inkjet printers using ordinary photocopy-quality paper will
create okay but somewhat messy results. A laser printer, of course, can make
photocopy paper look just fine.

Dot-matrix is quite acceptable (except to the people within earshot of the
damn printer) as long as you've set it on near letter quality. That means the
printer produces a darker, sharper text than it does when set on "draft." If
you have only a draft-quality printer, consider photocopying the result with
the darkness control jacked way up, and using the photocopy as your real ms.

What about printing off sections of draft? Sure. Some people really need to
scribble on paper. I'm used by now to correcting on-screen most of the time,
though I often print off, say, a chapter in progress if I'm going to be away
from my computer and I want to do some writing in longhand.

I hope this helps some of you, at least. By all means raise questions,
objections and alternatives...and keep writing!


--
Crawford Kilian   Communications Department   Capilano College
North Vancouver BC Canada V7J 3H5
Usenet: Crawford_Kilian@mindlink.bc.ca
Internet: ckilian@first.etc.bc.ca

Newsgroups: misc.writing