down the writer's path

Internet Tools for Writers: Catch it with Stickies

I am old enough to remember life without the Internet, typewriters prior to word processors, and index cards before the dawn of Post-its. I love stickies. Canary yellow, pale pink, turquoise blue, and spring green, the list goes on and on. Now there are Super Sticky notes, ruled notes, sticky index cards, and even color-coded half-index-card stickies. It's a beautiful world for writers today.

My library is littered with flags and notes on stickies. I use stickies as I read through books that I use for research or that I'll review. I arc out a character's life on stickies. I manage a novel visually scene-by-scene using stickies in a blank book I keep close at hand. Notes, ideas, questions all mark up my stimulating rainbow of stickies.

But wait! Let me tell you about my desktop. It, too, is littered with Stickies. I've tried several note-taking software and my favorite is--what else?--a software called Stickies. Offered by Zhorn Software, this is a simple, clean program that will soothe the soul of any stickie manic. You can color-code, alarm, and play hide and seek with them. They can live on your desktop or hibernate in a particular file. They can be huge, tiny, or Post-it sized. Bless them, they can even be printed.

I use my cyber-stickies to capture random thoughts that accumulate during the day, to run ongoing shopping lists, and to capture quick notes for phone calls or emails. They function as terrific reminders. If you prefer to have a clean desktop, hide your stickies until you need them. What's the best thing about Stickies? It's free! Download it now.
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More info: USING FURL; USING OUTLOOK; USING GOOGLE ALERTS; USING GOOGLE DESKTOP SEARCH; USING THE BLOG READING LEVEL TOOL; USING VISUAL THESAURUS; USING JACKETFLAP.COM SOCIAL NETWORK

Internet Tools for Writers: JacketFlap networks people in the children's book industry

Social networking is here to stay. So if you're among the thousands of writers who have not made an attempt to tickle any social networks such as MySpace, Facebook or Twitter, it's time. Anyone remotely connected with the children's book industry should take a look at JacketFlap.com. You'll not only find authors and illustrators, but you'll run across reviewers, librarians, agents, booksellers, publicists, teachers, and even students. This is a growing community with a database of books, just released books, reviews, children's book-related blogs and publishers. If you're already published, you may discover your name and book is already listed. If that's the case, it's time to update your profile before anyone else does. Best of all, JacketFlap is free.

I came across JacketFlap yesterday during a search of my name. The site only had my name and the info on DIVIDED LOYALTIES. So I cruised around the site, read all about it, and updated my profile. It was easy and didn't take long. You can make it as concise as you wish. I was even able to have a feed to this blog show up on my profile page. If you're a writer or illustrator, JacketFlap is one more way to promote your books and your work. In addition you can find other writers and "friends" who will network with you. At the very least your profile is one more page that will show up on a Google Search. The best JacketFlap offers is a connection to the publishing community that may lead to more book sales and possible future work.

In order for the community to grow, JacketFlap awards points when you update publisher information, new contacts, or referrals. The points accumulate and gift certificates are earned. So, don't forget where you first heard about JacketFlap and spread the word. I find the site pretty impressive. Take a look and then come back and give me your thoughts. If you're in the kiddie lit field, why not join me--and don't forget to "friend" me--at JacketFlap.com.
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More info: USING FURL; USING OUTLOOK; USING GOOGLE ALERTS; USING GOOGLE DESKTOP SEARCH; USING THE BLOG READING LEVEL TOOL; USING VISUAL THESAURUS

Internet Tools for Writers: Brainstorm a new word

Next time you want to challenge a writer friend, see if they can spell and define the word "susurrus." That's today's offering in the Visual Thesaurus Word of the Day. I signed up for Thinkmap's daily offering not only for the definitions, spelling, and word fun, but also because this tool offers a mindmapping representation of the day's word. But don't stop there. Make use of the "Look up a Word" feature. I'm a big fan and heavy user of mindmapping. Have been ever since Tony Buzan's book came out in the late 70s. I find mindmapping helpful in every aspect of writing and have been known to mindmap an entire novel's structure or a full day's workshop on writing. For example, when I'm working on some aspect of a character I'll look up the word description and see how other things relate. This simple process stimulates further creative thinking and often reveals hidden and wonderfully layered aspects to the work you're doing. Stop all that cyber susurrus and give it a try.

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More info: USING FURL; USING OUTLOOK, USING GOOGLE ALERTS, USING GOOGLE DESKTOP SEARCH,USING THE BLOG READING LEVEL TOOL

Internet Tools for Writers: What's your blog's reading level?

Ever wonder what the reading level is for your blog? Sooner or later someone out in cyberspace comes up with a way to answer all your questions. I ran this Down the Writer's Path's URL through The Blog Readability Test. Not only did I get an answer, I received the code for a rating badge. -- UPDATE 04.09.08: This post made MySpaceNEWS. Please vote. -- -- More info: USING FURL; USING OUTLOOK, USING GOOGLE ALERTS, USING GOOGLE DESKTOP SEARCH

Internet Tools for Writers: Comb through your computer clutter with Google Desktop Search

Several times lately I've needed to find a bit of information stored away in an old email or lost file. What once sucked up hours of time now happens in a blink. Using Google's Desktop Search tool, I'm able to unearth anything tucked away in some obscure file or buried in a pile inside that nest I call a hard drive. Check out this page for all the features and you'll see how helpful this tool can be. It's a handy tool that sits quietly waiting to help you out at a moment's notice. I don't know about you but anything I can find that will free up time for more writing is a good thing.

--UPDATE 04.09.08: This post made MySpace News. Please vote here.
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More info: USING FURL; USING OUTLOOK, USING GOOGLE ALERTS

Internet Tools for Writers: Save Time with Google Alerts

If you're guilty of losing time on the Internet surfing for research and information, one great tool for writers is Google Alerts. Instead of you going out to find the information, Google surfs the net, mines the web for any info particular to your alert, and bundles it in an email that lands in your mailbox. You determine whether you want the alerts daily, weekly, monthly or whatever. The alert can be as broad as monitoring "dinosaurs" or as narrow and specific as your name. (Setting up an alert to monitor your name is something I think every writer should do; you'd be amazed at what you discover.)

You can create up to 1,000 Google Alerts. That should satisfy even the most versatile and research-needy of writers. Check the Google Alert FAQ page to learn the hard facts. Right now I maintain an alert on my name. I also have one that pertains to a subject for a future book and one that is directly related to one of my current characters. Both alerts float in once a week. Now Google doesn't know exactly what you are looking for but just having something that goes out and searches the web for every mention of that particular word or combination of words greatly reduces the time you spend foraging. The magic inherent in surfing isn't eclipsed, either. Serendipity snaps into focus the moment you click on a link that is even remotely interesting.

Google Alerts has an easy manager. This little program is so easy to set up and use that anyone will benefit from its use. Mine are sent directly to my gmail account. (You will need to open a Google account but you don't have to use Gmail.) Filters funnel the alerts so they are easily retrievable. They also show up in my Outlook in a folder titled ALERTS. There they sit, silently awaiting my attention on my timetable.

When you get an alert, it may contain one, two, three, even seven, eight or ten websites. They probably won't all directly relate to your needs but it only takes seconds to click, check and delete. Save the ones that may matter in the email. When I find one that obviously has something I'm going to want or need later--you guessed it--I Furl it.

If you haven't discovered Google Alerts, give it a try.
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More info: USING FURL; USING OUTLOOK

Internet Tools for Writers: Lower your Email Anxiety

Are you sucked into a whirlpool of email every morning only to finally be spit out to discover 1-2-3 hours have gone by? Take advantage of the software and Internet tools to gain control. I use filters and folders so that much of my e-mail is automated. I do NOT have to read everything, nor do I need to read it immediately. Some items accumulate and if I don't have time at the end of the week or month I may even delete an entire folder's contents. That often happens with a few subscription-type emails.

I use Outlook and that has really helped me upgrade my efficiency in handling email and tasks. If I read an email that requires attention--not immediate--I'll flag it. If it's something I need to do, I'll task it. I make quick decisions that enable me to sort the mail that is not automatically sorted. There are only about 3 or 4 people whose emails I feel I should read quickly. Those are automatically filtered into folders but their folders are moved up to the "favorites" section so I see them first. Newsletters, alerts, and group email are immediately funneled to their appropriate folder to be checked. I use downloadable timers that are set to 2 minutes for immediate response and 15-20 minutes to limit the amount of total time spent on email. My goal is to go through all legitimate email every morning, usually within 15-20 min. so I can clear decks for the day's work ahead. If an email requires more than 2 minutes for a response I either flag it or convert it to a task. Since I don't use any sound to let me know when the emails come in, I'm able to maintain focus on my daily work and set specific times for email checks.

The use of filters, folders, flags and tasks allow me to move quickly through my email and the Internet. Any internal tension or anxiety about "growing email" or losing myself in the research abyss of the Internet is eliminated.