Company News: Page (1) of 1 - 10/24/12

Author Releases Book in 29 Days with Help from Scrivener

(October 24, 2012)

Cincinnati, OH (PRWEB) October 24, 2012

For Johnny B. Truant, Fat Vampire began as a lighthearted discussion with co-hosts and fellow authors Sean Platt and David Wright on their Self Publishing Podcast. That discussion evolved from an idea to the recently-published Kindle horror-fiction book Fat Vampire in a mere twenty-nine days. This feat is particularly remarkable given that Truants first fiction book, The Bialy Pimps, saw a ten-year gap between conception and publication.

In their landmark 25th episode of the podcast, the authors share the tools and techniques that have helped them write better and faster. Truant references a blog post he recently wrote that chronicles his experience in writing Fat Vampire, where he attributes his recent achievement in large part to his use of the popular application for writers, Scrivener.

Platt and Wright have also used Scrivener with much success. It helps you organize your thoughts, Platt says. You can put scenes on index cards and drag them around, reorder chapter sections, and have areas for research and characters. Its largely a dumping ground for your ideas and research that you can then organize into a book.

Wright finds the research component particularly helpful. Theres a research pane where you drag in various reference materials. For instance, if you use maps, you can drag them into Scrivener from the web.

Having worked together and with other writers on various projects, the authors also find that Scriveners availability for both Mac and PC makes collaboration much more convenient.

But Truant, Platt, and Wright make it clear that being able to write prolifically while sustaining quality requires more than just a good tool.

One important driver is motivation. As Truant quotes from another of his recent blog posts, Find peers whose accomplishments make you feel totally inadequate. He cites the example of his podcast co-hosts, who have collaborated on several fiction serials and currently produce two books every week, including their new Kindle Serial, Z 2134. After being immersed in Platt and Wrights world through their podcast over several months, Truant felt compelled to take on the one-month challenge of Fat Vampire and is now working on the sequel, Fat Vampire 2.

Asked how they maintain their incredible pace, Platt and Wright share their process.

We get together, says Wright, and plan out what we want to do with the story as a whole. We write down a sentence or so about each scene. We work out the characters, cliffhangers, and so on. Then we talk out the book as a whole. What needs to happen in order to get the people from here to there?

From there they work through a series of drafts.

Taking breaks is also important. After writing a draft, Platt says, you need a rest and recovery and marination mode. Alternating between drafts and breaks creates an ideal rhythm.

Once theyre done with their own revisions, the authors advise seeking outside help. Whether writers outsource on the cheap; find a more expensive, professional editor; or simply have readers they trust give their feedback, those additional pairs of eyes can be a huge help.

The difference between good and great, says Platt, can be a matter of two millimeters. An editor is often the key to attaining that greatness.

Platt emphasizes that its about more than just checking for grammar, punctuation, and typos. We go so fast in our reading, writing, and double-checking that we really need someone else to step in and give us perspective.

Writing a book is a significant undertaking whether its delivered in one week, twenty-nine days, or more. But Truant, Platt, and Wright have shown that with a writer-friendly tool like Scrivener, combined with a sound process, its far from impossible and gets easier over time.

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/10/prweb10043250.htm.

Page: 1

Related Keywords:fishing industry, cinema industry, radio industry, television industry, music industry, process industry, plastic art, entertainment award, entertainment (general), arts (general), arts, culture and entertainment