MARIEL R.
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Split Screen in Word

3/6/2015

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Microsoft Word has been capable of split screen since... I don't know. A long time.
  • It's a feature that allows you to view two places of a document at the same time.  writer friendly features in word
  • You might need this if you have a novel that's 1000 words long or a few too many beers to be writing but you're a writer damn it! You'll puke on that keyboard!
    • All the other reasons.
1. View   
     2. Split (Or remove split if you've split your screen.)!
         3. You can also check the navigation box  (How to set up chapters in word.) and to hop around your novel.
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Have you contracted TABS?

2/8/2015

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Sometimes you just didn't know how to format your file so you did this:
tab
tab, tab, tab, tab
tab, tab, tab, tab, tab, tab, tab, tab, tab, tab, tab
tab
Or you converted your file from Scrivener.
Or their origin is a mystery.

This file has contracted TABS

This looks bad to editors. Also, if you're self-publishing, random tabs can cause formatting migraines.
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Paste-pop up we hates you: Goodbye!

12/2/2014

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Does this annoy the **&%!!!!! out of you?

Here's what you want to know.

File
  options
      advanced...
scroll down to cut, copy and paste options
Uncheck: Show copy and paste button when content is pasted. 

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Here's what you didn't know you wanted to know

In the click click click of Microsoft Office Mentality, there is usually rhyme and reason.  For example, that little toggle that asks "Do you want to enable editing?"
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Of course you do! The developers at Microsoft were sitting around the water cooler one day when Mitch, the head developer guy* said, "You know what people need more of?"
"Sex," Mike said.
"Peanut butter and tuna sandwiches!" Janice suggested.
"Buttons!" Elmer, Mike's five year old son said.
"That's right!" Mitch patted Elmer on the the head. " But no only more buttons to click. People also more rhetorical questions."
"What if we could combine rhetorical questions with a button?" Janice asked.

"What if!" Mitch scowled. "What if, indeed. No, madame, there are no what if's at Microsoft, just is."

And thus the rhetorical question button was born. Mitch doesn't want to let too many cats of the bag yet, but he says they have a new rhetorical question button that asks "Are you sure you want to use your mouse?" which also functions as a catch 22. You can't use your mouse until you click the button, but you can't click the button until you can use your mouse!

*Head Developer Guy: An official job title at Microsoft.
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Show All: Foe and Friend

8/14/2014

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What it is: It's a feature in Microsoft Word (and perhaps other programs) that allows users to see the root structure of a document. 

Why it's your foe: It allows any editor to see how your file is formatted and how closely you adhered to their guidelines.
Did you put two spaces after a period when the guidelines expressly requested one space? Did you use tabs when the editor asked you to set indents by paragraph? With one click the editor can see what you did without going blind.

Why it's your friend: 
It allows you to see what the editor sees and to fix any problems before you hit send..

Here two screen shots without Show All.
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1
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2
Here are the same screen shots with Show All.
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1 with Show All on
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2 with Show All on
If you were an editor which file would you chose?
There are two truths about this:

One truth is this:  
If you're of the mind that the issues in the second file are easy to fix, you are right.  Assuming the editor knows the short cuts, then yes, the fix will take a few minutes of their time. Lets also assume the editor is looking for something very specific and your story fits their needs exactly. Your story will sell.

Another truth is this: Writing is very competitive. Editors often must choose between two or three or more stories that meet their business needs. The key term here is business. Which is a better business decision?

There is also another truth about manuscript formatting. It's hard until it's easy. I will explain what's going on in example two and show you the tech stuff... eventually. (Writing and having a full time job and life means I do what I can when I can.)  In the meantime, here's how to add Show All to your tools ribbon:

  1. Right click anywhere on your quick access toolbar.
  2.  Click on  "Customize Ribbon".
  3. Click on "More Options".
  4. Change the options to "All Commands".
  5. Scroll down to "Show All".
  6. Choose the location you want. ( I placed mine under paragraph)
  7. Click add.
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Manuscript Formatting 101

8/12/2014

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Whether your are submitting a novel or a short story, formatting a manuscript for submission can feel overwhelming. This is perhaps even more true for short stories where submission guidelines can vary from publication to publication.  But let's say you've decided to self-publish. Nothing wrong with that except formatting your file is, to say the least, a headache. The information below can help you. 
The first things you need to know
Microsoft gives you any number of ways to format your file but there really are only two kinds of formatting. 

  • Root formatting: This may or may not be the technical term for this.  Anyway, think of a tree with roots extending deep into the soil. Like a tree when you format at the root, your file is stable.
  • Surface formatting: This is like gift wrap. The box is pretty until you open it. Though file transfer over the internet has gotten better, files that have been made to look pretty but are not actually pretty, can arrive garbled.
  • Styles:  Styles are the bomb! It is possible to make five or six styles that will cover just about every formatting request you'll ever receive. Then all you do is control A (this selects all of her file) and click the style you want. Voila!  Exactly what the doctor ordered in two seconds regardless of the length of  your manuscript. 

However, setting up styles can be confusing , especially if you don't know how to format your document at the root level.  Well, that's all for today. In the future I plan to look at some guidelines for specific publications and show you how to set up the document.  If you can't wait to get started some great Google search terms are "Styles in Word" and "Formatting at the Paragraph level in Word."  If you feel lost after reading some stuff, don't worry. This is just one of those things that's hard until it's easy.  I  personally had a lot of false starts, but now formatting is supper easy.

If you are having trouble decoding some guidelines, feel free to send me a link. I can then
create a post showing how to easily set up a file to the specifications of that publication.

-
M. R. Jordan

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Linking Notes in Word 2013

8/11/2014

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This feature has not replaced my reliance upon Notezilla but I likes it.
  1. Go to the Review menu.
  2. Select Link to One Note.
  3. Choose the novel  or create a One Note file. Add notes until you're blue in the face.  ( Note: name your One Note file something that is easy to associate with the note and the section of your document that it pertains to.)
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Use Notezilla. No really, use it.

7/1/2014

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I have complaints about Word. I have complaints about McDonlad's... I can be a complainer. But, I've never had a complaint about Notezilla.

While I mainly use the software for writing, I also use it to make to do lists, keep track of spending, and grocery lists.
To explain why this is a writer's must have program, lets use some situational examples. Let's say your writing a novel and your main character is a proctologist. Your knowledge of proctology extends as far as a middle school prank where  you left a message for your teacher to call James Zass right away and gave the number to proctologist you picked out of a phone book.  Time to do some hard research, and by hard I mean, you fired up G̶o̶o̶g̶l̶e̶  your favorite search engine and typed in "What does a proctologist do?"


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Because you're a writer of the 21st century you copy and past the good stuff into notepad or some such. But man, all that switching of screens is making your butt itch. Notezilla can stay on top.

You can also link the note to specific sites and documents make research and noting your masterpiece a breeze.  Download a trial here.

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Adding Comments in Word

3/15/2014

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  1. Click on the Review Menu
  2. Highlight the text you want to comment on.
  3. Click Add Comment.
  4. Type your comment.

  • In Word 2013 it is easy for multiple users to comment on sections and potentially life saving for collaborators. I don't know if this is possible in earlier versions.
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Managing a novel in Microsoft Word 

3/8/2014

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As promised in this post Managing a Novel has been moved with some updates from second blog to here.  Second Blog will be deleted after all the posts have been transferred.
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Photo used under Creative Commons from Mel B.
  • Blog
    • Second Blog
  • Happy Horse
  • Published
    • Free Stories >
      • Some Things Never Change
      • The Real Thing
      • For You, Mother
      • Meat Head the Worst Dog in the World
      • Boys As Nice as John
      • Meat Head
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  • Green Gecko Publishing