Comments on: The Magic Bracket, or It’s About Story

By: beckylevine

beckylevine — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 04:29:20 +0000

All right, now I need to look for Word bookmarks!

I’m going to start keeping a notebook for research details as I start on draft 2. Right now I don’t even really know what I need to know!

By: Andra M.

Andra M. — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 03:12:30 +0000

[comment]

Okay, you had to see that coming!

I usually add bold text inside either brackets or parentheses. However, I discovered bookmarks in Word and Wordperfect. Much easier to find when I have 300+ pages to sift through.

I also keep a notebook, just in case I forget why I added the brackets in the first place.

By: beckylevine

beckylevine — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 14:07:27 +0000

I love that–yes, I don’t want to be pulled too far out of the story OR back into reality!

By: Maria Hooley

Maria Hooley — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 14:06:31 +0000

I put in lengthy blanks when there’s something I need to get information on and then I go back because if I stop right then and try to figure it out, the momentum is gone. And it reminds me too much of my real life which is what I’m enjoying a reprieve from in the first place!

By: beckylevine

beckylevine — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 17:22:06 +0000

You’re not dating yourself–I was just never able to stay up that late!

I like that you’re going in and filling things in. I think my next draft will be set up like that.

By: beckylevine

beckylevine — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 17:20:52 +0000

I know that feeling–we only got high-speed this last year, too. The brackets do remind me I can do that research later!

By: beckylevine

beckylevine — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 17:19:57 +0000

And I never even KNEW you used brackets. The pages you give us are so clean.

By: K.M. Weiland

K.M. Weiland — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 16:23:14 +0000

I learned firsthand the value of placeholders. When I finally got wireless Internet about a year and a half ago, having all that research information right had my fingertips was way too much of a temptation. Whenever I needed the least little bit of info, I’d stop writing and start googling. And googling. And googling. Before I knew it, I was using all my writing time surfing the Internet. Not good.

Nowadays, I unplug the wireless card, fill in my missing information to the best of the ability, and wait until the next morning to do the googling. Works much better that way!

By: Terri Thayer

Terri Thayer — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 15:33:29 +0000

I was first introduced to the brackets in You Can Write A Mystery by Gillian Roberts. She likes them because they’re lower case and don’t get used in a manuscript. Easily searchable.

The brackets mean any number of things to me. Sometimes I know I need to add more emotion, or that this is a good place to drop a clue. It could be I don’t know the exact name of the street or building I’m referencing. Or maybe I’m reminding myself I changed the name of the character.

Like you, the brackets free me up to keep writing.

By: Shawna

Shawna — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 15:23:44 +0000

LOL I love your posts, Becky. I was using the underline key, but I like your bracket idea better… it seems more like a pregnant pause or a mystery as opposed to that sound you used to get when the station would go off the air (now I’m dating myself)

My last (or current as I haven’t queried it yet) novel had a completed beginning and end and very, very little middle in the fist draft. No names, just bg (bad guy) she (fmc) and he(mmc) you get the idea. : )

Then, as inspiration hit, I filled the blanks because I knew what would happen, but not exactly how. When I thought I could hopscotch on the plot points,(I call that a working rough draft) I went back to the beginning and filled in the blanks, named the characters etc.