Coffee Freak's Zone

My First How To Article

nobody@vox.com(Coffee Freak) — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 15:49:02 -1000

I recently had the urge to share some information I had acquired through trial and error. That information being how to use the "lists" feature on Facebook. So with a little poking around, I discovered the eHow website and wrote my first article.

How To Use Facebook's "Lists" Feature If You Game

It all started when I stumbled upon the Mafia Wars game on Facebook and began playing just to pass the time. Then Vampire Wars. Then Farmville. Soon enough, I was taking time out of my day to play them all. Or rather, using time that should have been spent doing other things. Like, laundry or dinner. Okay, so I got a little addicted to them. There. I said it.

I have since grown somewhat bored of them. But during the time that these games were consuming me (it was entirely their fault! I swear!), I learned a few tricks about using Facebook itself, that the other four million players of these games might be able to use. Please have a look. I get a small amount of money (like two cents or less) for every view.

Let me know if you have any suggestions for the article. Even suggestions for small grammatical items that you think might make it better, would be welcome.

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Update

nobody@vox.com(Coffee Freak) — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 16:14:07 -1000

Since it's been two years (really?) since I've posted, I thought I put some recent information to me on here.

I have:

Starting writing a book
Cut my hair short (pictures forthcoming)
Bought a motorcycle ("99 Ninja ZX6R) and painted it white (pictures also forthcoming)
Started working part time in a bookstore (which I LOVE)
Got myself an office (really just a shed of the rubbermaid variety and, wired it for technology)
Lost 25 pounds
Completely changed my outlook on life for the better.

Not too bad.

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Writing software

nobody@vox.com(Coffee Freak) — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 15:45:19 -1000

I recently spent the better part of a week trying out writing programs. This was prompted by the building frustration I began feeling with the limitations of my word processing software. Where did I put notes? How could I rearrange scenes easily? etc. My criteria was simple.

Have a simple to use interface
Allow me to rearrange my scenes easily
Keep track of my notes
Develop my characters personalities via a database
Be able to format my text

Programs I tried:

Writer's Blocks
New Novelist
Dramatica Pro
yWriter

Here's my reviews:

Writer's Blocks

Pro's

Great visualization tool
Reformats idea "blocks" onto your writing space. What that means is that you can rearrange your ideas how you like then click a button and they appear as headers on a blank page.
Fairly simple interface.
Color coding boxes to help with idea arrangement

Con's

The arrange box features proved more confusing then helpful (they kept overlapping)
No place for notes
No place for character development
Expensive at $149

Overall:
Gets 2 out of 5 on my helpful meter. One you have all your ideas this might be a useful program to use to arrange everything.

New Novelist v.1.0

Pro's

Very simple interface
Good idea base if you have never written a novel before (complete simple story outlines)
Notes area
Good (not great) character development area

Con's

No text formatting (I want to be able to double space for hard copy editing later)
Scene rearrangement is not built in
Authored in UK English (not a huge draw back)
Less expensive at $59 but more than I was hoping to spend.

Overall:
Gets 3 out of 5 on my helpful meter. I think v 2.0 might be more helpful but I did not try it.

Dramatic Pro v4.0

Pro's

Very in-depth plot line development. Asks you lots and lots of questions.
Extremely, and I mean extremely, in depth character development
Lots and lots of help guides to explain all the terminology (I think it assumes you have a degree in writing)
Never-ending possibilities for creating character depth. (I'm not kidding. You could spend months on it.)

Con's

Could not figure out where to actually write.
If there is a scene arrangement area, I couldn't find it
Super complicated. It would take a month of Sundays to learn how to use it. (I just want to write! Is that too much to ask!)
All the pro's above are also con's in that you spend so much time thinking about your story you never actually get around to writing it.
Out of my budget at $255

Overall:
Gets 1 out of 5 on my helpful meter. The only reason I even gave it a 1 is that it asked me some leading questions that provoked me to flesh out my story more. That was only after I stumbled upon that particular feature which I could not begin to tell you how to get back to.

yWriter4

Pro's

Very simple interface
Easily rearrange scenes with drag and drop
Very good notes area
Perfect amount of character development
Great price FREE!
Developed by a writer who happens to also be a programmer
Word count targeting

Con's

No text formatting

Overall:
Gets 4.5 out of 5 on my helpful meter. Again, the text formatting thing kept it from a 5. But the author Simon Haynes has a discussion group where you can input your ideas, which I guess he may consider putting into his program. If you want to check out yWriter, you may do so here. Needless to say, this will be the one I use. I am still writing in my Word Processor and pasting my work into the program, but maybe he'll update it later so I don't have to.

One last note:

I was going to try Thoughtline Software until I read this review of the software in the New York Times. The review looks dated (1987?) but given that I had already tried the other four mentioned above, I decided not to give a spin. If you have tried the latest version, I would love to hear your comments about it.

Hope this helps someone.
Aloha, Laura

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Vox Hunt: It Came From the 80's

nobody@vox.com(Coffee Freak) — Thu, 28 Dec 2006 23:48:09 -1000

Show us something from the 80's.

Wham! Late 80's but lots of memories!

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QotD: Top 5 in '06 - Television

nobody@vox.com(Coffee Freak) — Tue, 26 Dec 2006 20:03:30 -1000

What were your top 5 TV shows of 2006?

Only one for me: Grey's Anatomy

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MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

nobody@vox.com(Coffee Freak) — Mon, 25 Dec 2006 00:44:34 -1000

Merry Christmas Comment Graphics

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Vox Hunt: This Gets Me Every Time

nobody@vox.com(Coffee Freak) — Wed, 20 Dec 2006 09:54:24 -1000

Show us a video that cracks you up.

Fruitcake Lady: Words of Wisdom

I totally cracked up when I saw this. You go gramma!

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Vox Hunt: My Desktop

nobody@vox.com(Coffee Freak) — Wed, 20 Dec 2006 09:43:34 -1000

Show us your desktop.
Submitted by Anthony.

Desktop image on my MacBook Pro

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Vox Hunt: Can't Live Without...

nobody@vox.com(Coffee Freak) — Fri, 15 Dec 2006 21:49:53 -1000

Show us something you can't live without.
Submitted by tOiXc_HoNeY.

Name Me!

I can't help myself. I'm always on Vox! Love you guys!

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My Profile

nobody@vox.com(Coffee Freak) — Fri, 15 Dec 2006 10:18:57 -1000

Thanks to The Gaping Maw for the idea

Your Linguistic Profile:

70% General American English

10% Upper Midwestern

10% Yankee

5% Dixie

0% Midwestern

What Kind of American English Do You Speak?

You Are 32% Cynical

Generally you give people the benefit of the doubt. But there are exceptions.

You buy into many of the things that mainstream society believes, but you're not anybody's fool.

How Cynical Are You?

You Have a Phlegmatic Temperament

Mild mannered and laid back, you take life at a slow pace.

You are very consistent - both in emotions and actions.

You tend to absorb set backs easily. You are cool and collected.

It is difficult to offend you. You can remain composed and unemotional.

You are a great friend and lover. You don't demand much of others.

While you are quiet, you have a subtle wit that your friends know well.

At your worst, you are lazy and unwilling to work at anything.

You often get stuck in a rut, without aspirations or dreams.

You can get too dependent on others, setting yourself up for abandonment.

What Temperment Are You?

Your Dominant Intelligence is Linguistic Intelligence

You are excellent with words and language. You explain yourself well.

An elegant speaker, you can converse well with anyone on the fly.

You are also good at remembering information and convicing someone of your point of view.

A master of creative phrasing and unique words, you enjoy expanding your vocabulary.

You would make a fantastic poet, journalist, writer, teacher, lawyer, politician, or translator.

What Kind of Intelligence Do You Have?

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