Writing Aids and Other Mythical Objects by Kait Carson

 First, an announcement. The second draft edits for No Return are complete. It is entirely possible that this book may see the light of day in 2024. I know. You’re right to be skeptical. But an author can hope. I wanted to share that bit of information with you since you’ve been through the strum und drang of the past year or more of writing woes with me. We now return to our regularly scheduled blog.

Over the past year, I’ve realized that writing is like exercising. If you don’t continually use and challenge the muscles, they get flabby and weak. I’ve had sentences like that. And I may have just written one. Never mind. Bear with me. That’s part of the reason why this book has taken so long to write. I was out of practice. The second reason is simpler. I was afraid I had forgotten how to write. To accommodate that fear, I spent a lot of time casting around looking for systems and aids. Foolish? Maybe. And if you think most of them are bogus, I wouldn’t contradict you. There are some, however, that worked for me, and one debuted this morning. I’m looking forward to making use of it.

I won’t discuss the mythical objects. That wouldn’t be fair, as what works for one is not necessarily effective for others. There were, however, two programs that I fell in love with:

Fictionary. Yes, it uses AI. I refuse to use any AI program to generate words, but to help point out structural flaws. I’m all over it. Let me confess, I am a visual learner. Give me pictures, charts, or my very favorite thing, lists, and I’m happy. Fictionary has these and more. When I began writing, I learned the value of a spreadsheet for keeping track of details. The program offers that in a sidebar next to each chapter. It also asks plot and flow questions and generates charts with the information you provide. Wonderful stuff for a pantser like myself who writes out of sequence.

The newest arrow in the Fictionary quiver is the tension and conflict report. This is an AI analysis of the scene that studies the scene goal, the consequences of failure, and whether the tension and conflict support the goal. When it came to editing, it was a game changer. There were times I disagreed with the results, and times it was flat out wrong, but there were also times it brought a weakness in the scene to my attention. There’s an adage in writing. Kill your darlings. The weaknesses I found were often my darlings. Tears were shed, but the story improved.

ProWritingAid. ProWritingAid has long been in my personal arsenal. It’s an AI based program that suggests editorial improvements. I especially appreciate its comma suggestion capability because high school comma classes apparently put me in an unresponsive coma and I now have a terminal mental block about correct usage. Today ProWritingAid unveiled a new feature. The program integrates with other programs, including Scrivener. In the past, my habit has been to write a scene and run it through ProWritingAid. It worked well, but it was time consuming. With the new integration, ProWritingAid suggestions are available in Scrivener. I have full control over when or if I see them. It’s a fabulous timesaver. Write once, edit, move on.

Neither of these programs will write your story for you. Nor will they take away the creative edge. Fictionary was developed by a writer who codified the system that she used and that other writers had found valuable. They also offer excellent customer service, so you are never writing alone. Between Fictionary and ProWritingAid, I’ve found a system that works for me.

Kait Carson writes the Hayden Kent Mysteries set in the Fabulous Florida Keys and is at work on a new mystery set in her adopted state of Maine. She is a former President of the Guppy Chapter of Sisters in Crime and currently serves as a Member at Large. Visit her website at www.kaitcarson.com. While you’re there, sign up for her newsletter.