Inkabout L. Darby Gibbs

Science Fiction & Fantasy author

Programs related to writing

Paper holder taking up space on the desktop?

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Since I scribble my notes on anything at hand, I tend to have a variety of paper sizes and weights to work with when I am transferring my notes to my computer.  Those papers without much stiffness just drape over when I prop them up.  My standard desk paper holder also takes up too much room, and I have had to add a clip to the side because the fan keeps making the paper wiggle and fly about.  And it takes up just as much room when not in use as when in use.

Then my mother-in-law gave me a Page-up dingus.  It looks like a little more than half an egg, that has a flat side, sitting on the flat side, and takes the same amount of room as an egg sitting on the flat side.  There is a curved cut in the top where you set the paper.  Since my phone, mouse, glasses, camera, notebook, etc. also take up room on my desk, this tiny thing is perfect.

You might think the fan would have the same effect, but you would be wrong. The curve creates a stiffness that keeps the paper in place. 

I am in no way affiliated with the creators, makers, or sellers of this thing. I just like it.

Spell-friendly dictionary

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Every writer, whether he or she is a writer of fiction or non-fiction, journalist or reviewer, must spell correctly.  As a teacher I am routinely asked by my students how to spell a word they want to use in their writing.  I always point at the dictionary.  I do understand the issue of getting a big book of words and sifting through it for the correct spelling and that they find this tedious, especially when they know I can spell the word for them much quicker.

This is why I thoroughly recommend every writer, from student to pseudo-professional to professional consider having a Webster’s Instant Word Guide or The Word Book III from Houghton Mifflin.  They do not contain definitions but are directed at spelling alone.  The majority of people who want to spell a word are not confused about its meaning.  So a speller’s word book, such as the two listed above, is ideal.  And they are small, roughly 4″ x 5 1/2″.

They are compact, to the point, easy to navigate, and they supply one crucial component: If there could be a chance of confusion with another word, both are supplied with an extremely short definition (usually one word) next to the confused alternative, so the writer can make an informed decision about which is the correct one to use and spell appropriately.

Just to add useful to convenient and the critical low “overwhelming” factor, both these books also offer conversion tables for weights and measures, spelling rules, punctuation and abbreviations sections.

I actually have both of these books.  One I keep at school on my desk and the other at home.  I introduce my new students to them every year.  And though it is never a majority, many of them do inform me at some point in the year that they have purchased one.

Last word on this:  spelling is crucial in any public writing forum.  This is a non-tedious, easy-to-use fix for the problem.  It is even quicker than an iPhone dictionary ap and does the one thing wordprocessing program dictionaries don’t do: provide you with the option of the “other word.”

How to build a classroom writing community

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Day 1: but this pattern holds true for the days to follow
  • Tell them to look around at the other writers in the room (For some, this is a frightening experience, for others confirmation.)  Recognize them immediately as writers.  If you have returning students, ask them to explain the difference between this class and an English class.  Their words will be more convincing then yours.  Your actions will support what they say.
  • Provide a prompt to write to and give instructions: write about anything that comes to mind.  Give them a set amount of time, about 7 minutes.
  • Each student shares by reading his/her response to the prompt.  Encourage returning students to go first.  (I follow a seniority pattern.  By setting this now, it won’t be a surprise in a workshop [see post for June 16, 2012], and it shows the new students what behavior is expected [and accepted: writers are quirky]). Some students refuse to share; explain that you allow this occasionally, but they must at least tell what they wrote about or what they hoped to write about.  Encourage them to share the next time.
  • Each student’s work must be acknowledged.  Point out a strong image, what you think the idea might develop into, or summarize it.  Don’t forget to smile.
  •  Diversity is already present, but it is important to point it out.  New
    writers in a creative writing class will often try to emulate (or think they should) the more
    polished writers which results in the sacrifice of their own individual
    voices. So point out the diversity and how it is a bonus for the class
    to have so many different styles present.  Encourage them to help each
    other develop this diversity.
  • Begin your lesson for the day.  All writing should be shared and encouraged. No lesson should lack an opportunity to write.  Some should just be shared and left in the journal.  Some writing should be turned in and graded for effort to fulfill the task.  Grading should be gentle: attempt is much more important than result. (Final work, I grade mercilessly, but practice is a different animal.)

By having a pattern of daily writing and sharing, your class will become a community.  Be a positive role model: be specific, encouraging and excited about what they are doing.

Rules for a classroom writer’s workshop

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A writer’s workshop is one of the best ways to advance student writers both in their writing skills and in their personal recognition that they are part of a community.  This is especially important in the classroom where many students may be admitting for the first time that they write because they like it.  There is much I can say about building this community feeling, but I am just going to focus on key rules to teach students how to participate in a workshop.

Both the writer and the critic must use their pens with thought.

The workshop critic

  • Focus on the writing, not the writer.  This workshop is not an opportunity to attack.  This is where the teacher/mediator must model the behavior required.  (I always go last and never pull my punches. The first workshop is always awkward since I make the students go first in order of seniority (so the most experienced writers set the tone. When necessary, I quietly redirect comments or responses to maintain the rules.)
  • Honor the writer’s voice.  In other words, don’t change the writing into something you might have written.  In fact, you must make an effort to appreciate this writer’s voice and work to help the writer develop it.
  • Be honest and kind.  Being kind without honesty does not help the writer.  And being honest without kindness for the sensitivity of a young writer is foolishness and destructive.
  • Point out what is good and why (often).  Every writer needs to know where it worked, so he or she can do it again.
  • Don’t just say what needs work; give suggestions for how it might be improved.  Then don’t expect the writer to use your suggestions. The intention is to give inspiration so the writer comes up with something original that fits both the writer’s style and the needs of the work.
  • Be clear and specific about both fine work and work that needs redrafting.  Also as a group, agree on routine symbols.  A question mark could mean confusion while an exclamation mark could mean especially fine image (or whatever was underlined).

The workshop writer

  • The writer must turn in as quality a work as possible.  Don’t write it the night before you distribute it.
  • Distribute your work in as timely a manner as possible.  All workshop members need time to look over the work.  Two days before a workshop is minimal.
  • Don’t take criticism personally.  The workshop is about the work.  Learn to put up a wall that allows you to listen with a willingness to consider change rather than a defense against every suggestion.
  • Do not explain to the others what you meant.  If they could not understand it, then you did not do it correctly.  I tell my students they must take the criticism in silence.  They may answer questions if asked, but may not volunteer information.
  • If you have concerns you want addressed, put questions at the top of your work, so the other members have time to consider them and be prepared to give you useful answers.
  • Do not provide a rewritten work that has not gone through considerable change.

Teenagers and writing

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I have been teaching creative writing for about six years now.  The things my students write can be revealing, intriguing and by far inspiring. Many start at the beginning of the year just writing about the frustration they feel about a friend’s actions or the awful/amazing feeling they have about the person they are dating. But as the weeks progress, the writing gets deeper.  They write each day, and each day they are a step deeper in making a writing corner of their own.  The student begins to see what is behind their writing; they grow and what comes out is magical, not because suddenly there is a Pulitzer prize forming in the room, but because they have grasped some essential understanding.  Instead of writing about their frustration, they write about frustration.  They examine it for its bitter taste, sallow color, caustic odor and suddenly they know frustration.  I love that day and the days that follow.  This week two of my writers graduated and I wept to see them go.  My last words: don’t forget to write.

A Nondescript Little Program: NoScript

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Occasionally, I blog about software programs I have recently found that I think are useful for writers.  Well, this next program is by no means limited to writers. Anyone who spends time on the net researching, shopping, or just wandering about the internet, will find NoScript a useful program.  Like the other programs I have talked about, this is another freeware program, which, of course, won’t turn away any donations.  I actually have been using it for many years, and it’s one of those things that you only know you need it when you don’t have it, kind of like parents or breathing or an opposing thumb.  That’s what NoScript is.  It’s an add-on for Firefox.  (I have only used it with Firefox and cannot say if it will work with Opera, Linux or Explorer.) 

This nondescript (no pun intended, well maybe it was intended) program hides behind your activities and only becomes apparent when you go to a new website.  Then it stops all the script activity from loading until you give permission.  When this happens, I just click on which permissions I want to give the site I am visiting. So I don’t get those annoying advertising boxes popping up over the page I am visiting. And no other little activities are going on that I am unaware of.  I can even give a site temporary permission and exit out immediately if I need to, knowing if I go back again, NoScript is keeping everything under control.

Sure, I occasionally find myself wondering why something isn’t working on a site I have gone to numerous times, but I come to my senses, click on the NoScript icon right next to the web address at the top of my screen and add whatever permissions are needed to get it all back to normal. It is not NoScript fouling up.  The site must have changed a process and added another script.  For example, there is an online vitamin site I go to every three or so months to get new supplies. One day I found I could no longer arrange payment. They had changed their payment process.  It was the first time I had been going to a site on a routine basis and couldn’t do what I was used to doing. It took me a few days to figure it out. I went back, checked NoScript and sure enough had to add a permission.

Sometimes, I have had to experiment a little giving permission for this and not for that until the right things are active and only what I want is active at the site.  Having the option to temporarily allow something comes especially in use then though you can disallow any script at any time. Sometimes I am uncertain what the item is used for, but over the years of using this program, I have learned a lot and usually recognize what needs permission and what I would rather not have active.  The program updates regularly without issue.  Overall, it is pretty simple and just like breathing, something I only think about when I need it.