Hiding Your Notes in Microsoft Word

I told you about how I use Microsoft Excel to summarize scenes in my novels, Where Love Once Lived and The Vengeance Squad. That made me think about how I use hidden words in Microsoft Word. At the beginning of every scene, I include the following information formatted as hidden:

·         Time (day of week, date, time of day)

·         Weather (temperature, rain, etc.)

·         Scene number

·         Scene setting

·         Scene goal

·         Scene conflict

If you're not familiar with hidden text, read up on it in Word Help. It can be quite useful. You'll also need to go to Word Options to turn on display and print for hidden text. If you want to see the manuscript without your notes either on screen or in print, modify the settings

Sometimes the date doesn't matter to a story. However, I included it anyway to add realism. I don't always include the year, but it helps to know the month and day. Same for weather. You can use the real weather for a particular day by looking it up online, or use some imaginary dark clouds or rain to add a mood if it helps your story.

One problem with using hidden text in this way is that when scenes are added, deleted or moved, the numbering has to be changed. However, if you do this in conjunction with the Excel scene summary I described previously you can make the change there first.

Using Excel for Your Scene Summaries

I use an Excel spreadsheet while writing for a simple scene summary worksheet. The fields included are:

·         Chapter number

·         Scene number (computed after scene 1)

·         Number of pages in chapter

·         Number of words in scene

·         Total number of words (computed)

·         Day

·         Date (computed after scene 1)

·         Day of week (computed)

·         POV

·         Location

·         Scene Goal

·         Conflict

To simplify change, I only enter the date of scene 1. The rest are computed. That way, I can modify the starting date until all the scenes fall into place. So, I've added a new field before Date called Days. It is the number of days from scene 1 to the current scene. With this information I can easily compute the date and day of week of the scene.

While writing The Vengeance Squad, I wanted Chris and Tex to go to Massachusetts while it was snowing, so all I had to do was play with the starting date until the date for the scene in Massachusetts was at the right time of year for snow.

At the beginning a new book, I often want to insert additional scenes and sometimes delete scenes. Using the spreadsheet makes it easier. With Excel, you can use conditional formatting if needed. I use it to highlight chapters that are too long or too short.

It's not easy to explain worksheets in text, so if you're interested, I'll be glad to send you a copy of what I ended up which includes the formulas and conditional formatting.

Find the Perfect Name for a Fictional Character Part 1

In my work in progress, Vengeance Is Mine, I discovered last week that I had two characters named Paul. I always liked that name, and I know at least six Pauls in real life, probably more if I sat down and made a list. But two Pauls in a novel is not acceptable.

I'm usually pretty careful about selecting names, so I was surprised it happened. In fact, I use an Excel worksheet to track character names to make sure it doesn't happen. My worksheet is simple, and has these columns:

• Last Name
• First Name
• Comments

By separating the last name and first name, I can use Excel's Data tab to easily sort by first or last name. I try not to have two characters that have the same first letter much less the same first name. So what happened?

The double Paul error occurred because one of the Pauls had a nickname. My writing instructor, Bonnie Hearn Hill, always said it was best to have one name for a character and stick with it. Even though, in real life, we have names of endearment, nicknames, and legal names for just about everyone we know.

In my case, one of my main characters (Paul #1) was called Tex by everyone. In my Character worksheet I had included his real first name with Tex in the Comments column. The only reason I had his real first name listed was for backstory and so that I, as author creator, knew him well enough to know his full name. At some point in the process I forgot his real name and knew him only as Tex.

Paul #2 shows up in three scenes and is mentioned in two others. A minor, but not insignificant character. His name rings true to me for this character. He is a Paul.

I found out I had two Pauls when I decided it didn't sound right for Liz, Tex's boss at the library, to call him by his nickname. She might call him Mr. Thompson, or use his first name, but she wouldn't call his Tex. Since I couldn't remember what his first name was, I opened the Excel worksheet, and sorted on first name. That's when I discovered I had two Pauls.

Needless to say I had to change Tex's first name because, as I said, the name Paul was perfect for Paul #2. So, now Tex's real name is Percy. Nothing against the Percys in the world, but the character in my book would welcome a nickname if his parents labeled him Percy.

In the next posting, we'll look at other considerations when it comes to finding the perfect character name. In the meantime, I'd love to hear from you about how you select names.

More About Software and Writing

I told you about how I use Microsoft Excel to summarize scenes in my novels, Where Love Once Lived and Vengeance Is Mine. That made me think about how I use hidden words in Microsoft Word. At the beginning of every scene, I include the following information formatted as hidden:

• Time (day of week, date, time of day)

• Weather (temperature, rain, etc.)

• Scene number

• Scene setting

• Scene goal

• Scene conflict

If you're not familiar with hidden text, read up on it in Word Help. It can be quite useful. You'll also need to go to Word Options to turn on display and print for hidden text. If you want to see the manuscript without your notes either on screen or in print, modify the settings

Sometimes the date doesn't matter to a story. However, I included it anyway to add realism. I don't always include the year, but it helps to know the month and day. Same for weather. You can use the real weather for a particular day by looking it up online, or use some imaginary dark clouds or rain to add a mood if it helps your story.

One problem with using hidden text in this way is that when scenes are added, deleted or moved, the numbering has to be changed. However, if you do this in conjunction with the Excel scene summary I described previously you can make the change there first.

I teach Excel, plus the rest of Microsoft Office at Austin Community College, so feel free to ask if you have questions.

Let Your Computer Help Your Writing

In a recent post in The Writer's Alley, Krista Phillips talked about using software such as Microsoft's Outlook and Excel to keep track of the timeline in your novel. Her reason was to make sure you don't overlook an important event such as Independence Day as you are writing.

I used an Excel spreadsheet while writing Where Love Once Lived for a simple scene summary worksheet. The fields included:

• Chapter number

• Scene number (computed after scene 1)

• Number of pages in chapter

• Number of words in scene

• Total number of words (computed)

• Date

• Day of week (computed)

• Location

• Scene Goal

• Conflict

This worked fine for Where Love Once Lived, but when I started working on Vengeance Is Mine, I ran into trouble trying to line up events with the calendar. I had my amateur detectives finding clues hidden in a field in Massachusetts that was more than likely under five or six feet of snow at the time. As it is, they spend Christmas day in the Galveston jail. I decided I liked that and made use of it in a later scene.

To simplify change, I only enter the date of scene 1. The rest are computed. That way, I can modify the starting date until all the scenes fall into place. So, I've added a new field before Date called Days. It is the number of days from scene 1 to the current scene. With this information I can easily compute the date and day of week of the scene.

It's not easy to explain worksheets in text, so if you're interested, I'll be glad to send you a copy of what I ended up which includes the formulas.