yuvi

failed writer, schmo

a multi-creative in the attic (video)

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I’ve always struggled with being monogamous when it comes to my creative outlets. I’ve been writing for most of my adult life, but I also dabble with YouTube videos and making apps and making music (sort of) and various other activities. I used to focus on the downsides to working on so many different pursuits (and there are plenty of downsides!), but this video is about me accepting (and maybe kinda sorta embracing) this quality. (I also do about 12 seconds of research and find out that there’s already a name for this quality. But since I don’t like the name, I made up a new name…)

Check out my recent Writer Unboxed post for more info about this subject.

How I Use Tech to Write (video)

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For the past few years, I’ve wanted to make a video about my writing process when I’m working on a book-sized project. My process is a zig-zaggy combination of scribbling and typing and listening. I particularly love writing on an iPad because you have a few different ways to interact with it (stylus + keyboard + voice + weeping under the desk), and I also find it a less distracting tool than an old-school computer. The problem with my first few fAiLeD attempts at making this video was that I overly focused on exactly what tech and which apps I used… It’s just too easy to get caught up in buying the trendy app of the month with the hopes that it’ll save you from the difficulty of writing. (Nothing will save you. Writing sucks!) And my main goal was really to focus on how and why I use the tools that I use. (But I also didn’t want to totally ignore the apps that I find valuable, because they are lovingly built and they are fabulous to use.) So… hopefully this short video gives you a feel for my approach without getting too lost in the technical weeds… (Below the video you’ll find more of the gory details.)

If you want more details about the apps, here are the apps that I use:

  • GoodNotes. This is my current favorite scribbling tool. Simple and clean and feels so natural to use. Lovingly built and regularly updated.
  • Notability. I also dig this app and often switch back and forth between this app and GoodNotes. This app is also built with such care and I honestly can’t tell you that one is better than the other. Try them both if you like.
  • Ulysses. This is my current favorite writing tool. Looks beautiful and really powerful for organizing a book. I used to evangelize Scrivener and I still really love that app, but I like the simplicity and cleanliness of Ulysses a little better. And Ulysses is still plenty powerful — with nested folders and keywords and export, it does everything I need it to do. Works just as well on iPad as on Mac.
  • Scrivener. I still have tremendous affection for this tool and it can do so much to help you organize your book.
  • Say the Thing. A pretty dumb text-to-speech tool that I WROTE MYSELF! The reason I wrote it is because I wanted a lightweight app that will take whatever text you throw at it. You can copy/paste text, drag/drop text, or use the share command from most text editors. Is it amazing? No. Is it pretty good? Maybe. Is it free? Yes.

And since I was a little too quick and confusing about my specific process in the video, here it is for those who care:

  1. First draft, I scribble in my scribbling tool. Write by hand without thinking too hard about what I’m up to.
  2. Then I type it up in my writing tool. I do a little bit more organizing and thinking about it in this step. I keep the scribbling app and the typing app side-by-side as I type it up. I do not use any mechanism to automatically convert my writing into text. I know there are tools that do this, but I prefer to type it up manually so I can think about what I’m typing, and clean it up as I go along.
  3. Then I listen to the computer read it to me. Something about having a computer read your words exposes some of the bullshit in the writing. I use my own app (Say the Thing) side-by-side with my writing tool.
  4. Then I type up any edits after listening to it.
  5. Then I make a PDF copy of the writing (export as PDF from Ulysses) and import it back into my scribbling tool. The formality of a PDF helps me look at it like an editor.
  6. I read the PDF to my writing group and listen to feedback.
  7. Based on the feedback, I scribble notes and edits on the PDF within my scribbling tool. Sometimes I’ll even draw diagrams and flow charts as I think through the structure of my story.
  8. Then I type up any changes or edits.
  9. Then I listen to the computer read it again.
  10. I type up edits again.
  11. Repeat any of the above steps until done.

I know that this whole process doesn’t discuss how to actually structure a story. That part is at least as important as this process I’ve outlined here. But I feel like every writer and every story has its own unique way to tackle the issue of structure. Sometimes I think about structure very early in the writing process, sometimes I focus on it later. Sometimes it involves pictures and diagrams, sometimes it involves lots of lists and outlines. Maybe someday I’ll do a video on how this has worked for me for a particular story.

OK. That’s all for now. Hope this is helpful. Or at least not harmful…

Say the Thing: A pretty dumb text-to-speech app

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tl;dr: I mistakenly made an app. It’s free. If you use an iPad or iPhone for writing and you like having the device read what you write, get it. (p.s. It requires iOS 11.)

Each morning, you’re probably waking up thinking, “Where the hell did Yuvi go?” I’ve got a whole pile of reasons and excuses — some real, some imagined — but instead of listing those here, I just want to tell you that I haven’t totally disappeared off the planet. For example, I just released a FREE app to help with the writing process…

I’m obsessed with having the computer read what I write. What I love about the computer voice is that it doesn’t give a damn what you meant to write — it only knows what you actually wrote. The problem is that I couldn’t find the right tool to do this on iPad and iPhone. I mean, there is a built-in way to speak text, but it doesn’t quite cut it… I’d like a clear way to play and pause and change the voice. And I’d like a way to do it exclusively with an external keyboard on an iPad. Drag and drop would be nice too. There are some really good fancy apps, like Voice Dream, which I use for some stuff. But that app is a little more complicated and elaborate. I wanted something dumb and lightweight, but still powerful enough to do what I needed. So I mistakenly made the app I wanted.

It’s called Say the Thing. It plays whatever text you throw at it. Here is the three-minute tutorial:

Want it? Then get it for free before the developer disappears off the planet again.

At some point, I’ll give a more elaborate online update on where I’ve been the past few years. But not quite yet.

So that’s my story. How are you?

Link to the product web page: http://saythething.xyz

NOTE: This blog post was reluctantly proofread by Say the Thing.
NOTE 2: …And even more reluctantly by my wife.

Why Scrivener? (video)

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So I made this short video called “Why Scrivener?”

Why the hell did I make it?… I’ve been tutoring people on how to use Scrivener for many years now. I find that it is effective to first show people what it can do and make sure that it addresses something they are struggling with. As much as I love Scrivener, it’s not the right tool for every writer or for every writing project. I run through this shpiel enough times in an average month that I thought I’d make a short video where I make the case for Scrivener (and get to say some dirty words in the process). Let me know what you think!

Info Related to Scrivener
  • Literature & Latte’s home page
  • Official Video Tutorials
  • To go through Scrivener’s interactive tutorial, launch Scrivener and from the menu, select “Help > Interactive Tutorial”. It’s a good tutorial.
  • To see Scrivener’s help manual, launch Scrivener and from the menu, select “Help > Scrivener Manual”.
  • To view my (relatively out of date) one-hour tutorial on Scrivener, check out Scrivener from my POV.
  • Literature & Latte’s support page

Check out all my second-rate videos on my video landing page.

Creative Sprints (failvid-17)

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In this Failed Writer video, I talk about how I chip away at my creative projects. I’m definitely no model for success — every week I consider dumping my novel — but I still manage to keep doing creative projects every week. So here is my tactic, sort of.

By the way, I’m use the Clear app for my creative list making. Check it out.

Want to see all my Failed Writer videos? Check them out here.

Closed for retooling + Is this video funny?

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Hi there. Just wanted to let y’all know that I’m going to take a little break from online-y things. I need to think through my online projects. And I want to clean up a few non-online things (like family, book, sleep, intestines).

And when I get back to it, I’d like to shift things up a little. I might revive the I’m a Failed Writer series to tackle a few writerly issues on my mind. I also want to adjust The Creative Turn project. Perhaps play with both the format and the content. I want to talk less directly about writing. I also don’t want to require audio + video every single round. Or necessarily keep doing straight-up interviews. It’s been a fun experience so far, but I’m ready to f#!@ it up a little bit. So stay subscribed to The Creative Turn podcast or my website for an update once I get my head on straight. And even before I get my head on straight (pretending that I intend to…), you may be privy to a few experiments around here. Wow: did I just use the word privy? Sorry.

Oh. Unrelated side note. Is this video funny? Or just 81 seconds of un-funny suffering?

What’s a podcast app and why should I give a shit?

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There’s an enormous disparity between my geek friends and my literary friends when it comes to how they listen to podcasts. While my geek friends argue over the subtle quirks between their seven favorite podcast apps (aka podcatcher, aka podcast client), quite a few of my literary friends don’t know what the hell a podcast app is. And when they do listen to a podcast episode, they do it by going to a website from a browser on their computer and clicking play.

I want to change this.

Not the part about us geeks arguing over trivial features – no one can stop that, it’s a force of nature – but I want stop this method of playing podcast episodes from the browser. There is a better way, and you’ll be able to discover and hear so much amazing stuff if you learn this one thing from the geeks. Here’s a little video I made for those who want to learn a few reasons why podcast apps are useful. It also contains a tutorial for an easy way to get started for free if you have an iPhone or iPod Touch. Even if you don’t have one of those snooty devices, the basic premise is the same with another smart phone or a computer.

WARNING: This is a seven-minute presentation/tutorial meant for a newbie podcast listener. Also, it isn’t (yet) full of jokes… just a few of them in there…


[Read more…]

vid004: The index card treatment

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In this video, I get to focus on Kate’s perspective on the index card treatment, which is how she lays out index cards to outline her novel. It not only can help with plotting a story, but with detecting patterns in your book. Kate also came up with a fabulous metaphor about a risk with the index card treatment — a metaphor that required all of my bad animation skills. She says many more things that I didn’t get a chance to animate, so check out the full one-hour audio conversation for more of her insights. Enjoy!

Related links:

For more information about this half-baked series (and how to subscribe to it), check out The Creative Turn.

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