Writer Talk Carnival: Writing Tools & Style

Our first writers’ blog carnival is open for submissions. The theme for this month is “writing tools”.

Tools of the writing trade

This theme is inspired by a discussion we had at last night’s writers’ night about what tools we use to plan our writing. Sadly, we ran out of time to get into the topic, but I thought it made for a great jumping off point for our new carnival that I invented this morning. (Blog carnivals are old; this one is brand new.)

For more on this carnival, see our carnival page.

Some questions to ponder in your reply posts.

Are you a Pantser or a Planner?

Do you plan your writing, or do you just write and see where it goes? Perhaps you are some hybrid of the two? What’s your planning vs inspiration style?

I’m a bit of both. It depends on the story.

What do you write with?

Many modern writers type directly, while others like the feel of pen and paper for their first drafts and type up later. What’s your approach to first drafts and initial writing?

Me? I like to use LibreOffice and type directly.

If you plan or track your story, what do you use?

I have heard a lot of talk about things like Scrivener, World Anvil, Fantasia Archive, Campfire, and Obsidian. Of those, I have only used Obsidian, which is a bit like a personal notes and wiki mashup that is surprisingly easy to use (and free).

My main tool for planning is my Word Processor, some folders, hyperlinks, and a master document. It works for me.

What writing, planning, or tracking tools do you use?

Can you recommend any tools (free or paid) other writers might like?

Would you care to share how you use your tools and/or how this helps your writing?

Where and when do you like to write?

For me, writing time is at my desk, in my living room, when it is quiet and there are no upcoming appointments to interrupt me. The middle of the night and/or early morning are best.

That’s me, though. When and where do you like to write?

Gathering and storing ideas

I’m probably not the only one who writes down their dreams, right? Dreams can be a great source of fresh ideas. I keep them on my computer. That said, lately, I have taken to publishing my dreams on one of my blogs.

Another fine source of ideas is things overheard on the bus. Trust me, you hear some wild stuff.

I know of one writer who loved to take photographs of interesting things. Those photos went on the wall as ideas for new stories.

Where do you gather your ideas, and where do you keep them?

I look forward to reading your posts

I’m excited to see what you all write. Remember to link to this post and ping us with your entry. This post will close for new pings after the month is over.