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Tips For Microsoft
Word
How
do I get rid of the heavy dotted black line in an MSWord document?
Have you put asterisks between paragraphs to separate a scene
only to find that when you hit <Return>, these asterisks
become a solid line that won't go away?
What this is is a "border" created by "autoformat
as you type" from the "***" symbol. ("---"
would create a solid black line when autocorrect is on and "###"
creates a different solid line).
Removing it is not
as impossible as it seems.
1. First you want to go under the menu Tools-- >AutoCorrect-->Auto
Format As You Type and uncheck "border" as something
to autocorrect. Then it won't happen in the future (if it does,
you can just do UNDO immediately and it will revert to ***).
2. After the line has already been in your document for a while,
Undo won't work. You need to click into the paragraph directly
ABOVE the line then go to borders (FORMAT--BORDERS &
SHADING) and select NO borders. The line should then
disappear. Sometimes you have to click on the paragraph below
the line to get rid of the border. But that's what it is, a
border.
NOTE: These instructions are based on MSWord 2004. If your menus
are slightly different than what I described, check your Help
menu for "Auto Correct" and "Borders" and
you should be able to get the steps necessary to remove the
border.
Good luck!
Computer Advice
Don't
Be Foolish - Back Up Your Computer Files...OFTEN!
Sounds like common sense. Seems easy enough to remember. But
you'd be surprised how difficult it can be to do on a regular
basis, especially when you've never had a problem with your
computer and you feel "safe."
Well, all you have
to do is read the March 16, 2005 entry of my WebJournal
to see that complacency is an invitiation for disaster. Don't
let it happen to you!
Ideally you should
back your files up at the end of every computer session. You
never know if the next time you go to start the computer it
just won't boot.
Writing in General
Show
Don't Tell
You hear or see this "guideline" just about everywhere
in fiction writing in one form or another. But what does this
really mean? Put simply, try to show the character's feelings
through their actions and internal thoughts, rather than stating
it for the reader.
Instead of: He felt
frustrated and walked up the stairs. (Tells the reader the character
is frustrated.) Try something like: "When would today end?
Things were not going according to plan at all. He stomped up
the stairs." (Shows his frustration through his thoughts
and actions--stomped vs. walked.) Depending on the context,
his stomping up the stairs might be enough to "show"
his frustration.
Verbs like saw,
heard, felt,
knew, thought,
hoped, decided,
wondered are “telling”
verbs. If you find them in a sentence, see if you can re-write
the sentence without that verb and “show” what the
character saw, heard, felt etc. Chances are the sentence will
be a stronger without the telling verb. And remember, not all
telling is bad, so don't go overboard and try to show everything.
More information on
battling show vs. tell can be found in the book Description
by Monica Wood. On the web, author Shirley Jump has a great
article on the subject.
Contest Advice
Contest
Scoresheets
If you are considering
entering your manuscript in a writing contest, see if the contest
coordinator can provide you a sample copy of the scoresheet
(most contests post them on the website). If your hero and heroine
don't meet in the first chapter and the scoresheet expects them
to, you're not going to score as highly in that contest as you
could. Choose another contest better suited to your manuscript.
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