I have had time, though, to complete My Creative Writing Tools. Find out in my next post!!!
Showing posts with label Random. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Random. Show all posts
Friday, June 7, 2013
No Summer Vacation
Hello all! I'm sorry I have been absent a lot lately. I have been tackling a lot of new things this year. From building my Print and Design company Print Muses, learning the tricks of that trade, realizing and researching the improvement needs of my resources for a large part of the extensions of my writing, as well as looking at Kickstarter - hopefully there will be news on that soon - and learning about that. All while trying to maintain some decent contact with my family. So I've been a busy, busy bee.
Friday, November 2, 2012
NaNoWriMo - National Novel Writing Month
Hi all!
Again I apologize for my absence but that little thing called life keeps getting in my way. Like the fact that our incredibly full house is being re-carpeted, painted outside, getting a new garage door, and a few other things. Timing couldn't be WORSE, the hubby's job is giving him grief for some personal illness issues, my work comp issue is flaring and I'm playing a game of hurry up and wait with the company and lawyers. But the timing though isn't ours to call - ah the joys of renting. But I can tell you that I am working on 20 new articles as I attempt to accomplish some of my personal goals. And speaking of personal goals, this month is National Novel Writing Month - 30 days, 50,000 words; sponsored by NaNoWriMo Organization. Which I have participated in (officially or non-officially for the last 6 years) and I will be participating again this year.
Again I apologize for my absence but that little thing called life keeps getting in my way. Like the fact that our incredibly full house is being re-carpeted, painted outside, getting a new garage door, and a few other things. Timing couldn't be WORSE, the hubby's job is giving him grief for some personal illness issues, my work comp issue is flaring and I'm playing a game of hurry up and wait with the company and lawyers. But the timing though isn't ours to call - ah the joys of renting. But I can tell you that I am working on 20 new articles as I attempt to accomplish some of my personal goals. And speaking of personal goals, this month is National Novel Writing Month - 30 days, 50,000 words; sponsored by NaNoWriMo Organization. Which I have participated in (officially or non-officially for the last 6 years) and I will be participating again this year.
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Back It Up! Part Two - a tale of almost woe.
This is a Perfect example of why you must not only backup, and back up often, but if at all possible have a third copy (a hard copy or digital - or both) of any important files.
Pixar nearly lost all of Toy Story 2 during production!
Pixar nearly lost all of Toy Story 2 during production!
Saturday, May 12, 2012
Projects - Progress and Goals 05.12.12
Accomplished - 05/11/12
- Completed file comparison of the Merger folder.
- 82,571 files (30GB) down to 8,006 files (1.07GB)
- Organization of the Merger folder.
- Starting Version Control and GIT post and setup.
Thursday, April 19, 2012
"Return of the Pixie" - or "Life Happens"
It has been weeks since my last post. Unfortunately I have been unable to post because I've been spending my waking hours cleaning out the garage of 17years of accumulated crap of my own and my family's as well as prepping for a pending move closer to the coast; so my few free moments have gone to my daughter.
One big bonus has come out of this though, in the process of all this cleaning I have found the majority of my had written notes and manuscripts for my projects; including art and diagrams, several dozen notebooks, and possibly thousands of loose papers. This has greatly inspired my creative juices and I'm very much looking forward to getting back to work. There is still some work left to do around here so things will still be limited until that is done but I'm hoping to get back to work on this before May.
My short term goals are to finish the file sorting, take down my notes for the story ideas I've had over the last few weeks, catalog and subsequently archive the on paper works I've found.
Future post plans include Office Supplies, Getting in the Groove techniques, My Writing Tools, to list a few. I'm very excited to share this next part of this journey with you.
One big bonus has come out of this though, in the process of all this cleaning I have found the majority of my had written notes and manuscripts for my projects; including art and diagrams, several dozen notebooks, and possibly thousands of loose papers. This has greatly inspired my creative juices and I'm very much looking forward to getting back to work. There is still some work left to do around here so things will still be limited until that is done but I'm hoping to get back to work on this before May.
My short term goals are to finish the file sorting, take down my notes for the story ideas I've had over the last few weeks, catalog and subsequently archive the on paper works I've found.
Future post plans include Office Supplies, Getting in the Groove techniques, My Writing Tools, to list a few. I'm very excited to share this next part of this journey with you.
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Least productive week ever ...
This past week had not been productive in the writing area but that's kind of par for the course when the hubby losses his job and spring cleaning starts as result. Even if cleaning hadn't happened, the family out of sorts doesn't make for much productivity. But laying in bed listening to the gentle drone of snoring drifting on the fan driven air, I feel the urge to write. In fact I've caught myself taking my mini note pad and favorite pen to bed several nights. (I still like to write by hand at times as it gives me time to think about what I'm jotting down.) But what to write about? So many things cross my mind in the dark hours of the night. And I realized that where I haven't gotten a lot of writing done, I've had the opportunity to mull things over, plots, character development, things of that nature - all have had time to simmer in the back of my mind. So maybe productive can be thought of as a relative term.
Saturday, March 3, 2012
Projects - Progress and Goals 3.14.12
Accomplished - 03/02/12
- Got Welcome/Under Construction pages up for my websites.
- Continuing to whittle away at the 1,435 files left in the most important folders to sort, OMG ALMOST done with the main folder ... light at the end of the tunnel!!!
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
File Comparison Tools
So I'm taking a break from comparing files to talk blog about File Comparison tools. I've been using Compare It! for the last year. But in the interest of keeping current I have done some research into what is currently out there in the world of file comparison tools.
First let's talk about why you would need a file comparison tool. Well one is if you fall into a situation like mine where you have dozens (or more) copies of files with the same name, some could be corrupt, some could be altogether different, and some could just simply be duplicate. But how do you know? There are several visual cues you could try to judge on without even opening the file; the number that's been attached to the file by your computer, the creation or modification dates, the file size. Still not any one of those can be a guarantee that the files are the same or different though they increase the chances the more things that you compare. The more important the contents of that file more sure you will want to be.
Okay, so how can you be even more sure? Well if you use Microsoft Office you can do side by side comparisons and scroll through the files and HOPE that your eyes catch any minor differences. Like when in your third pass though you finally noticed that the line that you wrote in the first draft still had your heroine's eyes listed as green when her eyes being blue turned out to be imperative or where you'd dropped a letter in a word completely changing the meaning of that line; this mistake was hard enough to spot the first time but do you even remember making it so that you know to look for it now. If you are comparing files by size a change this small might not even change the BITES of the file let alone register at the KB level (which is what that column usually shows), you could compare the modified/created date but if your files have been "recovered" that data could be changed. You could do what I did prior to finding file comparison tools; print out the files and go word by word - or if you have those kind of friends, recruit people to help. It does work, I have several friends who can attest to it. We found such mistakes in two seemingly identical files of a script I wrote. But if it's more than a couple of files you're going to spend a lot of money on wasting paper, ink and time. So believe me when I say; finding a file comparison tool that's right for you is VITAL!
I have played with several and I even have different programs to sort through image files and music files (my Doc folder wasn't the only victim of the Geek Squad screw up). One thing I encourage is if you can go free - do so, especially when trying out software. You also need to learn what works for you. A lot of the reason why there are so many programs that do the same thing out there has a lot to do with ascetics, as well as the little things. I personally am partial to a clean simple look when it comes to this kind of software. I also don't want to have to look at the comparison data myself to determine if they are identical - that's why I have the software right? The basics that you are looking for in a File comparison program are as follows:
As I said before I use Compare It! this program has has a free trial version that works just fine, but you can also pay for the full version. I like because when it does find differences it shows them in a side by side view and highlights what and where the changes are. If the files are the same it says so in a nifty little box message at the completion of the comparison - so easy so you can just move forward. And after playing with several other
This only works with Windows. It has the old Windows 95 look and feel. I'm holding out to try their WinMerge 3 which promises to be a significant improvement. But Apple/Mac users you're out of luck here. It seems to have a similar system as Compare It! (The OS X answer to this is FileMerge, I don't use Apple/Mac PCs so I can't comment on that program.)
This program is like Compare It! in that it has a free trial download and a Pro (paid) version. I downloaded the freeware version and it looks nice. What they don't tell you right off is that after a little bit the program will bug you every 15 minutes to upgrade to Pro this alone turns me off to the program. But if you don't mind the interruption this could be a good option for you. That being said the pro version looks very complete, if you are thinking of paying for your compare app this is a good contender along side Compare It!
From what I've read about it; Don't Bother! But if you want to test it that's up to you.
The specs look great. And again it has the free trial and paid versions. Though I couldn't find the paid version to save my life. One of the bonuses to this program is that you can compare portions of files and customize what you do and don't want to ignore in searches. This tool looks to be really useful in helping with version control. It's not my favorite for plowing through large numbers of files though.
If you don't want to download a file comparison tool and you only have a few files to compare this online "service" seems to be your best bet.
All the other programs I looked into were either 30 day trials or paid software. You are more than welcome to look into those if you wish. But then again you can also pay someone else to compare your files for you as well.
If you want to do your own research on File comparison tools I suggest looking at this Wikipedia article and doing a Google or Bing Search. I also found this article but for most writers this is a little over the head.
Good luck!
First let's talk about why you would need a file comparison tool. Well one is if you fall into a situation like mine where you have dozens (or more) copies of files with the same name, some could be corrupt, some could be altogether different, and some could just simply be duplicate. But how do you know? There are several visual cues you could try to judge on without even opening the file; the number that's been attached to the file by your computer, the creation or modification dates, the file size. Still not any one of those can be a guarantee that the files are the same or different though they increase the chances the more things that you compare. The more important the contents of that file more sure you will want to be.
Okay, so how can you be even more sure? Well if you use Microsoft Office you can do side by side comparisons and scroll through the files and HOPE that your eyes catch any minor differences. Like when in your third pass though you finally noticed that the line that you wrote in the first draft still had your heroine's eyes listed as green when her eyes being blue turned out to be imperative or where you'd dropped a letter in a word completely changing the meaning of that line; this mistake was hard enough to spot the first time but do you even remember making it so that you know to look for it now. If you are comparing files by size a change this small might not even change the BITES of the file let alone register at the KB level (which is what that column usually shows), you could compare the modified/created date but if your files have been "recovered" that data could be changed. You could do what I did prior to finding file comparison tools; print out the files and go word by word - or if you have those kind of friends, recruit people to help. It does work, I have several friends who can attest to it. We found such mistakes in two seemingly identical files of a script I wrote. But if it's more than a couple of files you're going to spend a lot of money on wasting paper, ink and time. So believe me when I say; finding a file comparison tool that's right for you is VITAL!
I have played with several and I even have different programs to sort through image files and music files (my Doc folder wasn't the only victim of the Geek Squad screw up). One thing I encourage is if you can go free - do so, especially when trying out software. You also need to learn what works for you. A lot of the reason why there are so many programs that do the same thing out there has a lot to do with ascetics, as well as the little things. I personally am partial to a clean simple look when it comes to this kind of software. I also don't want to have to look at the comparison data myself to determine if they are identical - that's why I have the software right? The basics that you are looking for in a File comparison program are as follows:
- Compares several kinds of files (e.g. .doc, .xls, .html, .pdf)
- Compares the source and file names
- Compares the file size
- and most importantly Compares CONTENT! This can be your most useful tool down the line for many reasons including version control. (Which we will discuss in a different post)
As I said before I use Compare It! this program has has a free trial version that works just fine, but you can also pay for the full version. I like because when it does find differences it shows them in a side by side view and highlights what and where the changes are. If the files are the same it says so in a nifty little box message at the completion of the comparison - so easy so you can just move forward. And after playing with several other
This only works with Windows. It has the old Windows 95 look and feel. I'm holding out to try their WinMerge 3 which promises to be a significant improvement. But Apple/Mac users you're out of luck here. It seems to have a similar system as Compare It! (The OS X answer to this is FileMerge, I don't use Apple/Mac PCs so I can't comment on that program.)
This program is like Compare It! in that it has a free trial download and a Pro (paid) version. I downloaded the freeware version and it looks nice. What they don't tell you right off is that after a little bit the program will bug you every 15 minutes to upgrade to Pro this alone turns me off to the program. But if you don't mind the interruption this could be a good option for you. That being said the pro version looks very complete, if you are thinking of paying for your compare app this is a good contender along side Compare It!
From what I've read about it; Don't Bother! But if you want to test it that's up to you.
The specs look great. And again it has the free trial and paid versions. Though I couldn't find the paid version to save my life. One of the bonuses to this program is that you can compare portions of files and customize what you do and don't want to ignore in searches. This tool looks to be really useful in helping with version control. It's not my favorite for plowing through large numbers of files though.
If you don't want to download a file comparison tool and you only have a few files to compare this online "service" seems to be your best bet.
All the other programs I looked into were either 30 day trials or paid software. You are more than welcome to look into those if you wish. But then again you can also pay someone else to compare your files for you as well.
If you want to do your own research on File comparison tools I suggest looking at this Wikipedia article and doing a Google or Bing Search. I also found this article but for most writers this is a little over the head.
Good luck!
Projects - Progress and Goals 2.29.12
Today is leap-day. Tradition states do something you wouldn't normally do. Take a leap of faith. I think this year I'm just going to try to make it productive.
Accomplished Yesterday - 02/28/12
Accomplished Yesterday - 02/28/12
- Sorted through 809 files.
- Worked on File Comparison tools post.
- Worked on my Creative Writer's tools post.
- Updated some mistakes in the dates of posts.
- Continuing to whittle away at the 2,652 files left in the most important folders to sort.
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Projects - Progress and Goals 2.22.12
Accomplished Yesterday - 02/21/12
- Sorted 3,457 files! (160 files to reach halfway done!)
- Started on the Facebook page and setup email for Siren Society (Entertainment) which will be published once our act is together ... quite literally.
- Researched domain names for several projects.
- Finished Blog Page "Every Writer's Greatest Resource"
- Sorted 4,715 files into smaller folders for easier sorting.
- Continuing to whittle away at the 3,776 files left in the most important folders to sort.
- Finish Post for "Spirit of the Moment"
- Work on Pages for blogs.
Thursday, February 16, 2012
Back It Up! **UPDATED** 2013, Nov 22nd
This will be my first post about "Process." My friend Mary Wine, a talented romance author, made a comment on my Welcome post that got me thinking that this might make a very good subject to open the Process section of the blog.
"A backup drive is a must! It's amazing how often I need to go back to a book or submission I thought was way past dead"And she is thoroughly RIGHT! Today's technology makes it easier than it has ever been before for writers to keep track of all of their files; there is no excuse for not backing those files up, and regularly at that.
Getting into the Groove
I spent several days thinking about what I wanted for this blog. I've decided that there will be several kinds of posts for this blog.
- Goal Posts - These are pretty much self explanatory. Goals for daily, weekly, short term, log term goals.
- Progress Posts - These post will most likely be fairly short and filled with technical details, mostly about editing or work progress statuses.
- Character Posts - Mostly for character ideas or epiphanies regarding characters or character development.
- Story Posts - Similar to the Character Posts but regarding Story ideas, Plots, Series ideas, or titles.
- Overview or Summary Posts - I will attempt to post one each month or at the completion of major projects.
- Process Posts - These posts will relate to the process of writing. More specifically my process, what works for me what doesn't as well as what I find works for others on a consistent basis.
- Random - Writing related but general in nature.
~ Claire
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