Writing with Friends

Welcome to a tool deep dive episode, where we highlight the features and the challenges of a tool we think you’ll find helpful as a writer. And the tool we’ll be talking about today is Scrivener, our favorite writing software! Picks of the Week: Foundation and Empire by Isaac Asimov Alaska Sourdough by Ruth Allman Mentioned in the Episode: Scrivener writing software

We’ll be talking about character spectrums. More specifically, we’ll be covering Brandon Sanderson’s sliding scales for writing a character: likability, proactivity, and competence. And our tool tip of the week is the Zettelkasten notetaking system. Stay tuned to hear about how a 20th century German sociologist inspired a modern-day open source note taking software. Picks of the Week: Dune Messiah by Frank Herbert Things that Matter by Joshua Becker How to Take Smart Notes by Sonke

We’ll be discussing the muse– where our writing inspiration comes from and why the way we conceptualize inspiration can have an impact on our writing practice. And our tool tip of the week is grammar apps and extensions. Stay tuned to hear about how Grammarly and other grammar checking software can speed up your draft editing workflow. Picks of the Week: Mistborn: The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson Death in Holy Orders by P.D. James Mentioned in the Episode: Elizabeth Gilbert's TedTalk

We’ll be talking about how often we should use adverbs in our writing and addressing Steven King’s adverb advice in particular. And our tool tip of the week is setting up a distraction-free writing environment. Stay tuned to hear about how the humble tomato could help you power through a difficult round of revisions! Picks of the Week: Foundation by Isaac Asimov Mountains Beyond Mountains by Tracy Kidder Mentioned in the Episode: A Writer's Book of Days by Judy Reeves

Writing workshops are the best way we’ve found to breathe new life into stale drafts and get the encouragement and camaraderie you need to stay the course on the sometimes lonely path of consistent writing practice! And our tool tip of the week is text to speech tools. Stay tuned to hear about how you can let your web browser narrate your own novel right back to you! Picks of the Week: Dune by Frank Herbert You'll Grow Out of It by Jessi Klein Mentioned in the Episode: Natural Reader

Welcome to Writing with Friends! We’re writers and friends on a quest to improve our creative writing craft. And along the way, we’ll be sharing our best tips, insights, and the writing tools we love. From building an awesome character to deciding if writing software is worth the sticker price, we’ve got you covered. Tune in each week for a little friendship and shop talk on your writing journey. New episodes drop on Mondays!