Tuesday, May 27, 2014

Learn How To Use MS Word Styles



Craftsmen and artists need to learn to use their tools. MS Word is a complex piece of software and the writer who uses it will benefit from purchasing a book or two and actually learning how to use it.

MS Word seems to randomly change formatting when you move things around in the document, whether you're writing a book or anything else. Using styles can save you from that. If you use Word, you can avoid many problems by using styles.

You're wise to understand ~ before you begin your project using Word ~ what's going on paragraph-by-paragraph, and the best way to do that is by using Word's styles.

You'll find a pretty good tutorial site that approaches using Word from a writer's perspective at Daiya Mitchell's website,
"So You Want to Write a Book with MS Word."

An advantage to using styles: if you're going to self-publish ebooks, epub and mobi formats they behave much more nicely if you feed them a document that's properly formatted using Word styles.




 

Tuesday, May 13, 2014

En Dash and Em Dash Demystified


At GrammarBook.com you can learn when and when not to use dashes, including the en dash and the em dash. In addition, you'll discover the en dash is about the width of the letter n, and is slightly longer than a hyphen.

By comparison the em dash is the width of the letter m.

A visit to GrammarBook.com will demystify when and why to use one or the other.

Using your PCs keyboard to form an en dash, type the first number or word, then hold down the ALT key while typing 0150 on the numerical pad on the right side of the keyboard. Then type the second number or word.

Using your PCs keyboard to form an em dash, type the first word, then hold down the ALT key while typing 0151 on the numerical pad on the right side of the keyboard. Then type the second word. You can also form an em dash by typing the first word, hitting the hyphen key twice, and then typing the second word. Your word processor program will turn the two hyphens into an em dash.

Also, be sure to visit BLOGGERdotCOM where you'll find Cheatsheet For Bloggers .

Wednesday, May 7, 2014

About BookCrossing ~ The World's Library


"A book is not only a friend, it makes friends for you. When you have possessed a book with mind and spirit, you are enriched. But when you pass it on you are enriched threefold." Henry Miller, The Books In My Life (1969)
BookCrossing is the World's Library. "It's a smart social networking site. It's a celebration of literature and a place where books get new life. BookCrossing is the act of giving a book a unique identity so, as the book is passed from reader to reader, it can be tracked and thus connecting its readers."

You won't be disappointed when you visit the website, but you may be astounded when you read the current number of users, books circulating, and the number of countries it serves.

What is the Mission of BookCrossing? 
"Very simply, we aim to connect people through books," says the owner.