20 Minutes Freeform, and the Things You Suddenly Realise
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For several months now I’ve been using Liquid Story Binder, by Black Obelisk Software, to write and keep research content within. All my ideas and research notes are kept in this piece of software also. In fact, LSB is the program which holds my very first novel within it - written in April of this year. But a surprising find within it, has led me to a realisation which changes something I believed incorrectly in my life, for the last forty years!
A Little About Liquid Story Binder, First.
When Jesse Wall, the developer and owner of LSB, gave it away for free one day at giveawayoftheday.com, the program suddenly had a lively and opinionated clientele. As a silent watcher of the development of the program itself (as an ex-software test manager, I didn’t feel I should offer up any critiques on the odd flaw or so I found, and as I’ve come out of years of software development, I’m well aware of the impacts the many “good ideas” for new features one or more vocal users may have on the stability and delivery of software), so I had remained silent but interested in what the program would deliver next. Liquid Story Binder had a reputation out there already. It was suggested to be the PC equivalent of the brilliant (according to Mac users) Scrivaner. But it also was difficult to pick up and many users found the pure volume of features and modules inside LSB complicated.
I preferred it that way, after trying many other writing programs. I could use the various modules just how I wanted to, and did just that. Note: I intend doing a full How I Use LSB at a later date, so this is simply a taster of one feature.
So, I’d already used LSB for several months before these 100 plus new people came on board, and started vocalising their many desires on the support forum the product holds through Yahoo groups. And since that giveaway, Jesse has continued to develop new features for Liquid Story Binder really fast.
The latest recent versions have come with a character creator (using lists of names, I believe) and a Journal feature. I’ve been slow to pick up on these, as the last couple of months have seen my concentration on developing this blog, and with other projects starting off.
Today I opened LSB up again, and took a quick look at that new journal feature. Someone on one of the yahoo group messages in my inbox had mentioned it. And suddenly everything clicked.
20 Minutes Journaling, Daily
Long a proponent of “morning pages” (ala Julia Cameron’s The Artist Way), or Daily Pages, or Free-form Writing, or Free Writing, or Diary-Writing or 20 Minutes of Writing - or whatever else we all call this, I have been struggling to feel inclined to do my twenty minutes lately.
I previously was told (via The Artist’s Way) that it should be three full-scap pages, and handwritten at that. Once my hand started aching - which happened concurrently with my brain stopping and having no more things to say on the page - well, I guiltily started typing on my keyboard, and entering each morning’s writing into a simple text file.
I’ve also looked into many journaling programs, many of which are excellent. I also started using a journaling system as a module within a database organiser I use - mainly for filing encrypted passwords and login details to the many websites I belong to.
But none of it felt completely right. Like somehow the different journals, whether in a simple folder, or within a database program, were keeping me away from actually writing itself. Which, in my mind, is basically centred around Liquid Story Binder.
Now, LSB has a Journal feature. You can create a standalone book (the name for a writing project) or have the Journal file sitting in one of your other books - perhaps one you are currently working within.
I went to try it out, and was impressed by the calendar function. Your first entry is for today - you can entitle it whatever you want, and the date is automatically inserted for you. The normal Liquid Story Binder text editor is available, meaning you can format your journal entry if you wish. I don’t - my journal entries are freeform, and I don’t bother with spell-checking or grammar checks, bolding or italics.
I do bother about the time, however. LSB’s time feature sees this ticking over on the bottom task bar for the journal as you write. As does a word count, if you’re interested. Once my twenty minutes was up, I simply ended.
You can scroll back on the calendar month by month, or right-click and change the year. Once a new year is selected - well, the correct calendar for that month and year comes up. You can therefore use the Journaling module within Liquid Story Binder to create a retroactive diary for yourself - or perhaps for a character in your novel? Which is exactly what I was looking for, to help in the structure for my next intended novel.
What I Found Out About Myself
What did I do to check this out? Well, like anyone with a new calendar, I went to look at my own birthday month, then I went back to my birth year and month. LSB goes back many many years. What I found puzzled me, however. The date of my birth sat on a Saturday. This couldn’t be right, I mused. I’ve always known I’m a Wednesday’s Child (full of woe), shared lovingly with both my husband and daughter. We were the Wednesday family. And here LSB was saying I had been mistaken for the last forty years.
I went and checked, doing a web search for the calendar and date I wanted. And LSB was correct, I wasn’t. So here I am, no longer a Wednesday’s child (thanks, Mum) but a Saturday’s Child - works hard for a living. It all makes sense now.
Signed :
Saturday’s Child
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