Writer's Toolbox: Nimbus Note

One of the most frustrating things for me while researching for my novel has been keeping up with all of the information I need. I've had tons of Word documents. I've used a notebook full of notes. I have tons of websites saved and some emails sent to myself. When I want to save something for later, I don't want to take the time to write it all down or copy and paste a ton of things into a Word document that I then need to format and rearrange. I want to save it quickly and move on. But how do you do that in an organized fashion without purchasing writing software? It's been rather hard finding something that really works for me when I'm tossing around ideas, building up the best and eliminating the worst. That is, until I found Nimbus this week!

Nimbus Note is an excellent note taking application that you can access from your web browser; download on your PC, Android, iPad, iPhone, or Windows Phone; or add as an extension in Google Chrome. Any note you save is easily synced to your account, allowing you to access information from all of your devices. There are numerous features that help to organize your writing research:

• Basic text editing tools, including adding links and photos
• Tags for quick search and better organization
• Share your notes with password protection
• Source links saved automatically
• To-Do tasks for future reminders
• Add attachments to your notes
• Print notes

The most useful tool for me is the Chrome extension. While researching this week, I simply was able to highlight the information I needed, whether it was a full article, a photo, or a paragraph or two, and with a quick right click, I sent exactly what I needed to my notes. 

The only thing I had to go in and change was the titles for organization; every bit of information was saved for future reference, and I was able to tag my notes for quick searching. It made collecting my research information quicker and so much easier! Keep in mind that the Chrome extension does not have as many features as the full Nimbus app; however, for me, this doesn't matter. It takes a second to head to the Nimbus website if for some reason I need more than the basic text formatting, copy and pasting, and link insertion features, which is rare.

If you're looking for an easy way to organize research material, or even just notes and ideas, definitely check out Nimbus. It has just the number of features you need, and if you're like me, nothing's better than being able to access your notes anywhere, anytime inspiration strikes.

Exercise: Colors of the Wind

Think about the different ways you describe wind. The sound may howl. It may be personalized wen dancing with a leaf. You may feel it caress your skin. Perhaps it blows brown with dust and dirt. There are several "go-to" ways people seem to describe wind, but how will that help your writing stand out?

For this exercise, your theme is wind. Whether you write a few sentences, a short story, or a poem is up to you. How you use the wind is up to you. The ultimate goal is to stretch your thinking. How could you describe the wind doing that very thing we are all used to but  have your reader view it, feel it differently?

App Review: Writing Prompts by Writing.com

One app I love always having at hand is Writing Prompts by Writing.com.  It features hundreds of prompts for writing exercises in its $1.99 app. The prompts are placed into five categories: sketches, scenes, texts, words, and news.

• Sketches provides a color, genre, type of writing, and three drawn images. A most interesting take on prompts, sketches really gets your imagination going. 
• Scenes gives a place, brief character description, object, and weather description. 
• Texts shows more classic writing prompts (ex: "A bus full of people vanishes"). 
• Words provides random groups of words that, just like sketches, is more unique. I found that with either of the two prompt types I get a clear image in mind which is especially helpful when I have writer's block. 
• News prompts allows the app to search the web based on a random keyword and give you a headline to use as your prompt.  Tap refresh and a new one appears.

Users can use portrait or landscape modes and shake or swipe to change prompts, although the shake didn't work well for me. The app allows you to make a favorites list of prompts and make notes that you can email, which worked great on my iPhone.  If you desire more prompts, there are four $0.99 prompt packs each containing 250 new scene elements, 400 new words, and 100 new sketches.  According to the in-app information, with all five of the prompt packs there are over 3 billion combinations available on the scene prompt generator alone.  If users want to avoid buying packs later, they can go ahead and purchase A+ Writing Prompts for $4.99, containing all prompt packs for $1 less than buying them separately. I'm still using the basic app without the need for more, but I like that it's available if I need it.

Writing Prompts is available for iPhone, iPad, Android, and Kindle Fire.

What If? You need some inspiration and practice...

During my undergraduate career, I took a course in fiction writing that left me with a textbook I highly recommend for any fiction author.



Available on Amazon for about $50, What If? Writing Exercises for Fiction Writers (3rd Edition) is a great investment if you'd like a ton of writing exercises that focus on different important elements of creative writing including beginnings, character development, voice, dialogue, plot, etc.  The authors also guide you with pointers with each exercise that are very helpful and often result in an "Ah-hah" moment if its an element where you were previously stuck.  In fact, you'll probably see me refer to this book often in some of the exercises I share on this blog.  If $50 is out of your price range, you can also purchase the 2nd edition for about $20 on eBay as I'm sure it's not too different.

Please feel free to offer any other book suggestions in the comments.