On The Twelfth Day Of…

Christmas.

Actually, Boxing Day.
And the end of The Big Giveaway.

Notice how I cleverly worked this, so the last day falls on the old traditional day of visiting, and gift-giving? Pure luck.

Luck. Fortune. Serendipity. Err…

If you’re at a loss for words, here’s the ultimate dictionary and thesaurus:

WordWeb dictionary and thesaurus

WordWeb is an up-to-date and highly extensive database of words in current usage.
It gives definitions, examples of use, synonyms (same meaning), and antonyms (opposites).
Available in multiple languages.
There’s even a text-reading function.

Speaking of which… (another dubious segue)

If you’ve got a script or story you want to hear aloud – and you can’t stand the sound of your own voice…
Or can’t get anyone to read it back to you…
Or you’re stuck in a crowded apartment building with paper-thin walls, late at night…
Or…

TTS Reader download page

TTS Reader might be the answer.
It’s a Text-To-Speech Reader (duh?) that will vocalize a text of your choice, using whatever MS Windows-compatible “voices” you have on your system.
And it’s pretty much the best of the bunch. So.

Put in a good word, for me.

Compliments of the Season.

Peace.

On The Eleventh Day Of…

Christmas! The Big Day, itself.

Time to eat a little too much, have one or two drinks too many, and spend time watching old movies on TV, laptop, or iPod.

But, hang on, a minute.

Instead of watching all that tired old dross, why not make some, yourself?

Foto2Avi:

Foto2Avi video editor

is a software video creator and editor that takes your still photographs or video clips, and compiles them into a digital video – in AVI or FLV (hello, YouTube) formats.
You can add captions, transition effects, and sound.

It’s a big download (aroung 15Mb) – so you might want to step out for another glass of eggnog, while it’s coming down the pipe.

And, I guess you’ll be needing a soundtrack.
So, here’s WavePad:

WavePad audio editor

which is a complete sound studio, in a package the size of a matchbox (digitally speaking).

The program features standard enhancements and special effects.
It can read and save to a variety of sound formats – and if the software can’t do so initially, it will ask yoiur permission to download an additional component, that will.

All the best to you and yours, at this festive time.

“Sleep, in heavenly…”

Peace.

On The Tenth Day Of…

Christmas: The Big Giveaway.

Zap! Pow!!

Hmph. Perhaps not.

Comic books – sorry, graphic novels – are a little more sophisticated, these days.

Here’s an opportunity for you to create your own:

Quadrigital download page

Quadrigital is a comic book / graphic novel editor, with a simple interface.

The software offers a selection of standard page layouts, and a range of styles, for speech balloons.

YOU provide the graphics (Ahh…, So THAT’s why he gave us PhotoFiltre. I see…)

The program can equally be used to set up a storyboard, for a movie.
Or, to generate layouts for (example) advertising copy.

Make Yours Quadrigital! (With apologies, to Stan Lee)

Peace.

On The Ninth Day Of…

Christmas: The Big Giveaway.

Picture this:

PhotoFiltre image editor

PhotoFiltre is a FREE image editor, which packs a load of functions in a tiny app – especially when compared to programs like PhotoShop, or The GIMP.

Use it to embellish your digital photos, create Web graphics, posters, or whatever your imagination can come up with.

The program ships as a Zip file, so there’s no installation routine.
Simply unpack the folders to a directory of your choice.

See you, soon.

Peace.

On The Eighth Day Of…

Christmas: The Big Giveaway.

Take a look into your brain. What do you see?

Well, with Papel:

Papel download page

you might see a mind-map of your latest screenplay, or novel.

Or rather, you might make one.

The software lets you set out your ideas (character profiles, random quotes, plot synopsis, whatever) on a graphic field.
Icons are used, to represent each element.
And each element exists as a separate text file.

The process is intuitive, and quite unique. The program was a one-off; there’s never been an update, so consider this a rare gift.

I’ve even packaged up a set of icons, based on the program’s Movie theme:

Papel Movie Theme icons

Yes, the program link does point to my personal website.
So, while you’re there, feel free to look around. Visit, some.

Y’all come back, soon.

Peace.

On The Seventh Day Of…

Christmas: The Big Giveaway.

And, some inspiration:

WriteSparks download page

WriteSparks Lite is a pocket-size idea generator.
Use its suggestions as the starting point for stories, character profiles, or whatever you can think of.

The software includes a link to the website of its creator, Shery Ma Belle Arrieta-Russ, which is well worth following up.

The download page includes a link to the website of some clown named Des Nnochiri. You can ignore that, if you wish.

Enjoy.

Peace.

On The Sixth Day Of…

Christmas: The Big Giveaway.

We’ve been dancing around the issue, so let’s – finally – mention that ugly word.

Money.

Hard to get. Hard to hold. Hard to do without.

Easy enough to keep track of – if you have the right tools.

Take AceMoney Lite. Please.

AceMoneyLite

AceMoney is a FREE finance manager.
The software lets you set up accounts, in the currency or currencies of your choice, and to record debits and credits, as cash flows out and in.

Did I mention that it’s FREE? I did. Good.

Prosper. And live long.

Peace.

On The Fifth Day Of…

Christmas: The Big Giveaway.

Okay, so.
You’ve got some stuff to compose your book, novel, or screenplay.
A nifty browser, to scope out potential markets.
A database, to keep track of your endeavours.

Here’s a little something for billing your clients:

SPC Invoice

The link is for SPC Invoice, a tiny, FREE package for composing and printing invoices (duh).

Its deceptively dumb interface hides some useful functions.
You can (should?) make up an invoice template, with your own business address and logo, to re-use, time and again.
Then, all you need to do is fill in specifics (client, item, description) for each billing.

Happy hunting.

Peace.

On The Fourth Day Of…

Christmas: The Big Giveaway.

And, something to help you keep track of all those actual and potential sources of income: ink of your pen, sweat of your brow.

Sonar is a submission tracker from SpaceJock Software (the yWriter people):

Sonar Submissions Tracker

It has a straightforward interface, where you can enter and edit your lists of stories, articles, and markets (the magazines, agents, or publishers you’ll submit stuff to).

The Submissions dialog is where you bring stories and markets together.

You can go back, and amend any entry – to record recurring or additional payments, for example.

The list is presented in plain English, and reflects each update that you make.

And best of all, it’s FREE.

Ho, ho, ho.

Peace.

On The Third Day Of…

Christmas: The Big Giveaway

And a novel approach to… well. Organizing your novel.

yWriter:

yWriter Novel-Writing software

is a complete package for setting up and assembling your novel in chapters, sections, or sub-sections. It can equally be used to organize a long book of non-fiction. Or a screenplay, for that matter, as the software also includes a rudimentary index card / corkboard function.

SpaceJock Software (the author of yWriter) also makes another useful product – which I’ll be letting you have, in a subsequent post.

Santa’s on his way. Slowly.

Till then.

Peace.