Good Morning from Sunrise Books! The picture was taken from my north deck two mornings ago when I awakened to fresh snow on the higher elevations around us. The winter storm warning was for real! I hope visiting hikers were not caught unaware. It looks beautiful but if you aren’t prepared with layers of clothing and a waterproof hooded jacket it can be unpleasant. After being caught without proper gear when we lived in Alaska, Tom and I began carrying down jackets the year round and use them on July 4th!

As for writing, I have some new ideas for writing gear. They are powerful software products that can at least triple your production. There is a short learning curve but the products are easy to use. For those of you who are not great typists, the latest version of word recognition software is for you. The products can be used together and are inexpensive.

First, go to www.literatureandlatte.com/scrivener.php.  There you will find a powerful organizational product for fiction, nonfiction and play writing. If you have a manuscript in process, you can load it into Scrivener and get started on their free 30 day trial. There are many tutorials at the website and on YouTube. It is easy to use and keeps you organized. Within the program there are tools to keep track of characters and help you choose names. If you want an Irish first name and an Incan last name, input your desire and lists of name combinations pop up. It is amazing. Scrivener is totally functional on Mac and Windows. There is a component that allows you to input manuscript into the format used by e-book publishers. The manuscript can be saved in all the usual formats. You can have it on all your computers but can only have it open and in use on one at a time. If you are co-writing a book, as I am with my sister Bev, your manuscripts can be shared across cyberspace using DropBox.

Go to www.dropbox.com if you aren’t already using this. It will revolutionize your existence as it provides a cloud process of saving and transporting information and pictures, for busy people on-the-go. I wish I had learned about this a long time ago. It stops you from having to email yourself items and being stuck on a trip or at work with important information on your home computer. It’s free for 2 GB but if you need more than that, there is a fee.

The third product is DragonNaturallySpeaking from www.nuance.com. You talk and it types what you say with great accuracy. If you have unusual speech, like my little friend with a Southern drawl, it learns how to interpret what you say. The current version is 11.5 and is highly accurate. There are legal and medical versions available and many professional offices are now using Dragon. There is a training session that comes with the product and you can find online free instruction at various sites. The cost for the home version is around $100 and one product comes with a headset/microphone. Dragon is available to students at a less cost if you can verify enrollment.