#Not going to be in the right headspace to tackle drafts or asks much because I didn't sleep much after getting home past 5am

[cxpperhead]

Off topic but I'm strongly considering retconning Copperhead's type of venom? In Suicide: Path to Hell, it was shown to be acidic but it wasn't natural venom, rather being a part of Sameer's body modification. In the comics, Copperhead's venom was a powerful neurotoxin capable of paralyzing victims and causing death within 30 minutes of envenomation but again, it wasn't natural because the venom was part of the suit so I'm thinking that as his venom is natural, it shouldn't be acidic but WILL fuck you up and very quickly if left untreated?

[loislaneinvestigatesauthors]

Learning to Love Revision: Laurel Yourke’s Beyond the First Draft

How can a writer develop the perspective needed to look back on their own work? How do you go from the writing headspace to the revising headspace? 

Viewing your own work objectively is one of the toughest tasks any writer faces. But lots of solutions exist—some playful, others serious. A playful one is to don a hat. Several writers I work with have a revision hat, an outlining one, and perhaps a beret for the first draft. If you find that cutesy, you could try printing or reading aloud—whatever slows you down. Finally, anything that forces you to view your own words from a different angle will be enormously helpful. 

Why not check how many sentences start the same way. Or whether the dialogue of every character sounds completely different. Readers instinctively sense delivery from the character versus the narrator. Assessing that difference can provide the greatest objectivity of all. This distinction is discussed at great length in Beyond the First Draft.

The process of creating the original manuscript is a fairly uncensored one. I say “fairly,” because I can’t agree with Anne Lamott, famous for promoting the “shitty” first draft. If you write totally fast and free—without a single constraint, you’re going to have a big mess to clean up. You might have to discard huge portions. Worse, you might rationalize that the bad parts aren’t actually that bad. What’s useful about that? 

A happy medium between creativity and constraint works for every stage of the writing process, from the first version to the fifth, and even the fifteenth. If you’re doing it right, every stage includes both rigor and freedom. The difference is that while the first draft is often about what the author wants to offer, revision is always about what readers want to receive. 

The trick is asking yourself questions that get you as clairvoyant about your readers as possible. Is the writing clear enough, or too obvious? Are you first “telling,” then “showing”—or the reverse? Do you interrupt the plot to “teach” instead of advancing the story? Do you offer maximum emotion and suspense? Along with reading widely in the genre you write in, asking questions helps you write the book readers want to read.

  What are some common issues first drafts have, and where should writers start with fixing them? Should we tackle plotholes first, or go after continuity problems, or develop characters, or something else?  

I encourage writers to start with the structure. Is the plot skimpy or overly broad? Are the characters complex? Does the story as a whole hang together? Unless you nail the scenario first, it’s like applying a fresh coat of paint to a house that has termites. After you shore up the big stuff, you can look at everything else. Does every chapter start and end with a hook? Do you provide all the tension you possibly can? Is the prose concise and the sentences smooth?

 What sort of process do you use when you do your own revisions?

Both as a novelist and a writing coach, I’m a ridiculous perfectionist. Over decades of working with writers, I’ve become accustomed to diagnosing why scenes work—or don’t—and how to repair them. For better or worse, I apply everything I’ve discovered over the decades to everything I write myself. So once I’m satisfied with the the deep structure, I go over and over my pages, listening for the sound of dialogue, adding micro-tension, and forcing myself to delete every word that doesn’t add. 

How can you develop the stamina to get through the lengthy revision process?  

So many myths about revision exist: it’s scary, boring, or frustrating. It can actually make your writing worse. People place too much value on it. No, no, and no. Revision is ultimately the most thrilling part of the writing process. It’s like finding a chunk of boulder opal and cutting away the drab outside to reveal the gem within. It takes tons of polishing to expose an opal beautiful enough for jewelry.  

Story is the same. If you love your book, don’t you want to continue polishing until you’ve revealed all its facets, all its beauty?

 How do you know when you're done revising and the draft's ready to go to an editor?  

Feedback is really the best way to ascertain how ready your writing is for an audience. Ideally, you get this feedback from other writers and never from those who simply say “This is so great. Good for you.” Critique groups are everywhere—online, at colleges and universities, and in most towns and cities. Only accept feedback from those you respect, and then truly address what they suggest before sending manuscripts out to professionals. And be wary of unprofessional professionals. Alas, there are hundreds of them out there.

Author and writing coach Laurel Yourke’s Beyond the First Draft is available here. 

[powervision1]

Survey—mastering your productivity in 2017

January is all about making resolutions and being an even better version of yourself in the new year. Since so many of us pledge to be more productive, we teamed up with Levo—the network for millennials in the workplace—to sponsor the “Mastering your productivity in 2017” survey. We polled 1,500 Levo community members and asked them about their productivity habits and challenges.*

Mastering your productivity in 2017—interactive survey results

What’s the #1 challenge to being productive? What’s most helpful when it comes to productivity? Are happiness and productivity related? We looked at all this and more. Explore the results from the survey in the interactive Power BI data visualizations to see what we discovered. Simply click the forward > or < back arrows at the bottom of the report to display results of a question and then click the different age filters to find out how attitudes about productivity change by age. (Since some respondents didn’t provide their age, we included a – filter to represent this group.) To clear the filters and see all responses, click the – button twice. Click the icons in the lower right-hand corner to share the report or view it in full screen. To see a larger version of this report, click here.

How can you achieve more this year?

Based on the survey results, here are five tech tips to help you work smarter in 2017:

#1—make your tech work for you (not against you)

Technology should help you be more productive instead of getting in the way. When information comes at you from every angle and every device, it’s distracting. It is not surprising that people under 30 found distractions—like social media—to be their #1 challenge to productivity.

Instead of letting distractions slow you down, let technology help keep you focused. Work can be overwhelming (especially with that overflowing post-holiday break inbox), but organizing and prioritizing go a long way. Don’t try to tackle everything at once—use the Focused Inbox in Outlook to separate your inbox into two tabs. Emails that matter most to you will be in your Focused tab, while the rest will be close by—but out of the way—in the Other tab. As you move email in or out of your Focused Inbox, Outlook becomes even better at knowing your priorities over time. This helps you manage the tasks that matter most and organize your time.

A clear inbox is great, but a clear mind is even better. Meditating daily can reduce stress and anxiety, and improve sleep and cognition—all of which can help you work smarter. With Meditation apps like Headspace, it’s easy to find time for a daily practice. Try making meditation a part of your day by blocking off time on your Outlook calendar.

#2—tally accomplishments, not just to-dos

Rethink how you use and incorporate to-do lists. To-do lists remain ubiquitous because they’re a simple and personal way to organize our thoughts. Ninety-two percent of survey respondents found that creating to-do lists is most helpful when it comes to being productive. But making a list for the sake of it won’t accomplish much. Prioritizing your to-dos can help you learn what you care about, what your purpose is and what you want to accomplish in your career or your life.

OneNote makes it easier than ever to keep track of your to-dos, projects and goals. By integrating your project list directly into your OneNote notebook using the “to-do” tag, Office makes it easy to keep your daily tasks, ongoing work and long-term goals all in one place.

#3—rise and grind

As saying goes, “The early bird gets the worm.” In fact, everyone claiming to be a “night owl” might just be fooling themselves. Believe it or not, 69 percent of respondents say their mornings are their most productive time of the day. We know it can be tough to get going in the morning, so try easing into the day by meeting over coffee. With the Starbucks for Outlook add-in, it’s easy to schedule meetings at your favorite Starbucks.

#4—lighten the lift

Having trouble getting started on the first drafts of your projects and presentations?

Conquer the blank canvas with QuickStarter—a new intelligent service that lets you go from the blank canvas to a great working outline in seconds. Just type your presentation topic into PowerPoint or Sway and watch the magic as QuickStarter brings your presentation to life by pulling in carefully curated outlines for any topic, including recommendations on information to include, categories to consider and associated images.**

Need help with your research paper?

Researcher in Word helps find reliable sources and incorporate content from the web right within your document. Plus, it properly formats citations, which means no more hours spent manually formatting the bibliography. Thanks to Editor, you now have your own digital writing assistant to help you with the finishing touches. Going beyond basic spelling and grammar checks, Editor uses machine learning and natural language processing to make suggestions to help you improve your writing—so you can spend less time reviewing and more time creating.

#5—perfect your productivity habits

Create better work habits with the help of Microsoft MyAnalytics for Office 365 Enterprise E5, which gives you the insights you need to focus on what matters most. Understand where you spend your time across people, meetings, email, focus time, after hours and adjust for higher impact. Gain insights into how you engage with your network to stay up to date on your most important relationships and priorities.

Why work on being more productive? Because becoming a more productive person can make you happier. Our research revealed that 93 percent of respondents feel that productivity is important to their happiness. A productive day is a happy day, which is why our goal is to give you the tools you need to make accomplishing your goals a little bit easier.

Notes: *Survey of Levo community members conducted online, commissioned by Microsoft Office, 1,500 participants, October 2016, actual percent at +/- 2.3 percent at 99 percent confidence level. **QuickStarter is available today in Sway on the web, in English within the U.S., U.K. and Canada. Education customers using Sway have a slightly modified version to meet the needs of educators. QuickStarter in PowerPoint on Windows desktop is coming to Insiders this winter and to Office 365 subscribers in 2017.

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