This was sent to the Google yWriter group by Simon, the developer. He didn’t create the tutorial, but thought it was a nice intro… I agree. For those wondering if they could ever use novel writing software, this might help shine some light on the matter.
The Little Writer That Could 
I have downloaded yWriter, but I really don’t know if it will be that usefull for my style of writing … because, actually, I just make this stuff up as I go along. (I was a math major in college and did EVERYTHING I could to avoid taking a class that could be considered an English Class, so I really don’t know what I’m doing.) You’ll find that I try to comment alot, because I need all the practice I can get because I find wrting to be a very painful process. Anyway …
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I did the same thing in college only in reverse – avoided all math classes as much as possible, lol. Actually – I did make it to calculus? Gawd, can’t even remember. If it wasn’t for my spiffy calculator (TI) I would have gone down in flames. And man – I am so glad you mentioned how painful writing can be. Sometimes it is as bad as chewing on nails… Torture. That’s why my first novel still sits unfinished. But I’m determined to make progress this year – hopefully yWriter will give me a leg up. I plan on visiting your site and some other poetry blogs to learn that delicate art of metaphor among other things. You poet peeps rock… 🙂
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I’ve always thought that as a poet, I am a pretty good mathematician. And, as a mathematician, I am a pretty good poet. Actually, the last poem I uploaded, Running on Half-Empty, was the first new poem I have written in quite some time. I have mostly been writing my quirky essays as if I have something important to tell the world. Remember, metaphor is not that hard because everyday language is just metaphors that are so familiar that we have forgotten their just metaphors. (I have a mistrust of language which shows in poetic essay The Silence Between Our Words.) I am afraid that writing is always going to be harder than conversation because we have to find all the prompts on our own. Tus endeth the philosophy lesson. 🙂
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I’m going to go over and read the two poems you mentioned. I already like the title of the first one “Running on Half-Empty” – reminds me of Jackson Browne’s tune. I know what you’re saying about metaphor being all around us, but putting those observations down in writing without sounding ugly and obvious is a total art. I’ve got a great book, “Word Painting” that I *must* finish… it’s a great “how to” on the craft. But the best way to learn is to see it in action from folks like yourself. I tend to be very literal. It’s a killer sometimes.
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