R.A. Oke's Blog

What do I write on?

Some of you may be wondering, what exactly do I write on? I've tried Google Docs, Novlr, Grammarly, Autocrit, and many more! None of them seemed to be just what I was looking for. To be honest, I rarely ever know what I'm looking for when it comes to things like this. Recently, I've found out about









Dabble









.

Here's a statement of what they do:

Writing novels is hard. Dabble makes it easier. Dabble replaces your word processor, doing what it can’t. Dabble organizes your manuscript, story notes, and plot. It simplifies story, leaving more room in your brain to create. Which is, after all, what being a writer is all about.

Dabble was built from the ground up specifically for writing novels. It takes minutes to learn and it makes writing a joy. See how Dabble will revolutionize the way you write with a free trial at









https://www.dabblewriter.com/









.

Cost + Free Trial?



If you're anything like me, you want to test something out for free before you commit to it. Dabble has a free trial that last for 2 weeks. There's credit card required. All you need is a name, your email address, and a password. There's no scams or gimmicks involved. During COVID-19, there's a discount that will lock in even after COVID's over as so long as you claim it before the promotion ends.

On the right hand side is the monthly payment option and the left is annually. Dabble also has student discounts, and a lifetime payment option for $399.

Layout

The first thing I must say is: Dabble has a









Dark Mode.









Okay, that might not be as exciting as I imagined out loud, but Dark Mode is one of the most precious tools I use. I find it easier on the eyes and pretty. (The pricing pictures above show the contrast between dark and light mode). Dabble also has a plot grid, easy scene and chapter dividers (good if your novel is 100+ pages), goals, grammar, spellcheck, and so many other features. Even though Dabble is packed with a bunch of amazing features, it's simple and is easy to navigate. The founder, Jacob, is always adding things, so I doubt Dabble will ever go out of date. He even has set up a









feature request page







!

Support

This is very important to me and a lot of people. The support team is very friendly and sweet altogether. They genuinely want to make sure you have the best experience possible. Their response time is quick. For instance, when I had a question about something, their response time was 2 minutes (no exaggerate...I'm not using that metaphorically either). Usually, you should expect a few hours for a wait time. I hate waiting 3 days to receive a response, and the Support Team understands that. I believe that they follow the Golden Rule day in and day out.

Tell Me What You Think

I want to know your Dabble experience. If you have any questions, Dabble has a









help center







. You can also always contact support if you need anything.



Happy Writing!

~R. A. Oke

The way I bring you up brings others down

Hatred from others is my crown

Humility, my nemesis, is not in the question

Instead consider, Jealousy, a weapon if I may mention

You will lose inferior friends along the way

With power and fear to you I will pay

Wait, why is it that you cry

Your so called friends don’t deserve a goodbye

So what? They said you’re mean

Who are they with worn shirts and no designer jeans?

Why do those anti-bullying campaigns bother you?

It’s too late now; you can’t undo

Don’t you tell me enough’s enough

No! Why are you helping that girl up?



When writing in your beautiful world that you thought up with your blood, sweat, and many tears, there comes to a point where you decide that you need to create a language for your characters. There isn't necessarily a wrong way to do it, but some readers turn away at the point where they realize the language you've created is plain gibberish (if you're fine with that then go for it). If you want to avoid that, follow along.







1. Figure Out the Region/Culture
























What this means is if the characters live in the mountains, Look at countries whose peoples have been isolated in the mountains and try to adapt.

Does their food and clothing effect the way they talk? Maybe they are always in a hurry so their language is fast paced.

2. Adding Authenticity

Have unique words specific to the language. Every dialect has some form of slang or untranslatable word.









Here's a link to some exa







mples







.

Add an annoying grammar rule that the 2nd graders of your world will moan over. Learning a foreign language shouldn't be easy, and neither should yours (but don't make it 100% random).

Mess around with Google Translate, and pick a base language. For my fictional language, Vhitzvan, I used the Basque language as a guide. That way, it's sort of familiar but not completely the same.

















3. Have Fun With It

If this is a stressful situation, forget tip #1 & #2. The whole point of your writing career is because you enjoy it. Your language doesn't have to be perfect because no language is. That's why languages shift and change constantly. Some words even change their meaning over time!

Again, if you’d prefer your language to be at complete random, go for it! That makes it unique to your book.

Here are the links I promised:

 https://www.vulgarlang.com

http://www.scriboly.com/Generators/Language

https://lang-gen.appspot.com

Let me know in the comments if you have any other favorites!

"Signing off,"

R. A. Oke

 

 

 

 It all happens at some point—whether we like it or not. It gets to the point where we either just don't know what to write anymore, or we don't feel like it. We just all stop writing, and get Writer's Block one way or the other. In this post, you'll find 10 ways to get rid of the Block.

 

 

 

1. Switch to Another Project Temporarily

 

 

 I find that this helps me a lot. You have to still keep in mind that you may end up with hundreds of unfinished projects if you're not careful, but it's good to have a change of environment once in a while.

 

 

 

 2. Listen to Music as You Write

 

 

 Listening to music is a strategy many stores use to make shoppers spent longer time in their stores which results in them buying more items. Why not use this same concept for writing? Make sure it's something that you'd enjoy but won't get distracted by it.

 

 

 

 

 

3. Change Your Font

 

 

 Give your beautiful brain a change of font. For instance, I write in a font that I dislike (e.g. Comic Sans, Arial, Eco Font) sometimes, and I think I just hope that somehow it'll magically be more likable. I don't think there's any actual science behind it, but I just know that it works.

 

 

 

 

4. Get Some Sleep

 

 

 One of the times your brain is most creative is in your dreams. You enter the whimsical world of your (sometimes scary) imagination. It'll also help you take a short break, and you'll wake up with a fresh, new mind.

 

 

 

 

 

5. Make a Mind Map

 

 

 For those of you who aren't exactly sure what that is, it's sort of like a spider's web or a family tree for your book. I recommend











Mindly











because of the simplicity and user-friendless it provides.

 

 

 6. Ask a Friend

 

 

 

 Sometimes our life just gets plain boring. Ask your friend what weird occurrences and whatnot recently happened to them. Now, try and incorporate that into your book (with their consent).











They also might be able to point out a few ideas that would work well. It's always good to have a second pair of eyes looking over your work. This also may be a great opportunity to socialize with them, and talk to someone other than your stubborn MC (main character).

 

 

 

 

 

7. Look at Current Events

 

 

 Sometimes, things in life doesn't go our way. Imagine ourselves as a character, and throw in an alteration on some of the big things happening. How does your character react to it? Would your character be involved in the main event?

 

 

 

 

 

8. Remix Time!

 

 

 Do you write fantasy? Well, my dear Watson, you're going to take some notes from Sherlock. The point is: write a scene or two in a different genre. This can help bring a different view into possible outcomes. If you like a scene, you can even turn your book into a cross-genre!

 

 You don't only have to change your genre—especially if you don't want to. You can also change your point of view or person (1st, 2nd, 3rd).

 

 

 

 

 9. Write in Another Language

 

 

 For my WIP (work in progress),











Trahison Honneur Couronne











, I wrote it in another language: French. I'm not saying you have to learn another language and then write an entire novel in it. Let's say you have a character from Spain. Try writing the character's portion and dialogue in Spanish (with Google Translate by your side for help).

 

 

*Bonus*: You can also take a foreign quote or phrase and base a character's personality off of it.

 

 

 

 

 

10. Have Something at Stake

 

 

 Challenge someone you trust to write at least 1,000 words in 5-10 minutes. If not, you give them $10. I know it's a lot, but that'd motivate you even more. It doesn't necessarily have to be money. It could be anything from doing a tedious favor for them to you rewarding yourself to a latte if you are successful.

 

 

 I hope that this list helped you a lot! Please comment below if you have any questions or more suggestions on how to cure Writer's Block.

 

 

 

"See you next post!"

 

~ R. A. Oke

 

I've always loved reading as a child. I think that it was in 4th grade when I decided I didn't want to write just when we had to do creative writing for a grade. I believe that sparked the flame of my passion to write.

I put my all into my short stories that I would write. I would write lunch, indoor recess, and when I was done packing up at the end of the day. I then would bring it home and work on it even more after my homework.

One day, we had a writing competition. I was so excited for this day, and was waiting for it all year. I planned the whole day before we were supposed to write it out in class (to prevent adult help). The prompt was about someone extremely forgetful. My submission didn't even get considered, and I felt extremely horrible. I kept writing until the end of the year, but soon my joy of it died down.

For a whole year, I didn't write. Even in the writing competition, I didn't feel like writing well. I didn't think it was necessary, so I found other ways to entertain myself. It never felt the same, and I regret all the wasted time. I did write some stories with my friends, but I only wrote with them because that made them happy.






























When I got into 6th grade, the year started out as it had the year before. Then, we had our first creative writing assignment. I hadn't realized why I didn't love writing before. We were given the assignment of writing a historical fiction essay. I would've never picked up a book about something before I was born if it had been my choice. I now saw what I was missing out on. I think my genre might have changed a bit over that summer break. I think that's what prevented me from writing.

I don't necessarily write today because I want it to be my business. I write because I want to share the joy that I have. If you're freaked out with the worlds in my head, that's okay! There's a book for everyone, but you just have to find yours.

"Till we meet again..."





















~ R. A. Oke