Hi all, This may be a silly question, but I was wondering if anybody could point me to some kind of guide for writers using MS word (I have 2007). I can use the basic functions but I'm sure there must be plenty of writer specific functions that I don't know about. I'm not looking for anything in particular...just manuscript layout, and tips that make things easier for writing a novel (formatting etc). Many thanks.
One thing I would suggest is either creating or downloading a document template for manuscripts. I created one from scratch, but if you type Word template manuscript into Google you will find several available for download. But overall, writers don't need to stretch Word's capabilities much. Manuscript format was defined in the days of typewriters, and has not changed in major ways. You don't need, and in fact should avoid, fancy fonts and layout features. If you're writing nonfiction, you will be more concerned with things like indexes, and tables of contents, and tables and figures, but don't bother if you are writing fiction.
an ms word manual is not going to help you any with learning how to write a novel or turn out a proper submission-ready ms... for ms format details all you need is to keep this site in your favorites menu: C:\Documents and Settings\me\Desktop\online work\aa email enclosures\Ms Formats by shunn-story-novel-poetry.htm and if you want more personal help, or tips from the pros, you can email me any time... love and hugs, maia maia3maia@hotmail.com
Go to MS Word 2007, click on the MS Office button, click on New (to start a new Word document), then you'll see a sidebar to the left listing Templates. Scroll down to More Categories. Then select Books. Once there, you can select various templates related to writing such as Book Manuscript.
does that 'template' have 1" margins all around, double-spacing, standard indents and a left-aligned margin? and why would anyone need to bother with finding that 'template' when there's nothing fancy needed, or no details that differ from 'normal' writing, when writing a novel?...
I don't really see the need for anything more than a blank page and the tools that are readily apparent. That said, options like "universal replace" are nifty. Btw, thank you for mentioning that, Cog (in an earlier thread). It recently saved me a lot of trouble.
Thanks for all the replies, guys. I googled the Shunn manuscript format and it has all the info I needed. I just assumed that MS Word had hundreds of fancy functions that I didn't know about...guess it's good to know that my basic knowledge should suffice. Thanks again.
There are a lot of cool functions that Word 2007 has. I think that site tells you how to turn on straight quotes and how to turn off the em-dash. I'm sure you know how to use find and replace all. But a lot of people don't know how to use the awesome track changes. Click on the review tab. I recommend reading the help files about "track changes." Click track changes to turn it on. You can toggle between final showing marking, final, original showing markings, and original. This way you can make changes to your document and keep the original as well. You can easly view what was changed. You can leave comments in bubbles for yourself, and turn this off and on by showing final and final showing markings. You can accept changes if you wish them to become permanent. Very useful when editing. The "View" tab is also useful. You might want to use full screen view to see how a page looks. The most useful for me, though, is arrange all and split, or even two page view. Sometimes I need to look at an older part of my novel while working on a new chapter. Anyway, the "Review" tab is worth learning all about.
I've got a question that I might as well put here. When I type in "***" word auto-corrects it into a border line. I know how to turn that off, but one of those accidentally got past me before I figured it out and I can't figure out how to get rid of it now. I can't select it, right click on it, or anything. How do I get rid of it?
