Post by account_disabled on Dec 27, 2023 20:45:51 GMT -8
I can never write if I don't have a well-ordered work environment in line with my personality. Writing is an art and it is also craftsmanship: every artist and every craftsman, before getting to work, prepares his tools. Writing on the computer does not change the situation: the tool is not just the computer, nor just the keyboard, but also the spreadsheet : that is our working environment. And for me that spreadsheet has to have certain settings and characteristics. This is what I mean by formatting a manuscript . And the Treccani dictionary gives us a valid explanation: give a written text a certain structure (layout, page numbering, paragraph indentation, etc.) and accompany it with graphic elements (italics, bold, special characters, etc.) for printing.
Here are the magic words: ready for printing ! I need to visualize my manuscript as if it were printed , as if I had a real book in progress before my eyes . Preparation of the document It's the first job I've done. It's not enough, at least for me, to create a new file in Writer (the Word-like version of OpenOffice) and start writing. I need Special Data my blank page to have certain characteristics. Choosing the document format : I once did something crazy: I copied the text of a page taken from several books into a file, and then reproduced it in my file. It's an absurd job, also because each publisher uses their own format and in an ebook it doesn't make much sense. Now I leave the standard A4 format .
Set the margins : the margins – i.e. the empty spaces at the top, bottom and left and right of the paper – are important, because they define the writing area . Also in this case I leave the standard measurements, 2 centimeters per side . Write the header : it is the opposite of the footer. A small space at the top of the page to write the title of the book and the author's name. In Writer : Insert > Header > Default. In Word : Insert > Heading. Number the pages : another important element of the manuscript! I absolutely need to know how many pages I have written in total, how many for each chapter, how many for each scene or dialogue. In Writer : Insert > Footer > Default and then Insert > Field > Page Number.
Here are the magic words: ready for printing ! I need to visualize my manuscript as if it were printed , as if I had a real book in progress before my eyes . Preparation of the document It's the first job I've done. It's not enough, at least for me, to create a new file in Writer (the Word-like version of OpenOffice) and start writing. I need Special Data my blank page to have certain characteristics. Choosing the document format : I once did something crazy: I copied the text of a page taken from several books into a file, and then reproduced it in my file. It's an absurd job, also because each publisher uses their own format and in an ebook it doesn't make much sense. Now I leave the standard A4 format .
Set the margins : the margins – i.e. the empty spaces at the top, bottom and left and right of the paper – are important, because they define the writing area . Also in this case I leave the standard measurements, 2 centimeters per side . Write the header : it is the opposite of the footer. A small space at the top of the page to write the title of the book and the author's name. In Writer : Insert > Header > Default. In Word : Insert > Heading. Number the pages : another important element of the manuscript! I absolutely need to know how many pages I have written in total, how many for each chapter, how many for each scene or dialogue. In Writer : Insert > Footer > Default and then Insert > Field > Page Number.
