PLEASE NOTE: What follows is a re-print of the instruction manual for Writer's Block - Goodbye!. Throughout this document there are many references to illustrations. The actual illustrations have been removed to keep this page to a reasonable size for viewing on the internet.
Introduction:
Overwhelmed by the staggering wealth of written works gathered from the dawn of recorded knowledge through to the present day, many will lament, “Nothing original remains to be done”. Every song has been sung, every story been told, every concept conceived – RUBBISH!
Welcome to Writer’s Block - Goodbye! - the indispensable power tool for anyone involved in the many distinguished arts of creative writing. Writers are a unique breed that perceive the world in a larger sense than most of us and they well understand the critical importance of fresh, new, and original, ideas. In writing, just as in life, it is ideas that matter. It is ideas that lead the way. New ideas that spawn and mature to find form and expression - sculpted to perfection by the minds of their creators.
But where do these new original ideas come from? How are new ideas created? Writers, along with many others involved in creative pursuits, also know better than most just how difficult it can be to generate something truly original. Even worse, what happens when it has to be done consistently, reliably, on demand whenever it is needed? Where can one go for a reliable source of inspiration to find the elusive way forward, the original and innovative approach, the new “twist” that fits?
What is Writer's Block - Goodbye!?
Writer’s Block – Goodbye! offers an elegant solution of incredible power and inexhaustible reserves. Writer’s Block – Goodbye! is not an instructional training course in creative writing, certainly not in any conventional sense. Rather, Writer’s Block – Goodbye! is a productive, uplifting, mind bending working environment that literally draws original ideas directly from the writer’s own mind by means of a unique tool set designed to optimize and amplify any creative writing endeavor.
A Difference Found Nowhere Else
Writer’s Block – Goodbye! is predicated on two foundational principles that work together in synergy – Neural Ergonomics and Random Word Stimulation.
Random Word Stimulation is a potent technique to stimulate new directions of thinking. The theory behind Random Word Stimulation is much more complicated to explain than it is to use. Using Random Word Stimulation is actually very simple, direct, and automatic.
Neural Ergonomics defines a set of design principles that support the brain's natural organic methods of accessing and processing its information matrix. Writer’s Block – Goodbye! utilizes these principles on many levels, in graphical design, in the implementation of its features and tools, and in the use of subliminal techniques similar to what advertisers use to influence our thinking (except here they are deployed to free the mind from conditioned restraints and foster the ability to penetrate and utilize the full potential of the brain).
Writer’s Block – Goodbye! integrates Neural Ergonomics in a manner completely transparent to the user.
An in-depth discussion about Random Word Stimulation and Neural Ergonomic principals is beyond the scope of this Help document. For those of you that are interested in learning more about these subjects please follow the RWS or NE links at the top or bottom of this page.
What is Included?
Writer’s Block – Goodbye! includes the following tools:
- New Chapter/Scene organizer to build plot outlines for larger works.
- Integrated Dictionary and Thesaurus with over 210,000 possible lookup combinations.
- Phonetic Rhyme Engine - finds perfect rhymes, near perfect rhymes, alternate rhymes, and Phonetic Cadence Matching (words spoken in a similar beat or rhythm). Additional word search criteria including – (Greater than, Less than, or Equals, a number of letters in the word) – (Begins With, Ends With, or Contains, a sequence of letters that you specify).
- Streamlined text editor with WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) printed output.
- User friendly font editor to easily compose the appearance of decorative documents for writers of greeting cards or similar works were visual style is a significant factor.
But in addition to these invaluable tools, Writer’s Block – Goodbye! offers something new that is at once so powerful, so revolutionary, so practical, efficient, useful, and effective for everyone, of any age, from beginning student to the most seasoned professional, that it could spark a new renaissance in how we approach creativity training and acquisition.
Happy Accidents at Your Command
Writer’s Block – Goodbye! features a tool set designed to directly stimulate the mind with the kind of fresh inspiration that only occurs when confronted with forces that emerge at random from the mysterious unknown. Throughout history, the moments of great innovation and invention have actually manifested completely by accident. Moments in time that move mountains - unpredictable random occurrences, an extraordinary convergence of coincidence, or the infamous “Happy Accident”.
These elusive moments have been known by many names, but in common they describe spontaneous events, that happen completely by chance, in an unforeseeable future beyond our deliberate control.New experiences recognized from random events that take place outside of the mind, force a reorganization of familiar synaptic response. The mind naturally adapts as new experiences are absorbed and processed. Deeper insights are illuminated as the brain restructures its neural pathways to integrate new information into its collective consciousness. It is within this newly expanded framework of enhanced awareness and understanding that new ideas are born.
Some shrug off these chance events as mere quirks of circumstance, irrelevant and unworthy of serious consideration. Some interpret these fateful events as divine intervention or mystical sign. Still others believe in the fortunes of luck (good or bad) and know full well that the immutable Law of Averages dictate that it's just a matter of time before they come around our way. These moments are fleeting and most often pass by completely unnoticed. One must be constantly on alert to recognize these events as they happen and be ready to seize upon the opportunities they reveal.
But to be in the right place, at the right time, under the right conditions, and in the right frame of mind – for the myriad of unrelated random factors to spontaneously come together in just the right way to ignite the spark of inspiration is a very rare and precious moment indeed. Writer’s Block – Goodbye! is dedicated to producing these magical moments on demand whenever you need them. A virtually infinite supply of fresh inspiration, drawn from the full measure of human experience, is now in hand and ready to serve at your command.
Even the most stubborn of writer's block, or for that matter any type of mental block, has no hope for survival in Writer's Block – Goodbye’s instantly engaging and stimulating working environment. There are no formulas to learn, no flowcharts to follow, no rules to obey, no complex theories to struggle with. There is no typical “Learning Curve” to Writer's Block – Goodbye! In fact, as you will experience firsthand, Writer's Block – Goodbye! follows what can only be described as an “Unlearning Curve”.
Power Drawn from the Infinite Unknown
There are no specific instructions on how to use Writer's Block – Goodbye! because there is no specific way to use Writer's Block – Goodbye!. Writer's Block – Goodbye! is an open-ended writing enironment designed to provoke your thinking in new unfamiliar directions.
Traditional education emphasizes memorizing existing information, and understanding information strictly within the context from which it is given. In contrast to the traditional approach, Writer's Block – Goodbye! directly stimulates the mind to generate its own unique information by exercising the brain’s primordial ability to think for itself. This open-ended approach to self-induced, self-inspired, and self-directed learning is a stark contradiction to the linear methods of traditional education. And yet these two methods of learning are not in conflict, they are complementary and of equal value, like two sides of the same coin.
Many will find this new way of thinking unfamiliar and a bit disconcerting at first. You may feel some apprehension from the uncertainties inherent in beginning a self-propelled journey whose final destination is completely unknown. A relaxed attitude is the key to success. Keep in mind that it is precisely the unknown that you seek to discover. This is your time to cast free from the mental restraints of inhibition and boldly strike forward in confident anticipation of what new adventures and riches lay before you. Acquiring new modes of thinking is a process of growth which inevitably means that old modes of thinking will change - if you let them.
Writer's Block – Goodbye! transcends the typical “cookie cutter” or “paint by numbers” approach to learning creativity. Imagination does not thrive within a structured architecture. Your mind is a living, constantly evolving matrix of infinite complexity whose true nature extends far beyond any imposed limitations. Writer's Block – Goodbye! is patterned to act as a natural extension of the mind that works in a synergistic complementary relationship. Writer's Block – Goodbye! presents the mind with unexpected random experiences to prompt reactions that lead somewhere new.
The forces that dwell in the unpredictable unknown are now harnessed and held patiently at bay until called for. Results are immediate, even to a beginner, and can easily be tailored to suit your specific requirements and personality in ways that are entirely up to you to discover through self-guided exploration. Your imagination, unleashed within this open-ended playground of endless possibility, will begin to adapt and discover many ways to utilize the abundant stimuli it provides.
How Does it Work?
To bring these lofty claims firmly to the grip of reality Writer's Block – Goodbye! utilizes a very simple and yet incredibly effective technique called Random Word Stimulation. At its core is a cache of 89,364 selected words (yes, we evaluated over 200,000 – one by one) driven by Promptoria's advanced randomizing engine that ensures unique results every time. Words that work both individually and in combination to produce new life experiences in your imagination without ever having to leave the familiar comfort, security, and convenience of your own desktop environment.
89,364 individual, unrelated, random snippets of thought that each express a multitude of ideas.
89,364 unexpected meanings of personal significance trigger cascades of relevant memories that reverberate throughout the multidimensional mindscape of subconscious thought.
89,364 unpredictable happy accidents, just waiting to happen, that will hurl your mind far beyond conventional limitations to soar uncharted vistas ripe for exploration.
At first glance, Writer's Block – Goodbye! gives the impression that it simply provides story elements to be pieced together like a jigsaw puzzle. Using Writer's Block – Goodbye! in this manner is very entertaining and perfectly acceptable if it gets the job done. However, you will learn as you read through this help file that the true value of Writer's Block – Goodbye! is not in what it gives you. The true value is discovered throughout the journey to wherever it takes you.
The stimulus words are sorted into twenty two categories and one wild card (“Random”) to provide a means to direct the focus of your calls to the unknown. These twenty three buttons represent more than just collections of words. Think of them as twenty three intimate friends that never argue, never sit in judgment, never criticize or offer unwelcome opinion, never make demands or otherwise force their will upon you, and that will never betray your trust or seek credit for your ideas. Twenty three friends with a vast storehouse of information on tap and whose sole agenda is to harmonize with your own unique perceptions and work with you in partnership to prompt a way forward in any direction you care to travel.
There is no way to predict how they will answer your call.
Two things are certain:
1. They will always have a plethora of potential solutions to contribute.
2. They are full of endless surprises.
As you become aquatinted working within this exciting new environment, don’t be surprised if you begin to develop a type of personal relationship with the different categories as you come to know what each has to offer and how they can work together to help you fulfill your objectives.
Writer's Block – Goodbye! awaits your pleasure. Now when you have those empty moments, when your thinking seems all but depleted, you can always find exactly what you didn't know you needed.
The Interface:
Writer's Block – Goodbye! utilizes a full screen graphical interface. Neural Ergonomic principles favor an organic style of interface to facilitate tranquility of mind while simultaneously minimizing stress on the optic nerves and thereby avoid optically induced fatigue during prolonged writing sessions. The full screen interface helps to keep your attention focused on the matter at hand by covering any distractions from the Windows desktop. Access to the Windows desktop is always just a mouse click away whenever you need it.
The graphical interface is not simply a matter of artistic license. Beyond what has been described Writer's Block – Goodbye! leverages subliminal technologies, hidden within the graphics and animations. These powerful techniques are similar to that which advertisers use to influence our minds, except here they are deployed to enhance creativity and self exploration.
Those of us accustomed to working with spreadsheets and business forms may feel that the whimsical design undermines any potential of producing serious work – a simple child's game that must surely be intended for only simple child's play. What you are feeling is typical of a deeply rooted conditioned response to reject things that are unfamiliar or do not fit your expectations of what you think they should be.
This type of conditioned response is the only major obstacle to success in generating new ideas. Let loose of preconceptions. Find a way to suspend the urge to reject and allow your imagination some freedom to explore. The stimulation of random words will inevitably trigger new ideas, many of which will seem nonsensical. Give your mind to a chance to acclimate to a new idea and reap the benefits that are sure to follow.
The category buttons along the left side of your screen initiate the idea stimulation process. The main body the interface consists of two panels. The upper panel serves as a multi-function utility that will later be explain in detail. The lower panel features a word processor for recording your work with a minimum of technical fuss. The intervening toolbar contains control buttons that invoke the various iterations of the utility panel and includes some standard text editing functions for the document workspace.
Also be aware that the text related elements of the interface are sensitive to the right button on your mouse. Click with your right mouse button to open a submenu with the standard Cut, Copy, and Paste functions and other functions that are pertinent to the individual controls.
(The actual screen shot depicted above is standard screen format. Wide screen monitors are also fully supported. The wide screen layout is a bit different to take advantage of the extra space.)
Click the Title box and type in the title of your current work. The text will be automatically resized to fit.
The Windows access button will minimize Writer’s Block – Goodbye! to the Windows Taskbar.
Word Category Buttons:
The heart of Writer’s Block – Goodbye! finds expression through the category buttons located along the left side of your screen. The buttons are organized into four groups. The most prominent group consisting of Characters, Attributes, Environment, Activity, and Random, is always open for reasons that will be detailed shortly. The remaining three category button groups are closed when Writer's Block – Goodbye! is first started. These button groups can be opened or closed at any time by clicking on the associated activation pad.
The Academic Group:
Adverbs - Word Count 4,823 – for the Young 4,674
Verbs – Word Count 14,095 – for the Young 13,063
Adjectives – Word Count 20,498 – for the Young 19,737
Nouns – Word Count 92,380 – for the Young 90,215
The Academic group represents the staple diet of any type of creative writing endeavor. A variety of effects are produced by mixing words from these categories in different sequences. For example Poets, Sloganeers, and Songwriter’s realize tremendous benefits from the pairing of “Adjective – Noun” that together form what could be a title to work from or could otherwise inspire unique subjects to write about or expose an innovative new approach to a familiar subject.
How to best exploit the advantages this group offers to further your specific purposes is entirely up to you to discover so by all means - Experiment! Experiment! Experiment!
The Golden Group:
Characters – Word Count 10,104 – for the Young 8,514
Character words, in one way or another, resolve into a description of a character. The characters generated from this category can be used directly in your work but be aware that it is often the interrelated associations that spur the mind to venture in new directions of thought.
Attributes – Word Count 9,131 – for the Young 8,087
Attributes are words with descriptive qualities that fill out characters, environments, or activities. Attributes are the properties that define the distinctive characteristics of what makes things the way that they are. They can describe the way something is in reality or in the way they can be perceived in fantasy.
Environment – Word Count 5,420 – for the Young 5,161
Environment words describe surroundings where actions can take place. A pond by a glade, a rooftop in the city, or the back seat of a Chevy, you'll never know where you might end up. Everything that has ever happened could never have happened without a place for it to happen.
Activity – Word Count 10,355 – for the Young 8,766
Activity words describe things to do or things that happen. Everything in the universe exists in a state of perpetual motion and interaction with everything else. Activity captures the full spectrum of possibilities.
Random – Word Count 215,513 – for the Young 205,994
Sometimes it's the wild shot in the dark that supplies exactly what's needed. The “Random” button picks one of the 22 categories at random and selects a random word from that category. It's a great way to jog the mind free of too narrow a track of thinking and to discover what the other categories have to offer.
The words in the “Golden” group of categories are by far the most open-ended and will find a broad range of application to any type of situation or subject matter. All other elements of plot, conflict, perspective, theme, irony, mood, et al, are derived from these four most basic fundamentals.
Selecting a word from each of these categories already creates a story or scene that will grow and take form with a life of its own.
Try this exercise:
Click the “Characters” button just once.
Writer's Block – Goodbye! will bring a character into play in the utility panel. Now take a full minute to read through the definition and think about the character. No doubt from the moment you first saw the word your mind immediately recognized the character. By the end of the minute you will probably have a fairly complete impression of the character and made numerous assumptions as thinking about the character triggers associated memories from events in your life. You may even feel like you know this character personally and could predict how they would act in different situations.
Now click the “Attributes” button just once.
It is certainly possible the “Attributes” word that came into play may suit your character perfectly. However it is much more likely that the character you knew so well a moment ago just acquired an unexpected new dimension. All those assumptions and expectations about the character will now have to be re-evaluated.
You have just expanded your perceptions of the character. A new matrix of possibilities comes into view as your thinking adapts to an extended set of circumstances.
There are three important points to glean from this exercise:
1. What were you thinking about during the three minute character study? Did you think of the character in terms of mannerisms, demeanor, physical appearance, or other “Attributes”? Did you see the character in relationship to a certain type of location or “Environment”? Perhaps you thought of the character in terms of vocation or engaged in some other “Activity”.
The Characters, Attributes, Environment, and Activity categories are almost interchangeable.
A word from either one of these categories will always have direct relationships to the other three. In fact these categories are interdependent, neither one can exist without the others.
2. Writer’s Block – Goodbye! excels at delivering whatever is needed. Because of this fact many users have a tendency toward continually invoking a category until an acceptable solution is found. Although one cannot deny the remarkable effectiveness of this strategy there is actually far more to be gained by allowing some time to consider each word in some depth. Many associations to the matter at hand will immediately spring forth but the real power of creativity manifests from finding elusive associations that are not instantly apparent. You have an immeasurable wealth of information buried within your subconscious. The random word plants a seed, give it at least a few moments or more to germinate, and sprout, to reap a truly bountiful harvest.
3. The most important thing of all. As alluded to above, when you called for the “Attributes” word your character probably acquired an unexpected new dimension. “Environment”, “Activity” and indeed another “Character” word would have produced the same overriding effect. In any type of creative writing the unexpected, in all its forms, is a key ingredient to grabbing and holding your readers attention. Curiosity is the primal motivation of story telling. Once curiosity is stimulated the reader is compelled to see it through to resolution.
New dimensions, expanded perceptions, unique insights, heightened awareness, are the true tools of trade in the writer’s craft. These are qualities that writers themselves must master to enrich their readers by the skills of expression. These qualities represent the mind’s limitless potential and they can only be acquired through self-guided, self-motivated, self-inspired contemplation.
The mind alone has great difficulty generating something new and original. This difficulty stems from a simple basic fact. Everything you have experienced in life is recorded into the brain in complete detail. Everything you have ever seen, heard, touched, smelled, and tasted, everything you have ever thought, and everything in your dreams. Every single bit of this incalculable volume of information suffers a common malady – they are already known. “New”, by definition, is something that does not yet exist. There is nothing “New” to be found in what is already known. New ideas emerge in response to fresh information, stimulation that comes in from outside the mind and brings with it a whole new perspective.
Generating new ideas in the writers mind is the primal need that Writer's Block – Goodbye! was created to fulfill. Writer's Block – Goodbye! supplies a virtually infinite number of unpredictable random events that will catalyze your mind and ignite a reaction of explosive creativity that cannot help but to reflect the unique nature and perceptions of the individual writer.
The Support Groups:
The support categories are much more specific in nature and they are, for that very reason, extremely useful in a multitude of situations. Again the power of association extends the value of these words far beyond that which may seem apparent from the title of each of these categories. This is the reason the “Random” button was included in the “Golden” group. It is well worth experimenting with these categories. Often the last place you would ever think to look for something is the very place that you will find exactly what you are looking for.
Names – Word Count 3,646 – for the Young 3,605
Names words are proper names of real people of distinction that lived throughout history to the present day.
Places – Word Count 2,772 – for the Young 2,769
Places words are comprised of proper names of real places that exist on planet earth and beyond.
Things – Word Count 2,504 – for the Young 2,307
A smorgasbord of intangibles that do not quite fit into the other categories but can still be very useful. At the very least, now when you need a “Thing” you'll know exactly where to find one.
Wares – Word Count 9,137 – for the Young 8,905
Wares are words that encompass a collection of objects of all description that one might expect to find in a hideously large department store. These objects include furniture, tools, appliances, vehicles, and sundries - in short, just about anything under the sun.
Medical – Word Count 4,187 – for the Young 3,913
A variety of some of the more common medical terms, and some that may not be so common.
Religion – Word Count 1,741 – for the Young 1,659
Religion words are words of a directly religious context and, more generally, words of a spiritual nature.
Military – Word Count 1,455 – for the Young 1,333
Military words pertain directly to the various military services. Also included in this category are more general words of weaponry, destruction, and words indicative of violence and conflict.
Emotion – Word Count 1,146 – for the Young 959
Get ready to ride an emotional roller coaster, from the highest of highs to the lowest of lows and all the twists and turns in between. If it is comprised of feelings, you will find it here.
Animal – Word Count 3,909 – for the Young 3,886
Animal words are names of various animals both real and fictitious.
Nature – Word Count 3,695 – for the Young 3,676
Things in nature not found in other nature related categories.
Legal – Word Count 820 – for the Young 807
Legal words are no means a comprehensive legal dictionary. The Legal category consists of words that pertain to the law, to government, and to all things of an official nature.
Science – Word Count 9,904 – for the Young 9,741
Science words comprise a large category covering the many scientific disciplines (except for Medical).
Food – Word Count 2,529 – for the Young 2,485
Gastronomic delights, or horrors depending on personal taste, gathered from around the world.
Music – Word Count 1,260 – for the Young 1,232 (IMPORTANT - See Note Below)
Not popular music trivia but words within the realm of music one would expect from a dictionary.
Mature – Word Count 5,547– for the Young 0 (IMPORTANT - See Note Below)
Mature category words include the more “colorful” words of the day. Also included are many words that simply may not be appropriate for young children or more sensitive users. Please see the note below.
Please Note: Writer's Block - Goodbye! - comes in two different versions – “for the Young” and “for Adults”
In the “for the Young” version the “Mature” category words have been completely omitted. They will not appear at random, they are not included in the master lists, and they will not appear in Promptoria’s integrated dictionary/thesaurus either as a lookup word or within the definitions or thesaurus entries. The “Mature” category is not included and in its place is the “Music” category.
(Because of these omitted words some dictionary definitions may seem incomplete)
The “for Adults” version is completely uncensored. Among the words in the “Mature” category approximately 120 – 150 words are the more obviously vulgar. However, the majority of words in this category are simply of a more adult nature that may be inappropriate for younger or more sensitive users. Nevertheless these words can be very useful and perfectly appropriate in many situations, depending upon the nature of the writing.
All the words contained within Promptoria’s integrated dictionary/thesaurus can be found in any main stream dictionary or thesaurus of similar size, scope and quality. Of course what may be considered inappropriate is subjective and varies greatly between one person and the next.
Promptoria products are designed with sensitivity to the needs of our user base. We are dedicated to serve in the most productive way possible. If you should find any words in the “for the Young” version of Writer’s Block – Goodbye! that you find objectionable, please contact us through the Customer Service link at www.Promptoria.com and let us know. Registered users will be contacted by email and notified whenever updated word lists become available. This service is provided free of charge.
The Utility Panel:
The upper panel serves as a multi function utility panel. A complete description of the various interations follows.
The Idea Panel:
Clicking on any of the category buttons will invoke the Writer's Block – Goodbye! randomizing engine, which will automatically select a word from the associated category and display it in the left pane of the utility panel. The definition and thesaurus relationships of the word appear in the right pane.
Be sure to read through the entire entry in the right pane. Many words have multiple definitions and even though there will certainly be one that relates directly to the title of the category, the others can serve to illuminate meanings to the words in ways that you may not have otherwise considered. This is a source of great power that can have a dramatic effect in your work.
Writer's Block – Goodbye! is an open-ended experience. There are no rules to adhere to, there are only results to achieve, so feel free to experiment however you please. There is no requirement to use every word that appears, however it cannot be stressed enough that taking some time to consider words that initially fail to produce eureka can nevertheless produce results of the most powerful impact. True value is a quality that is not always immediately apparent. The most precious of gems are formed within the most worthless of rock and must be extracted to realize their value. The sweat and blood and toil expended is ultimately well worth the effort and never doubt that the exercise will strengthen your mental musculature and will greatly enhance your ability to ascertain and comprehend progressively deeper levels of meaning in any subject.
To delete a word from the list, click on the word to hi-light it and then click the “Delete” button. Deleted words can be recalled by clicking the “Recall” button. The words are recalled in the reverse order they were deleted and will be appended to the bottom of the list.
As the words collect their definitions and thesaurus entries can be reviewed at any time by clicking on the word of interest.
The Rhyme Panel:
Poets, Songwriters, Sloganeers, or anyone looking for rhyming words, can take full advantage of the Writer's Block – Goodbye! phonetic rhyming engine.
Click the “Rhyme” button to invoke the rhyme panel. Type in a word you wish to rhyme in the text box provided and click the “Search” button or press the “Enter” key on your keyboard to start the engine. Rhyming words will appear in the right pane. Click the “Rhyme” button again to return to the main panel.
The small “Rhymes“ button at the top right of the panel, when enabled as shown in the above illustration, indicates the panel is in rhyme mode. The three check boxes below this button can be selected individually or in combination to determine the type of rhyme your searching for.
Perfect – Words that exactly match the lookup word from the primary stressed vowel to the end.
Near to perfect rhymes will also be listed when the “Perfect” box is checked.
Alternate – Words that follow less stringent rules of rhyme but can nevertheless be very useful.
Cadence – Phonetic Cadence Matching finds words that can be spoken with similar beat or rhythm.
In the center section a sequence of letters you specify is used as the word search criteria. Selecting “Contains”, “Begins With”, or “Ends With” in the center section will disable the “Rhymes” button. Enter a sequence of letters in the text box provided. The search is not case sensitive.
In the left section you can define the number of characters in the returned words as a search criteria. To enable this feature select “Greater Than”, “Less Than”, or “Equals” and enter a number in the text box provided. To disable this feature either remove the number in the text box or de-select the active button.
The Font Panel:
Click the “Font” button to invoke the font panel. The system fonts installed on your computer are displayed in the left pane in their associated font style. Sample text of the selected font is displayed in the right pane. The sample text can be further modified using the font applicable toolbar controls. Below the list of fonts you can select to display the full alphabet in both upper and lower case as shown in the illustration above or any text of your own choosing. Selecting the “Text” button will enable the text box and allow you to enter text. Although the text box is relatively small, any amount of text can be typed or pasted in.
To use the displayed font in your document is important to remember to first click in your document to position the insertion point (indicated by a flashing vertical line) where you want the new font to appear. Once the insertion point is selected modify the font as desired and then just start typing to use the new font.
The Font panel also works in conjunction with the Font related buttons on the Toolbar. For the sake of convenience, descriptions of all the buttons on the toolbar from left to right are listed together below. Buttons that do not pertain to the Font panel are labeled as such.
The Toolbar:
Chapter/Scene Buttons: (not applicable to the Font panel)
The left button hides the Chapter/Scene panel.
The center button displays the Chapter/Scene panel as part of the Utility panel.
The right button displays the Chapter/Scene panel below the toolbar so it can be used with the Utility panel.
The Chapter/Scene panel is described in detail later in this document.
Menu: (not applicable to the Font panel)
See below for a full description.
Font:
The “Font” button invokes the Font panel. Click again to return to the default display.
Size:
Click the size button to display and select from the available font sizes.
Color:
Click the color button to select from the available font colors.
Undo: (not applicable to the Font panel)
Click “Undo” to reverse the last edit of your document. Undo is limited to one hundred actions.
Redo: (not applicable to the Font panel)
Click “Redo” to reverse the Undo actions sequentially.
Bold:
Sets selected text or the insertion point to bold style.
Italic:
Sets selected text or the insertion point to Italic style.
Underline:
Sets selected text or the insertion point to underline style.
Justify Buttons: (not applicable to the Font panel)
Sets selected text or the insertion point to justify text to the left, center, or right of the page.
Bullet: (not applicable to the Font panel)
Click to enable bullet style formatting.
Lexicon: (not applicable to the Font panel)
Click “Lexicon” to invoke the Lexicon panel for direct use of the integrated dictionary and thesaurus.
Spell: (not applicable to the Font panel)
Click “Spell” to check the spelling in your document.
Exit: (not applicable to the Font panel)
Closes Writer’s Block – Goodbye! and returns to Windows. You will be prompted to save your work if you have not already done so.
Menu: (not applicable to the Font panel)
New – Clears the current document to begin a new project.
Open – Opens an existing project.
Save* – Saves the current document with the existing file name.
Save As* – Saves the current document with a new file name.
WBG Font – Select the font used for the Utility and Chapter/Scene panels.
Print – Prints the current document on your computer’s printer.
Help – Invokes this help file.
About – Information about your Writer's Block – Goodbye! installation. (shown below)
Options – Select the option to auto load the last saved document. (shown below)
*Your lookup words interface settings and all the information in the Chapter/Scene panel will also be saved automatically along with your document.
The Spell Check Panel:
Misspelled words are displayed on the right and a list of suggested alternatives appears on the left. The text box below the suggestions list contains the correction that will be entered into your document. Click on the appropriate suggestion in the list to select it or type a replacement word into the text box manually.
Click “Replace” to make the correction to your document.
Clicking “Replace All” will replace all occurrences of the same spelling error if any exist.
Click “Ignore” to bypass any correction.
Click “Ignore All” to ignore all occurrences of the same spelling error.
The Spell Check panel will close automatically when spell checking is complete.
The Lexicon Panel:
The Lexicon panel provides direct access to the integrated dictionary and thesaurus. Enter your lookup word in the text box provided. The nearest match will appear in the left pane as you type and resulting definitions are displayed in the right pane. The dictionary and thesaurus contains over 210,000 possible lookup combinations. For the sake of efficiency the word list displayed on the left does not include every lookup possibility. If you don’t see what you’re looking for in the list go ahead type your full lookup word or phrase, and press the “ENTER” key on your keyboard.
The Chapter/Scene Panel:
The Chapter/Scene panel is primarily intended for building outlines of larger scale works such as novels or screenplays. As mentioned earlier, the Chapter/Scene Panel can be displayed above or below the toolbar. The low position allows access to the Utility Panel functions to aid in the creation of your outline. The high position is best after your outline has been created to serve as a quick reference while allowing maximum size of the document workspace. This panel consists of five boxes which can be resized by dragging the blue vertical dividers. From left to right they are:
Chp/Scn:
The Chp/Scn box is a list box of selectable items that drive all the remaining boxes in the panel. Here you will add a title or number to identify each scene. Selecting an item will display the information associated with the scene.
Environment:
The Environment box serves to describe the location of the scene.
Activities:
The Activities box serves to describe the action or events that take place in the scene.
Characters:
The Characters box is another list box to list the names of the characters playing the scene.
Attributes:
The Attributes box is a text box that serves to describe each of your characters.
To use the Environment, Activities, and Attributes text boxes just click in the appropriate box and start typing. The Chp/Scn and Characters list boxes are edited using the Edit panel shown below.
Double click your left mouse button or single click your right mouse button inside either the Chp/Scn or Characters list boxes to open the Edit panel. Select Chp/Scn or Characters to indicate which list you want to edit. Use the text area in the Edit panel to enter the name of your scene or character. If the text box is left blank a number will be inserted.
Add – Adds a new item to the end of the list.
Insert – Insert a new item above the selected item in the list.
Edit – Change the name of the selected item.
Delete – Deletes the selected item and all information associated with the item.
Move Up and Down – Moves the selected item up or down one space in the list.
Notice the small checkbox at the top left corner of the Chapter/Scene panel. When this box is checked – clicking on an item in the Chp/Scn list with cause the document workspace to scroll to the associated scene. To use this function type five asterisks (shift + 8 on your keyboard) in a row with no spaces in between - ***** -, on a separate line between the chapters in your document. In order for this feature to work properly this mark must not appear either at the very beginning or the very end of your document. If the checkbox is unchecked these marks are ignored and auto-scrolling is disabled. If you want to return to a specific spot in a long scene place the mark at the appropriate location. Regardless of where you put this mark only one mark per scene is allowed.
A note to educators and others interested in group use:
Although Writer’s Block – Goodbye! was primarily created as a single user experience, it does lend itself to some interesting possibilities for creative use in educational and social settings:
Educators can create an unlimited supply of unique writing assignments by selecting one word from each of the main categories Characters, Attributes, Environment, and Activity, as a set that begins a story.
Another interesting approach is to give each participant two sets words as stated above with instruction to write a story that tie the two sets together in the sequence given. In this scenario, the first set of words for one participant is identical to the last set of words for the next participant. With this scheme a contiguous story can be assembled from any number of participants. The participants can write their sections of the story completely oblivious of what the other participants are writing about.
Each participant could be given a number of words from a single category and the group would write together as one – each with their own area of focus.
Given the popularity of laptop computers, groups were each participant has purchased their own installation of Writer's Block – Goodbye! can open a whole new world of possibilities.
Conclusion:
Not a conclusion but a new beginning. The elegant simplicity of Writer's Block – Goodbye! belies the long hours, worn fingernails, and endless soul-searching that went in to its development. Promptoria sets new standards of sincere dedication to creating tools of self enlightenment that are easy to use and effective at producing practical, useful, and valuable results. Visit us at www.Promptoria.com to check for new offerings. Your feedback is valued and encouraged. Please help us improve and let us know how Writer's Block – Goodbye! is working for you.
