Blogiversary Winners & a Gift for All
Yay! I officially made it to the two-year mark on my blog. Two years of comments, questions, and debates. On my post announcing my Blogiversary Contest, we had enough comments to earn three winners!
The worst part of the contest was picking the names. The worst, you say? No, that doesn’t mean I didn’t want anyone to win. *smile*
However, after random.org spit out the winning numbers, I saw how many other people wouldn’t be a winner. I wish I could let you all win. Seriously.
I’ve said it before and I really mean it. You’re the reason I blog, and I appreciate you so much that I wish I could do something for each one of you.
*ding* Oh wait… Maybe I can.
Do you remember a few weeks back when I posted about how to make the most of a scene? I talked about how we should include at least three elements in each scene to ensure we’re not too heavy with info dump or backstory. I also linked to a blog post of Janice Hardy’s where she broke down scene elements by level of importance.
In the comments of that post, some people had mentioned how a checklist of that information would be helpful. I’d vaguely agreed and said that if I managed to get around to it, I’d share the links.
Well, as part of my way to give a gift to everyone—even those who lost in the Blogiversary Contest—I made the time yesterday to create worksheets going along with that post. I’m an Excel newbie, so this took way longer than I expected, but you’re worth it. *grin*
Does Your Scene Have the Right Elements?
Worksheets to the Rescue!
Up first, an MS Word version of a worksheet listing the elements of a good scene, broken down by importance:
Click to Download Elements of a Scene Overview – MS Word ’07 version (.docx)
Click to Download Elements of a Scene Overview – MS Word earlier version (.doc)
And then an MS Excel version of a worksheet (this one is in list format and can be used for multiple scenes):
Click to Download Scene Elements Worksheet – MS Excel ’07 version (.xlsx)
Click to Download Scene Elements Worksheet – MS Excel earlier version (.xls)
I hope my gifts to you are helpful and useful. Ask away in the comments if you have any questions about them or how to use them.
Do You Have Suggestions for Other Worksheets?
Let me know if you have suggestions for other gifts for my readers. Is there another post that could use a worksheet to go with it? Do you have other blog topics you’d love to see?
Let me know how I can help you, and I’ll do my best. (Especially if you can remember another one of those vague “oh yeah, I’ll try to get around to it” promises I’ve made in the comments over the years. *smile*)
Blogiversary Contest Winners
And now, the part you’ve all really been waiting for… Here are the winners of my Second Annual Blogiversary Contest:
Congratulations to you all! You should receive an email from me within the next day, so start thinking about what prize you want. Should I be worried?
What do you think of the worksheets? Do you have suggestions on how to improve them? Do these help make up for the fact that you didn’t win? *sad face* Do you have any suggestions or reminders for me about other writing helpers I could put together?
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Congrats to the winners. Be sure to not demand too much out of poor Jami. 😉
I’ll print one of those sheets out this afternoon and see if it comes to use.
Hi Chihuahua Zero,
Yes, please let me know if you have any suggestions on how to improve them. 🙂 Thanks for the comment!
Hey, thanks for the worksheets. I’ve downloaded them to doctor for myself—in the least, I’ll doubtless convert that Excel one to Numbers format. (Anyone with a Mac who likes having multiple tables on a single worksheet in Excel, check out Numbers. Seriously. So much better.)
Did you send the sheets to Janice? I know she’s expressed interest before in having worksheets folks make from her stuff. I did a few, myself, but gave them over to her for her to distribute as she wanted, so I can’t hand those out myself.
I currently have a word log spreadsheet available for download, but I’ve doctored it since, so I need to update it, convert to OO and Excel (and figure out a NeoOffice version).
Hi Carradee,
Yes, as I mentioned to Chihuahua Zero, let me know if you have any suggestions on how to improve them. (And yeah, sorry, I’m not on a Mac so I can’t do that conversion. 🙂 )
I’ll be pinging Janice in just a minute. 🙂 Thanks for the comment!
I converted the worksheet and Janice Hardy’s “spit shine” list into Numbers, along with the Save the Cat beat spreadsheet, and now have a single worksheet with all 3, and I’ve started marking them up per one WiP.
Handy.
Hi Carradee,
Ooo, cool! If anyone else asks for a Numbers version, I’ll send them your way. 😉 Thanks for the comment!
Wow, great worksheets!
I love the “at least three total” and the requirement for one from the Essential Elements list.
Problems come in when Bonus Elements are treated as if they’re Essential. Very well done, and very easy to use!
Hi Tami,
Yay! I’m glad they look helpful.
And yes, you’re absolutely right. Those problematic info dump and backstory scenes creep in when we treat those Bonus Elements as Essential. 🙂 Let me know if you have any suggestions for improvements. Thanks for the comment!
Fabulous worksheets. Love how you pulled Janice’s stuff in with yours. Thanks for creating and sharing them!
And wow, Jami, thank you for sharing so much of yourself!
Hi Raelyn,
Congratulations! Start thinking about what prize you’ll want. 🙂
And you still get the bonus prize of the worksheets. LOL! Thanks for the comment!
Love the worksheets, Jami! Thanks for sharing them.
Hi Buffy,
You’re welcome! 🙂
Congrats on your two-year blogiversary. You have one of the most informative writing blogs around. Those are awesome gifts. Structure is the toughest thing for a new writer to learn and those will certainly help in the learning process!
Hi Anne,
Aww, thank you! I love your blog too–you’re a great example of slow blogging. 🙂 Thanks for the comment!
Thanks, Jami! These are awesome. 😀
Hi Stina,
You’re welcome! 🙂
Congrats on two years, Jami. You do a great job, and it is certainly appreciated. I look forward to more years to follow.
Kerry
Hi Kerry,
LOL! I try not to look forward to how long I’ll be blogging too much. The thought of coming up with two posts a week for forever is rather daunting. 🙂 Thanks for the congratulations!
Congratulations to the winners and thanks, Jami, for the sheets.
Hi Aldrea,
You’re welcome! 🙂
Yayyyyyy I’m still a winner!! Great job Jami!
Hi Jeremy,
LOL! That’s exactly right. And don’t ever forget it. 🙂 Thanks for the comment!
Ooo, worksheets – I love worksheets, especially this one, a combo of two of my favorite’s, you and Janice. See I think about making worksheets, especially after reading Janice’s posts, but then I think, you know, if you wait a couple weeks, Jami will have an awesome one…
Thanks for sharing with us – and congrats again on two stellar years!
Hi Gene,
LOL! Yes, you caught me. I often come up with worksheets for processes. 🙂 You’re welcome and thanks for the comment!
I won, I won, I won!!!! *runs around screaming and throwing confetti* I NEVER win anything!!! 😀 I’m thrilled to bits! Oh, and er, graciously sorry about all those who didn’t win, of course. I’m so sorry it’s taken me so long to make my way over here–it’s been Fast Draft madness all around, and I’ve been scrambling to try and keep up with all my beloved blog gurus. 🙂 Yippeeeee! Happy Blogiversary to you! And thank you!!
Hi Adriana,
*dances around with you* Yay! Congratulations on your win. 🙂
Good luck with your Fast Draft, and you’re welcome!
Thanks so much for sharing the worksheets! Got them downloaded and look forward to putting them to good use! 🙂
Hi Steph,
Let me know if you think of suggestions for how to improve them. 🙂 Thanks for the comment!
So excited! Thanks! Only thing is, I don’t know what to choose. LOL
Hi Sonia,
LOL! No worries, just let me know when you do. 🙂 Congratulations!
Congrats to you Jami! May your blog teach, and inspire for years and years to come.
I’ll be a fan for ever 🙂
Have a great Friday evening,
Tamara
Hi Tamara,
Aww, thank you! *hugs* Making friends like you has far and away been the best part of blogging. 🙂 Thanks for the kind words!
[…] Gold is celebrating her blogiversary and she’s offering up a couple of worksheets for […]
[…] Gold : Blogiversary Winners & a Gift for All <–with a must see downloadable […]
[…] And I love me some worksheets!! Jami Gold has posted some to help with our scenes, check ‘em out! […]
Happy Anniversary! And thanks for the worksheets, I love worksheets, and create some myself. Hmm, maybe I should post them too…
Hi Angela,
Oh yes, you should share. 🙂 Thanks for the comment!
Congrats to the winners and thank you for these awesome worksheets. Can’t wait to put these to use.
Hi Reetta,
No problem. 🙂 Let me know if you have any suggestions for improvements. Thanks for the comment!
These are great! Thank you so much! Bummed I didn’t win, of course. 😉
Hi Jamie,
I know–I’m bummed too. You had the great name going for you and everything. 😉 Thanks for the comment and I hope the worksheets are helpful for you!
Happy blogiversary:-) Will be 2 yrs for me in August–guess I better think of something to giveaway! Thanks for the worksheets–they are A*W*E*S*O*M*E!!!
Hi Jamie,
Yay! I’m so glad you like them. 🙂 Happy early blogiversary to you and thanks for the comment!
Thank you for the worksheets! And congrats on TWO years!
Hi Taffy,
Thank you! And you’re welcome. 🙂
Thank you, Jami! These handouts look very helpful. I’ll be putting them to use. 🙂
Hi Rhonda,
You’re welcome! Let me know if you have any suggestions for improvement. 🙂
[…] Essential Scene Elements Worksheets by Jami Gold (Word & Excel versions) […]