Fred Fanning's Blog, page 5
June 26, 2016
Why Use a Professional Editor?
I hear this question a lot. Over the years, I have changed my mind from not wanting a professional editor to not wanting to publish something without a professional editors review. My change came about from reading a lot of books and homework that were not professionally edited and seeing how many of them had mistakes in them.
I asked the authors of those books if they had paid an editor. Each one said no. Their reason was that they didn’t think they needed it. I then explained that the errors in their work made their book less professional. I have also read a lot of work submitted by college students who are not allowed to hire an editor, but achieve the same result. Their work had a lot of errors that took away from their grade. My point is we all make mistakes in writing.
To test my theory I sent some of my old work through an editor. She found a lot of mistakes. In some cases, I had read the work a half dozen times. What I didn’t realize was that I was reading the work as it was in my mind. That included mistakes. I was reading right past them.
Now I pay an editor for all of my prose. I am continuing to go through my old work until I get it all professionally edited. Why? Because I want to be proud of the work I do. I cannot in good conscious be proud of something that might contain errors. To answer the title question, I use a professional editor to make my work the best it can be.
I asked the authors of those books if they had paid an editor. Each one said no. Their reason was that they didn’t think they needed it. I then explained that the errors in their work made their book less professional. I have also read a lot of work submitted by college students who are not allowed to hire an editor, but achieve the same result. Their work had a lot of errors that took away from their grade. My point is we all make mistakes in writing.
To test my theory I sent some of my old work through an editor. She found a lot of mistakes. In some cases, I had read the work a half dozen times. What I didn’t realize was that I was reading the work as it was in my mind. That included mistakes. I was reading right past them.
Now I pay an editor for all of my prose. I am continuing to go through my old work until I get it all professionally edited. Why? Because I want to be proud of the work I do. I cannot in good conscious be proud of something that might contain errors. To answer the title question, I use a professional editor to make my work the best it can be.
June 16, 2016
Location, Location, Location
Business owners tell us that the most important thing about your business is location, location, location. I have found it is just as important to a novel. After finishing my list of characters, I develop an outline of the chapters. From there I have to describe the location that each chapter takes place in. This is the scene.
Just because your story is fiction doesn’t mean your location has to be. However, if you use a real place do your homework. If a story is placed in a city, it should be at the time the novel is set in. For example, telling a story about prohibition era gangsters in today’s Chicago would lose a lot of its appeal. The city today is not the city that the gangsters used to run, and we all know it. Placing your story in the 1920s Chicago and magic seem to happen. The story now occurs in the time and place that gangster used to roam.
I do a lot of research on my location. I identify maps and histories of the location at the time my novel takes place. I locate where the action takes place, and the scenery at that location helps define the action. I make sure what I have described can take place in that area. I try to go to the location, if possible to help my understanding.
What if I want to create a place or even an entire world. That is a marvelous idea, but the basics still apply. Your world needs to have the basics to work. Locations must be developed so that they are believable and support the story. When I think of Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, Star Trek, and other great stories I remember the people and the worlds created for the stories. I have never done this and don’t know how much work is involved. I can tell you that from what I have heard it takes a lot of time and effort. I recently attended a meeting where Jim and John Gaines described how to develop characters. The amount of work that it takes to develop characters is probably small compared to the locations that a writer would produce. One thing I took away from Jim and John is that if humans are involved physics as we know them must be adhered to. However, once you leave out humans or put them in suits, you can play with physics.
I hope that you will remember that just because your story is fiction doesn’t mean your location has to be, but if you use a real place do your homework.
Just because your story is fiction doesn’t mean your location has to be. However, if you use a real place do your homework. If a story is placed in a city, it should be at the time the novel is set in. For example, telling a story about prohibition era gangsters in today’s Chicago would lose a lot of its appeal. The city today is not the city that the gangsters used to run, and we all know it. Placing your story in the 1920s Chicago and magic seem to happen. The story now occurs in the time and place that gangster used to roam.
I do a lot of research on my location. I identify maps and histories of the location at the time my novel takes place. I locate where the action takes place, and the scenery at that location helps define the action. I make sure what I have described can take place in that area. I try to go to the location, if possible to help my understanding.
What if I want to create a place or even an entire world. That is a marvelous idea, but the basics still apply. Your world needs to have the basics to work. Locations must be developed so that they are believable and support the story. When I think of Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, Star Trek, and other great stories I remember the people and the worlds created for the stories. I have never done this and don’t know how much work is involved. I can tell you that from what I have heard it takes a lot of time and effort. I recently attended a meeting where Jim and John Gaines described how to develop characters. The amount of work that it takes to develop characters is probably small compared to the locations that a writer would produce. One thing I took away from Jim and John is that if humans are involved physics as we know them must be adhered to. However, once you leave out humans or put them in suits, you can play with physics.
I hope that you will remember that just because your story is fiction doesn’t mean your location has to be, but if you use a real place do your homework.
June 13, 2016
Using Everyday Life in Writing
As I sit down to write a novella, my mind goes over the conversations, memories, and stories from my life. I usually mix and match pieces and parts of my life experience to develop ideas, characters, and storylines. This is where I take an uncles quirk, an aunts funny story, and a cousin's actions to create the hero. A story I may have heard as a kid is changed to a new location and in a new decade to become the main storyline. Another experience I had as a child now occurs in a new decade to a minor character.
I have been asked to include people in my stories. I respond by explaining that I may use their name, something they did, or what they may have said. However, I don't use them in a way that someone could recognize them or something they did. More importantly just because I use your first name doesn't mean I won't use my cousin's last name. Or if I use your name I will put it in a neighbors story. I don't use entire stories, and I don't create a story around a single event. What I do is build a story out of the information I have stored in my head. Some of this information I have wrong, and some of it may not have even occurred. No matter the quality this material is used to build the story.
Once I write the first draft the events, I edit the content. During this process names are events changed even further. So what may have been a short trip down the Wabash River now becomes life threatening white water rafting trip in Europe chased by international criminals. Not all my stories turn out well. Some are finished and left buried on my hard drive. My first novel among them. I do not waste the creation because the effort used to build those stories feeds into newer articles, stories, and books.
People and experiences fill our lives with what we call color. Using them to create stories that readers will enjoy seems like a proper use of information that otherwise would remain among the cobwebs of my brain. The best part of this is that we all have this same ability to recall things from our lives and create stories. You probably have a few stories in you just waiting to get out.
I have been asked to include people in my stories. I respond by explaining that I may use their name, something they did, or what they may have said. However, I don't use them in a way that someone could recognize them or something they did. More importantly just because I use your first name doesn't mean I won't use my cousin's last name. Or if I use your name I will put it in a neighbors story. I don't use entire stories, and I don't create a story around a single event. What I do is build a story out of the information I have stored in my head. Some of this information I have wrong, and some of it may not have even occurred. No matter the quality this material is used to build the story.
Once I write the first draft the events, I edit the content. During this process names are events changed even further. So what may have been a short trip down the Wabash River now becomes life threatening white water rafting trip in Europe chased by international criminals. Not all my stories turn out well. Some are finished and left buried on my hard drive. My first novel among them. I do not waste the creation because the effort used to build those stories feeds into newer articles, stories, and books.
People and experiences fill our lives with what we call color. Using them to create stories that readers will enjoy seems like a proper use of information that otherwise would remain among the cobwebs of my brain. The best part of this is that we all have this same ability to recall things from our lives and create stories. You probably have a few stories in you just waiting to get out.
April 27, 2016
My Steps to Writing a Novel
I read a lot about writing the first novel and learned even more by writing one. However, I would never say I am an expert. What I found out during the whole process was priceless. I discovered that I needed an outline to give me a guide to follow as I wrote the book. I also found that I needed a list of characters with their description. I then decided I needed a timeline so that I could keep things happening in sequence. I also learned that to complete a first draft I needed to write. I learned this lesson by participating in the National Novel Writing Month or NaNoWriMo. I honestly don’t think I could have written the novel without the structure this provided.
I have written a lot of non-fiction work and never planned to write a novel. I subscribe to organizations that discuss all types of writing, and that is where I learned about NaNoWriMo. The first time participated I jumped right in. I didn’t have an outline or list of characters to help. Unfortunately, I was only able to write 8,000 words.
I waited for a couple of years before trying again. During that time, I also read several books about writing novels. In 2014, I tried again. This time, I had an outline and a list of characters with descriptions. When the competition came along, I tried writing and correcting the text as I went along. I recognized that I would never finish if I kept doing both. I decided just to write and leave the editing for later.
As I began to write, I stayed on course with the outline. I had to add several more minor characters to my list as I went along. Before the 30 day period, I had written over 50,000 words. I was proud of myself. I sat the book aside for several months before I went back to edit. Leaving the book alone was hard to do. I thought if I left it alone too long I would lose my initiative. What I lost was the memory of exactly how the book read.
When I started to edit, I was surprised at what I had written. I even found that one-third of the way through the book I had changed the main character from a man to a woman. Of course, this meant that I had to rewrite the first third of the book all over again. It was worth it. The new character was better than the first.
I edited the book twice before sending it to a professional. The editor reviewed it twice too. The second time after I made the revisions she suggested. After that, I read the book twice more making further edits. However, none of that would have been possible if I had not written the first draft. If I had kept writing and editing, I probably would never have finished.
These probably aren’t the steps you would take, but they worked well for me. The only piece of advice I feel qualified to share is to write, write, and write. The rest will come later, even if you don’t believe it will.
I have written a lot of non-fiction work and never planned to write a novel. I subscribe to organizations that discuss all types of writing, and that is where I learned about NaNoWriMo. The first time participated I jumped right in. I didn’t have an outline or list of characters to help. Unfortunately, I was only able to write 8,000 words.
I waited for a couple of years before trying again. During that time, I also read several books about writing novels. In 2014, I tried again. This time, I had an outline and a list of characters with descriptions. When the competition came along, I tried writing and correcting the text as I went along. I recognized that I would never finish if I kept doing both. I decided just to write and leave the editing for later.
As I began to write, I stayed on course with the outline. I had to add several more minor characters to my list as I went along. Before the 30 day period, I had written over 50,000 words. I was proud of myself. I sat the book aside for several months before I went back to edit. Leaving the book alone was hard to do. I thought if I left it alone too long I would lose my initiative. What I lost was the memory of exactly how the book read.
When I started to edit, I was surprised at what I had written. I even found that one-third of the way through the book I had changed the main character from a man to a woman. Of course, this meant that I had to rewrite the first third of the book all over again. It was worth it. The new character was better than the first.
I edited the book twice before sending it to a professional. The editor reviewed it twice too. The second time after I made the revisions she suggested. After that, I read the book twice more making further edits. However, none of that would have been possible if I had not written the first draft. If I had kept writing and editing, I probably would never have finished.
These probably aren’t the steps you would take, but they worked well for me. The only piece of advice I feel qualified to share is to write, write, and write. The rest will come later, even if you don’t believe it will.
April 20, 2016
What can you do to improve your writing?
Over the years, I have been asked to review published books. I have always been glad to provide a review for a fellow author but have noticed some troubling trends that I would like to share. When ask to review a book I read the book entirely. I give the book an honest and truthful review. My goal is to provide the potential reader an analysis that they can use to make an informed decision about which books to read. Let me share the trends with you.
Misspelled words were left in most of the books I reviewed. This is not the case of a word spelled correctly used incorrectly. These are words spelled wrong that could easily have been caught by a typical spell check in the word processing software. My first recommendation to improve your writing is to use the spell check provided with your word processing software.
Most of the books I reviewed also had basic grammar errors. Most of the errors involved the comma. This is another area that could be improved by using a standard grammar checker found in most word processing software. My second recommendation to improve your writing is to use the grammar checker provided with your word processing software.
Most of the books I reviewed also had basic grammar errors. Most of the errors involved the comma. This is another area that could be improved by using a standard grammar checker found in most word processing software. My second recommendation to improve your writing is to use the grammar checker provided with your word processing software.
Many of the books I reviewed were poorly written. Some included sentences that made little or no sense. Other sentences were fragments. Many of these errors could have been caught by the author editing their work. However, many required an editor. My third recommendation is to review your work and if you plan to share or publish the work hire an editor.
When I review non-fiction books, I find the author has no authority. By this, I mean that the author has not demonstrated that he or she is an expert on the topic of the book. To exacerbate this problem the author does not reference any experts for the information in the book. This means a book about a subject is written by someone who may not be informed on that subject that has chosen not to reference experts on the subject. My first question is why would I read that book? The obvious answer is that I would not. My fourth recommendation is to be an expert in the topic you are writing about or reference experts in your work to validate the information. In either case, expert information is needed.
When I review non-fiction books, I find the author has no authority. By this, I mean that the author has not demonstrated that he or she is an expert on the topic of the book. To exacerbate this problem the author does not reference any experts for the information in the book. This means a book about a subject is written by someone who may not be informed on that subject that has chosen not to reference experts on the subject. My first question is why would I read that book? The obvious answer is that I would not. My fourth recommendation is to be an expert in the topic you are writing about or reference experts in your work to validate the information. In either case, expert information is needed.
Books that I review that use references don’t use a standard format. For example, some of the citations and references will be from the American Psychology Association (APA) while others will be from the Modern Language Association (MLA), and still others use the Chicago Style Guides (Chicago). The result is pure confusion. My fifth and final recommendation is to use a single format when citing and referencing material.
This short blog post is a quick reminder of the errors authors make in their written works. If you want to improve your writing:
1. Use the spell and grammar check in the word processing software.
2. Have written work edited by a professional.
3. Be an expert in the topic or reference and cite experts to validate the information
4. Use one format when quoting and referencing experts.
Misspelled words were left in most of the books I reviewed. This is not the case of a word spelled correctly used incorrectly. These are words spelled wrong that could easily have been caught by a typical spell check in the word processing software. My first recommendation to improve your writing is to use the spell check provided with your word processing software.
Most of the books I reviewed also had basic grammar errors. Most of the errors involved the comma. This is another area that could be improved by using a standard grammar checker found in most word processing software. My second recommendation to improve your writing is to use the grammar checker provided with your word processing software.
Most of the books I reviewed also had basic grammar errors. Most of the errors involved the comma. This is another area that could be improved by using a standard grammar checker found in most word processing software. My second recommendation to improve your writing is to use the grammar checker provided with your word processing software.
Many of the books I reviewed were poorly written. Some included sentences that made little or no sense. Other sentences were fragments. Many of these errors could have been caught by the author editing their work. However, many required an editor. My third recommendation is to review your work and if you plan to share or publish the work hire an editor.
When I review non-fiction books, I find the author has no authority. By this, I mean that the author has not demonstrated that he or she is an expert on the topic of the book. To exacerbate this problem the author does not reference any experts for the information in the book. This means a book about a subject is written by someone who may not be informed on that subject that has chosen not to reference experts on the subject. My first question is why would I read that book? The obvious answer is that I would not. My fourth recommendation is to be an expert in the topic you are writing about or reference experts in your work to validate the information. In either case, expert information is needed.
When I review non-fiction books, I find the author has no authority. By this, I mean that the author has not demonstrated that he or she is an expert on the topic of the book. To exacerbate this problem the author does not reference any experts for the information in the book. This means a book about a subject is written by someone who may not be informed on that subject that has chosen not to reference experts on the subject. My first question is why would I read that book? The obvious answer is that I would not. My fourth recommendation is to be an expert in the topic you are writing about or reference experts in your work to validate the information. In either case, expert information is needed.
Books that I review that use references don’t use a standard format. For example, some of the citations and references will be from the American Psychology Association (APA) while others will be from the Modern Language Association (MLA), and still others use the Chicago Style Guides (Chicago). The result is pure confusion. My fifth and final recommendation is to use a single format when citing and referencing material.
This short blog post is a quick reminder of the errors authors make in their written works. If you want to improve your writing:
1. Use the spell and grammar check in the word processing software.
2. Have written work edited by a professional.
3. Be an expert in the topic or reference and cite experts to validate the information
4. Use one format when quoting and referencing experts.
April 19, 2016
Perfect Setting for a Novel
The setting for my first novel was post-Cold War Berlin. The picture I have attached is of the no man’s land between East and West Berlin where people were actually killed for trying to escape communism to the West. My family and I lived in West Germany when the Iron Curtain fell in Europe. Less than a year later we moved to Berlin just before the reunification of Germany. We lived there for four years, leaving in 1994 when the US Army left Berlin. The first year we lived in Berlin was very exciting. The Soviet Union was had severe budget problems and Soviet Soldiers who were stationed at Potsdam, Germany were selling military equipment in the streets of Berlin and flea markets. This didn’t go unnoticed. The German Police started a crackdown to prevent this equipment, which at times included small arms would not get into the hands of criminals. My wife actually saw these items being sold on one of her trips to the flea markets. As the unification of Germany began to be implemented East German factories and government workers were laid off. They received unemployment benefits, but their morale was at rock bottom. Several former NAZI officers took this opportunity to buy these unemployed men a beer and explain to them that the immigrants were the problem. Thus began a resurgence of Neo-NAZIs. Immigrants were beaten by drunken gangs. There was also an increase in crime in the city. Before unification Berlin was a safe city, women could ride the subway system without fear of being attacked. Unfortunately, this came to an end when an old lady was killed for her purse. The German Police cracked down on crimes, but they found several Neo-NAZIs within the police force. The Americans in Berlin were spared most of this crime. The real focus was on immigrants with the cry of “immigrants out.” I cannot imagine a better scene for a murder mystery. Unfortunately, I took no action on the idea for over 18 years.
March 2, 2016
Fiction
I finished my novel! I wrote it for the National Novel Writing Month in November 2014. It then took over a year to rewrite it and have it edited. I had a professional cover done, and the interior is being done. I hope to get it published in the next few months. As many people have said in the past the book I originally wrote wasn't the book I finished with. I had an outline and character descriptions before I started writing. Somewhere around the tenth chapter, the story seemed to move to one of my main characters become the heroine. I liked the story I started with, but he one I ended up with was much better.
March 3, 2015
New Non-fiction Book
I have been working on a new non-fiction book. First I created an outline and now I am doing the research and identifying things to include in the outline. This is the way I fill out the book. I already have several chapters ready to write.
February 2, 2015
New Opportunity
Just reviewed the proofs for an academic journal article to be published in June. The editor did a good job. I am looking forward to the article being published in the journal "Organization, Technology and Management in Construction - An International Journal."
November 23, 2014
Victory
I made it today. I completed a 50,000 word novel. I won the National Novel Writing Month. The novel I started is not the same one I finished. As the story developed it took turns I had not seen before it was written. I will now rewrite the novel so it all flows in the same vein it ends.
