Rob Bignell's Blog, page 17

The long-lived books of tomorrow are concealed somewhere amongst the so-far unpublished MSS of today. ��� Philip Unwin

Professional Book Editor: Having your novel, short story or nonfiction manuscript proofread or edited before submitting it can prove invaluable. In an era where you face heavy competition, your writing needs a second eye to give you the edge. I can provide that second eye.


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When to use first-person point of view in a story

One of the two most common point of views, first-person occurs when a character in the story narrates the tale. If the protagonist is the narrator, you have first-person major; if a character who is not the protagonist is the narrator, you have first-person minor.

First-person is an exceptionally good idea for stories in which the protagonist���s personality or ultimate decision for solving a problem generally would not be accepted by society. Usually the author wants the reader to accept that protagonist or his decision. This is done to great effect in Albert Camus��� The Stranger, in which the main character, Meursault, is indifferent and emotionally detached from the world around him. He is arrested for the murder of an Arab and sentenced to death. Though Meursault doesn���t sound very likable, by novel���s end, most unbiased readers side with him. Meursault ��� like all of us, Camus claims ��� is a victim of the benign indifference of the universe. No one really knows who he is; others, like the prosecutor, define him, turn him into a cartoon caricature of who is really is, while the priest does the same for the world and universe. When Meursault reconciles himself to the absurdity of life, he is finally happy.

Such a story could not be told as effectively in any other point of view. If we look at  Meursault objectively ��� as we would with a third person point of view ��� readers would see an emotionless man who murdered another and hence deserves a harsh sentence. Because we wouldn���t really get inside Meursault���s head and see the world through his eyes and experiences, we���d never really understand him. The story���s quality would diminish.

During the 20th century and the beginning decades of the 21st, many authors have focused on themes aimed at understanding and uplifting the oppressed and marginalized. As first-person is ideal for such characters, this point of view has enjoyed a renaissance in storytelling.

Don���t use first-person, however, just because it���s popular. Many genre stories, for example, are purely about beating difficult odds and have the default theme of ���good will overcome evil.��� While such stories can be told in first-person, third-person probably is more suitable as it better plays to those tales��� strengths.

Professional Book Editor: Having your novel, short story or nonfiction manuscript proofread or edited before submitting it can prove invaluable. In an era where you face heavy competition, your writing needs a second eye to give you the edge. I can provide that second eye.

Podcast: How to finally finish your languishing novel

Professional Book Editor: Having your novel, short story or nonfiction manuscript proofread or edited before submitting it can prove invaluable. In an era where you face heavy competition, your writing needs a second eye to give you the edge. I can provide that second eye.


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Avoid Speeches and Soliloquies in Dialogue

Rarely in real life do people get to give long speeches during conversations. When people talk to one another, there are frequent questions that ���interrupt��� or exchanges of brief stories to show the other that you share a similar experience. After all, you���re not really in a conversation if one person is doing all of the talking. And if they are, they ought to be darn interesting to listen to or you���re going to start tuning them out.

Likewise, when writing dialogue, you should avoid speeches and long soliloquies.

If you find that a lone character in your story is speaking for page after page, then you probably need to do some revising.

Info dump
If you character needs a lengthy speech or soliloquy (a speech in which one person speaks aloud to himself) to explain a character���s motivations or their perceptions of the world, then that probably has not being adequately weaved into the story. A reader should pick up on a character���s motivations from the start through their actions and a line or two of dialogue. Ditto on their views about the world.

A speech or soliloquy that delivers such information usually amounts to an info dump.

It also risks bordering on the dull. At the very least, it can exhaust the reader.

Of course, there are instances when this might be okay. A character could be reciting a memory or telling a fable. So long as those remembrances and fables are stories with their own action, then you���ll be fine.

Likewise, you don���t want the opposite in which dialogue pops back and forth like a ball in a tennis match. This usually occurs when each character simply respond to one another in a short sentence. Instead, vary the length of responses and the sentences. For example, Character A might say one sentence, Character B responds in two sentences, Character A then says two sentences, Character B responds in one sentence, Character A answers in three sentences, and so on.  

Mime conversation
While dialogue in fiction ought to be tight and punchy, sometimes when penning or editing it, writers go overboard. The result is a choppy flow to the narration as well as text that is robbed of its emotive powers. This problem is known as a mime conversation (Cambridge SF Workshop���s David Smith coined the term.).

At first glance, such dialogue looks like it���s really ominous and significant. It���s all pretend, though.

Consider the following example of mime conversation: 

���But I heard what������

���And that meant she would!���

���But���but���how could I have been������

���Wrong? You weren���t. You just weren���t ri������

���Of course. It���s all so clear to me now.���

But it���s probably not so clear to readers. That���s because the facts readers must know to understand what is meant are neither stated nor inferred. The convoluted flow of the characters��� statements even is laughable. The result is that the author robs the reader of the emotional conflict that is a key underpinning of good fiction.

Professional Book Editor: Having your novel, short story or nonfiction manuscript proofread or edited before submitting it can prove invaluable. In an era where you face heavy competition, your writing needs a second eye to give you the edge. I can provide that second eye.

How to place your byline on a book cover

The byline is the author���s name. Every cover should carry the author���s name.

Generally, the byline is in smaller type than the title and often is in the same font and uses the same coloring. There are plenty of exceptions to this rule, though. If you���re a big name author, the byline may be equal in size and appear in a prominent position on the cover. Sometimes for design reasons, you may not want it to be in the same font or coloring. This is especially true if you���re using a unique font intended to convey a mood, such as lettering made to appear like dripping blood on a horror book. In that case, using the same font and color for the byline may be overkill (no pun intended) and actually distract from the novelty of the title���s appearance.

The byline typically appears somewhere below the title. The bottom of the cover is a good spot. Again, there are exceptions. Sometimes the author���s name sell the book not the title, so in such cases the byline appears above the title.

As placing the byline on the page, make sure it is readable. As with the title, you don���t want stray lines from the artwork intersecting letters so that they are unreadable or could be easily confused with another letter. Finding a spot that is monochrome on the bottom of the artwork is an ideal location for the byline.

Lastly always leave ���by��� off the byline. The only name that ought to appear on the cover is the author���s, so why place ���by��� before it? Besides adding clutter to the page, it looks amateurish. If you���ve written a children���s book, include wording such as ���Illustrated by��� or ���Pictures by��� before the illustrator���s name to clarify she is not the author.

Professional Book Editor: Having your novel, short story or nonfiction manuscript proofread or edited before submitting it can prove invaluable. In an era where you face heavy competition, your writing needs a second eye to give you the edge. I can provide that second eye.

Show don't tell when writing story dialogue

All too often, new writers fall into the error of telling instead of showing. This occurs, for example, when the narrator states how character feels rather than using concrete details from which the feeling can be inferred. So instead of saying, Suzanne was feeling naughty infer it by writing Suzanne ran finger along his arm.

When writing dialogue, writers also can fall in the trap of telling instead of showing, For example, instead of writing ���I���m feeling tired, Alvaro,��� Suzanna said instead write Suzanne yawned. ���Let���s go to bed, Alvaro.���

Among the problems of a character telling what he feels is that it doesn���t sound realistic. Many characters, as with people in real life, often to know exactly what they���re feeling but have only a vague sense of it.

But people often do express what they feel. Because of that, body language is the perfect way to convey their emotional state.

Sometimes new writers will claim that their reader won���t get what they���re saying and so need to be told what to think about the character. That viewpoint not only underestimates the reader but actually takes the fun out of reading. It���s akin to handing a puzzle lover a new 1000-piece set and then putting it all together for them.

Professional Book Editor: Having your novel, short story or nonfiction manuscript proofread or edited before submitting it can prove invaluable. In an era where you face heavy competition, your writing needs a second eye to give you the edge. I can provide that second eye.

Podcast: Where to Research Info for Your Nonfiction Book

Professional Book Editor: Having your novel, short story or nonfiction manuscript proofread or edited before submitting it can prove invaluable. In an era where you face heavy competition, your writing needs a second eye to give you the edge. I can provide that second eye.

The English language is an arsenal of weapons. If you are going to brandish them without checking to see whether or not they are loaded, you must expect to have them explode in your face from time to time. ��� Stephen Fry

Professional Book Editor: Having your novel, short story or nonfiction manuscript proofread or edited before submitting it can prove invaluable. In an era where you face heavy competition, your writing needs a second eye to give you the edge. I can provide that second eye.


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The ear is the only true writer and the only true reader. ��� Robert Frost

Professional Book Editor: Having your novel, short story or nonfiction manuscript proofread or edited before submitting it can prove invaluable. In an era where you face heavy competition, your writing needs a second eye to give you the edge. I can provide that second eye.


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Podcast: Don���t Overwhelm Reader with Too Many Subplots

Professional Book Editor: Having your novel, short story or nonfiction manuscript proofread or edited before submitting it can prove invaluable. In an era where you face heavy competition, your writing needs a second eye to give you the edge. I can provide that second eye.