Rob Bignell's Blog, page 209
July 11, 2018
Wodehouse lexicon published posthumously
A recent 
editing client has published her husband���s first book posthumous. Last spring, Linda Cauley approached me about editing and self-publishing her recently deceased husband���s notes ��� a lexicon of two collections of works by famous British humorists P.G. Wodehouse. Well, last weekend John T. Cauley Jr.���s ���Help, P.G., I'm an American Reader!: A Lexicon to Select Works of P.G. Wodehouse��� went on sale! The book is a ���chairside��� lexicon for Wodehouse���s ���Blandings Castle��� and ���Jeeves and Wooster��� series and can be purchased online as a paperback.
Professional Book Editor: Having your novel or nonfiction manuscript proofread or edited before submitting it can prove invaluable. In an economic climate 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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July 10, 2018
5 Ideas for Science Fiction Stories
Science 
fiction stories typically arise from a novum, a scientifically plausible concept that is a ���reality��� in the tale. The novum might be an mechanical device like robot servants, artificial intelligence, or faster-than-light spacecraft; it also can be a hypothetical idea such as ���The Earth is a scientific experiment run by aliens to determine the meaning of life��� or ���The government outlaws books.��� The author then asks ���What if?��� exploring how the world with this novum is different than ours.
Among the problems of many novice science fiction writers is instead of introducing a new novum they rely on used furniture ��� that is, they borrow novums from popular SF series. After all, how many novels have you read that use starships exploring the galaxy for the Earth-based Federation? Barely changing names to appear as if you are not appropriating ��� a starcraft seeking M-class worlds for the Earth-centered Alliance ��� still doesn���t cut it as original or fully using the potential that science fiction offers to examine our culture or humanity.
To help SF writers, here are some novums of potential near-future inventions from which stories could be built:
Disassembling houses
What if when you moved utility clouds of microscopic robots that make up your house simply disassembled, moved with you, and reassembled where you relocated? What if entire buildings ��� even skyscrapers ��� do the same?
Electronet space debris remover
What if several nanosatellites, connected by electrically conducting tape were used to knock space debris into the atmosphere for burn up? The conducting tape would become electrically charged as it passed through the Earth���s magnetic field.
Heat shields made from asteroids
What if heat shields for spacecraft re-entry could be manufactured at a low cost from asteroid material while in space? What would be the benefits of having heat shields constructed on their way to a destination, even while in low Earth orbit?
Smart windows
What if windows could self-regulate themselves? That is they adjust as the temperature changes outside or inside to maintain comfort, they close when rain falls, they become soundproof when the teenager next door plays his music loud.
Spray-in power generation
What if we developed nano solar cells so sensitive that they can turn even infrared light into power ��� and these nano solar cells could be sprayed or painted on to a surface, like a wall? How does this change the way we power our electronic devices and appliances, and what will be the broader effect on society?
Professional Book Editor: Having your novel, short story or nonfiction manuscript proofread or edited before submitting it can prove invaluable. In an economic climate 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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July 9, 2018
7 Secrets to Maintaining Suspense in Fiction
��� Give readers sleepless nights with narrative drive
��� How to create suspense in your fiction story
��� Use pacing to maintain sense of tension in story
��� Add ticking clock to create sense of urgency
��� Add reaction shots to heighten dramatic tension
��� Heighten tension with consistent point of view
��� Organ music won���t create suspense in your story
��� BONUS: ���No tale is so good...but can be spoilt in the telling.��� ��� Terence
Professional Book Editor: Having your novel, short story or nonfiction manuscript proofread or edited before submitting it can prove invaluable. In an economic climate 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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July 8, 2018
5 Great Quotations about Revising
���The first 
draft reveals the art; revision reveals the artist.��� - Michael Lee
���Optimism is a perfectly legitimate response to failure.��� - Stephen King
���With writing, we have second chances.��� - Jonathan Safran Foer
���A good book isn���t written, it���s rewritten.��� - Phyllis A. Whitney
���You let the story cool off and then, instead of rewriting it, you relive it.��� - Ray Bradbury
Professional Book Editor: Having your novel, short story or nonfiction manuscript proofread or edited before submitting it can prove invaluable. In an economic climate 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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July 7, 2018
Wodehouse lexicon published posthumously
A recent editing client has published her husband���s first book posthumous. Last spring, Linda Cauley approached me about editing and self-publishing her recently deceased husband���s notes ��� a lexicon of two collections of works by famous British humorists P.G. Wodehouse. Well, last weekend John T. Cauley Jr.���s ���Help, P.G., I'm an American Reader!: A Lexicon to Select Works of P.G. Wodehouse��� went on sale! The book is a ���chairside��� lexicon for Wodehouse���s ���Blandings Castle��� and ���Jeeves and Wooster��� series and can be purchased online as a paperback.
Professional Book Editor: Having your novel or nonfiction manuscript proofread or edited before submitting it can prove invaluable. In an economic climate 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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Editing client publishes relationship book
How can 
we make our relationship work?
It���s a common question in romantic relationships and for good reason. Often people deeply in love with one another struggle with how they can stay together or build a meaningful bond that fulfills them for the rest of their lives. So why not ask for advice from someone who spent 50 years in a wonderful, loving relationship?
���The Two of Us are One: How to Ensure a Successful Relationship from a Couple Who Were Together for 50 Years��� reveals the seven guiding principles of a successful relationship learned Ann Steffen ��� my recent editing client ��� in five decades of first dating and then marrying the love of her life, Ronnie. As describing these essential truths, she recounts the story of her life with Ronnie and how they discovered and lovingly adhered to those principles. With ���The Two of Us are One,��� you can both enjoy a wonderful love story and find out how to make your relationship one for the ages too.
Those of you from the Twin Cities may have seen Ann and Ronnie on KARE-11���s popular ���Land of 10,000 Stories��� segment, on which they were featured in 2015. Ann���s book is available in paperback and ebook.
Professional Book Editor: Having your novel, short story or nonfiction manuscript proofread or edited before submitting it can prove invaluable. In an economic climate 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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July 6, 2018
How to Market Your Book: 7 Minutes a Day to Promoting Yo...
How to Market Your Book: 7 Minutes a Day to Promoting Your Book shows how to develop a strategy that will get articles about your self-published book in newspapers, magazines, on radio and television programs, posted on blogs, and linked to on websites, while landing you book signings and readings, all at virtually no cost.
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July 5, 2018
Editing client publishes her first novel
A recent 
editing client, Mary Ann Tippett, has published her first novel, ���Clara and Pig.��� The novel tells the tale of Clara, who her son moved to be near him in Vermont due to her dementia. There���s just one problem: Clara hates Vermont. After all, there���s a squirrel murderer on the loose, and management is ignoring her concerns. Her pet pug, Pig, hates Vermont, too, threatened by a vengeful tenant, constrained by the cold, and senior residence rules that never end. What���s more, strange letters from the dead arrive in Clara���s dreams. And someone's arranging her grandchildren���s toys into alarming scenes outside the front doors. Before it's too late, Clara hatches a plan to escape with the help of a non-binary youngster named Radish, Bonnie the eyelid artist, and Jimmy the overly popular owner of a working vehicle. But escape may not be what Clara needs. Can she ever find peace in her new home and its colorful residents with a slowly fragmenting mind? The book is available in Kindle ebook.
Professional Book Editor: Having your novel, short story or nonfiction manuscript proofread or edited before submitting it can prove invaluable. In an economic climate 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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July 4, 2018
Don���t be offended: Offence vs. Offense
These two 
words mean exactly the same thing ��� but one is wrong and the other is correct depending on where you are in the world.
Offence with a c is the preferred spelling in Britain and British English. Offense with an s is preferred in America and American English, however.
Sometimes American writers incorrectly use the wrong spelling of the word to distinguish it from another meaning of offense. For example, offence is used to describe a violation of the law while offense refers to when a sports team has a ball. In both cases, only offense is the appropriate spelling in America.
A quick memory trick: Offense with an s is used in the United States.
Professional Book Editor: Having your novel, short story or nonfiction manuscript proofread or edited before submitting it can prove invaluable. In an economic climate 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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July 3, 2018
5 Sci-Fi Writing Prompts: Novums
Science fiction 
stories typically arise from a novum, a scientifically plausible concept that is a ���reality��� in the tale. The novum might be an mechanical device like robot servants, artificial intelligence, or faster-than-light spacecraft; it also can be a hypothetical idea such as ���The Earth is a scientific experiment run by aliens to determine the meaning of life��� or ���The government outlaws books.��� The author then asks ���What if?��� exploring how the world with this novum is different than ours.
Among the problems of many novice science fiction writers is instead of introducing a new novum they rely on used furniture ��� that is, they borrow novums from popular SF series. After all, how many novels have you read that use starships exploring the galaxy for the Earth-based Federation? Barely changing names to appear as if you are not appropriating ��� a starcraft seeking M-class worlds for the Earth-centered Alliance ��� still doesn���t cut it as original or fully using the potential that science fiction offers to examine our culture or humanity.
To help SF writers, here are some novums of potential near-future inventions from which stories could be built:
Choose your own actor
What if you could choose which actor/actress played a part in a movie or a television show? AI and access to previous digital recordings of performers will allow this to become a reality.
Creative cuisine
What if synthetic biology allowed us to create food that could be preprogrammed to spell out messages or to create pictures? For example, using an app you might ask the chef to mix up a chocolate cake in which the icing spontaneously arranged itself to spell ���Will You Marry Me?��� after it arrives.
Energy-generating floorboards
What if floorboards used electro-magnetic induction to generate electricity from footsteps? This electricity could at least partially power homes and buildings or in large-traffic areas perhaps even the entire facility.
Linear artificial gravity
What if we could create artificial gravity by accelerating a spacecraft in a back and forth motion rather than by rotating around a central point? What would be the advantages and disadvantages of such a system?
New York City seawall
As sea levels rise thanks to global warming, many coastal cities either will be swallowed up or will have to take countermeasures. For large cities that are economic centers ��� like New York City ��� seawalls are erected.
Professional Book Editor: Having your novel, short story or nonfiction manuscript proofread or edited before submitting it can prove invaluable. In an economic climate 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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