Rob Bignell's Blog, page 228

5 Science Fiction Prompts, Storystarters

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:

Artificial blood
What if there was no need for donors as blood could be created artificially for transfusions? How does this change medical care and the lives of those who regularly donate blood for profit?

Hypersonic missiles
What if modern missile systems deployed by the world���s powers largely were hypersonic, meaning they can travel faster than 6000 miles per hour? How does this threat change the balance of power?

Injectable brain implants
What if doctors could alter neurons, via injectable brain implants, to treat mental disorders and brain damage? How does this affect the discussion about what is ���normal���?

Mini Ice Age
Solar activity could decrease by about 1 percent in the 2030s, ushering in a mini Ice Age, similar to what gripped Europe during 1645���1715. How does this affect people���s daily lives as geopolitical power shifts?

Robotic sex partners
What if robots were sold as sexual partners? How would this affect male-female relationships?

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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4 Tips on Using Third-Person Point of View

��� Use third���person limited for greater clarity
��� Rotate third-person limited to avoid issues
��� Types of third-person point of views 
��� Select your viewpoint character with care

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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5 Great Quotations about Revising

���A simple act of putting on clothes is almost impossible for me to describe without many false starts.��� - Eudora Welty

���First, cut out all the wisdom, then cut out all the adjectives.��� - Somerset Maugham

���One tends to write beyond what���s needed.��� - James Schuyler

���Write with the door closed, rewrite with the door open.��� - Stephen King

���The beautiful part of writing is that you don���t have to get it right the first time, unlike, say, a brain surgeon.��� - Robert Cormier

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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Every success story begins with a dream. If you dream of...

Every success story begins with a dream. If you dream of being a professional, published author, that success story requires believing in yourself and in knowing that your efforts will lead to triumph. Read the motivational blog entry this quotation came from by clicking on the quote card.

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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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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Why you should turn your book into a business

Rarely can an author make a living solely on book sales. However, authors can achieve their dream of independence by building a business around their books.

Creating a business centered on your published works largely means monetizing your expertise. For example, you could deliver a service or provide products related to your book (e.g. consulting, coaching). You might sell attendance at workshops, online courses, teleseminars and webinars or videos that you offer about your book���s topic.

People always want and are willing to pay for expert advice. Writing a book on a topic ��� presuming you seriously researched the topic ��� makes you an expert. So long as your writing develops trust and likeability with the reader, this expert status allows you to use your book as a springboard for selling related services and products.

Experts who offer services and products sell more books. As people learn about your services and products, your website visits will rise, generating more awareness of and interest in your books.

More book sales means more business. As people discover your business through your book, they���ll seek out your services or products. Remember, the reason someone picked up your book is that they had a problem that needed solved. So long as your books helps them to at least partially solve the problem, those readers will seek you out to meet additional, related problems that they experience.

In essence, your business and your book sales constantly feed one another, each leading to more of the other. Even better, as you provide more people with products or a service that they need, you develop ideas for new books, while book sales can help shift the direction of your business to areas that are more lucrative.

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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How to use block quotations in APA style

Anytime you write an academic paper or a nonfiction book, you likely will need to quote your sources, especially when they make their point in a powerful, evocative way. Should the quote be lengthy, you may need to typographically set it apart as a block quotation so that it is easy to read.

A block quotation is a lengthy, free-standing direct quotation that is separated from the rest of the text. Sometimes it���s also called a long quotation.

If using APA style for your academic paper, use the block quotation style when the direct quotation is at least 40 words or longer.

The rules for formatting a block quotations include:
��� Indent a half-inch from the left margin
��� Omit quotation marks
��� Double space
��� Indent first line of a second and subsequent paragraph a half-inch from the new margin (or a full inch from the original left margin)
��� Parenthetical citation comes after the closing punctuation mark

Here���s how a block quotation should look in APA style...

Bignell (2013) states that developed characters make for better

tales:

     That���s because successful stories involve drama, which

     arises from tension between characters and the situation

     in which they���ve been placed. That situation is your

     story���s plot. The more developed the character, the

     greater the drama, for more tension can arise as your

     hero can interact with the situation in more varied

     ways. (p. 40)

An excellent example of this in literature is Hamlet, who suffers

from indecision and psychic torment.

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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5 Fantastic Sci-Fi Writing Prompts

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:

Alpha Centauri colonized
What if humanity colonized an Earth-like planet orbiting Alpha Centauri B? A planet could exist in a habitable zone just slightly farther than Venus is from the Sun.

Green walls
What if to fight land degradation nations planted wide lines of drought-resistant trees to form a green wall hundreds of miles long? What would have to be done to make this a reality in desert countries of Africa or in China?

Laser harp
What if 16 laser beams in a 4-yard square grid hooked to a computer could be played as a musical instrument when the player interacts with the beams? Different sounds are made as the voltage varies.

Male contraceptive pills
What if men also could take pills to prevent pregnancy? How does this change sexual mores?

Near-infrared goggles
What if this device were developed to help surgeons view cancer cells and see tumors as small as 1 mm? What other applications could there be for this technology?

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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Plotting a Story: 10 Tips for Success

��� Avoid writing schizophrenic story 
��� List rules to maintain internal consistency 
��� Consider employing a deceiver in your plot 
��� Use subplot to give story more depth
��� Don���t overwhelm reader with too many subplots 
��� Avoid plot error of reader cheating in your story
��� Utilize literary dream device with caution
��� Score story plot points with head fake 
��� Consider structuring story with ���plot inversion��� 
��� Use plot coupon to drive your story forward 
��� BONUS: ���The hard part about writing a novel is finishing it.��� - Ernest Hemingway

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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5 Great Quotations about Theme

���If you can���t annoy somebody, there is little point in writing.��� - Kingsley Amis

���It���s the job of intellectuals and writers to cast doubt on perfection.��� - Antonio Tabucchi

���The best we can do is write words from which a kind of truth emerges.��� - Muriel Spark

���Appearance blinds, whereas words reveal.��� - Oscar Wilde

���Writing is both mask and unveiling.��� - E.B. White

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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