Rob Bignell's Blog, page 272

Ways your main character can ultimately succeed

When reaching the climax of the story, the main character usually overcomes the central problem that he set out to solve. Still, this penultimate scene tends to play out differently from story to story so that no two tales that are truly original seem alike.

That���s because there are a number of ways that the character might succeed:
��� Special ability ��� Your main character may possess a superhuman trait or know some unique skill that gives him the advantage.
��� Special invention ��� Sometimes the main character might use a special weapon (often one he has made) or device that allows him to be victorious.
��� Ingenuity ��� While the main character might be ingenious in creating a special weapon, what is meant here is outsmarting bad guy or being clever to overcome the situation. Think Odysseus outfoxing the cyclops.
��� Courage ��� In a number of cases, the character will find the ability to overcome his inner fears or will simply take a big gamble. A good example of this is Henry Fleming in Stephen Crane���s ���The Red Badge of Courage.���
��� Cooperation ��� Working with others can lead to a solution. Usually such stories involve the main character deciding to cooperate with someone who he considers an enemy or less than an equal.
��� Self-sacrifice ��� The only way to succeed for some main characters may be to sacrifice something of incredible importance to them, such as a loved one or their own life.

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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Five Great Quotations about What is a Writer

���...in my view a writer is a writer not because she writes well and easily, because she has amazing talent, because everything she does is golden. In my view a writer is a writer because even when there is no hope, even when nothing you do shows any sign of promise, you keep writing anyway.��� - Junot D��az

���Writing stories is a kind of magic, too.��� - Cornelia Funke

���We don���t want to lead. We don���t need to follow. We stay home and make stuff up and write it down and send it out into the world, and get inside people���s heads. Perhaps we change the world and perhaps we don���t. We never know. We just make stuff up.��� - Neil Gaiman

���We are not nouns, we are verbs. I am not a thing - an actor, a writer - I am a person who does things ��� I write, I act ��� and I never know what I���m going to do next. I think you can be imprisoned if you think of yourself as a noun.��� - Stephen Fry

���...this business of becoming conscious, of being a writer, is ultimately about asking yourself, How alive am I willing to be? - Anne Lamott

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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Writing Inspiration: Make your book���s cover

Often a vision you can literally see is more achievable than one written on paper. Take some time to make a book cover with your title and name as author on it. Post the cover over your desk or in a spot where you can see it each time you look up from writing.

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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Offer more than just a book reading or lecture

When giving a presentation about your book or a topic related to that title, you may want to consider going beyond a simple reading, lecture or Q&A. In an era when anyone can watch a video about virtually any topic at any location simply by whipping out a cell phone, many people expect more than just a lecture.

The most obvious solution is a slide show that complements the text of your presentation. It need not be a PowerPoint program, though putting such a show together is easier than you might imagine and worth learning if you have the time. If crunched, though, you might want to simply assemble a group of pictures, rename them so they are numbered in the order they will be presented, and then show them using your laptop���s media software with you clicking on the mouse to the next pic. When I recently gave a talk about wildflowers that can be sees while hiking a specific area, I showed pics of those blooms in my presentation. Make sure the pictures are large (over 90 KB in size) and hook at least a 17-inch monitor to your laptop for showing the slides.

Another option is handouts. Don���t inundate audience members with them, and be sure that they include information they would find useful. For example, with the wildflower presentation, on a single page I gave a month-by-month list of when plants bloomed in the area. Always be sure to leave some kind of info at the bottom of the page, such as a website URL, where audience members can purchase your book(s) related to the topic.

Yet another possibility is audio. While you don���t want music or other sounds playing as you read or speak, you can use audio to supplement your piece just as would pictures. During a presentation on birdwatching opportunities when hiking a region, I collected audio snippets of various bird songs and calls (all available online for free) and used my laptop���s media software to play them.

Indeed, anytime you can appeal to the audience member���s senses through sound, taste, smell or touch, you will make an impression upon them. So be creative ��� if you wrote a cookbook, offer food samples; if you wrote a book about beauty products, bring some samples for the audience to sniff or to even rub on their skin.

Book sales will be sure to follow!

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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Tips for naming your self-publishing company

When self-publishing, you probably want to create a business that serves as the imprint ��� or publisher ��� of your book(s). This helps increase the odds of receiving attention from mainstream media, bookstores, libraries reviewers and others who still haven���t accepted that self-publishing now dominates book publishing. 

The creation of this imprint is hardly deceptive, as some in corporate publishing and who are tied to that paradigm would have you and others believe. You creating a publishing company that owns the ISBN and copyright to your work(s) is no different that an inventor or a craftsman who creates a start-up in his garage. 

When naming your business, using your own name helps you avoid filing a ���Doing Business As��� (also known as a ���Fictitious Business Name Statement���) form with local or state authorities. Once you use a business name that doesn���t have your name in it, you���ll need to make such a filing. It���s usually a nominal fee, though, and worth the expense. Using your own name as the publisher, after all, undercuts the whole reason for creating a business in the first place ��� to sidestep the vestigial prejudice against self-publishing.

Here are
When coming up with a name, always make sure that it���s not already in use. If it is, you risk infringing on someone���s trademark rights. A quick Google search of the imprint name or online check with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (for U.S. authors anyway) is a good idea. Generally, if you sell or offer dissimilar products and services, you can get away with using the same name (Otherwise, a small business like McDonald and Son Auctioneers would infringe on the fast-food restaurant���s trademark.).

In addition, typically if another business in your county has the same or similar name ��� even if you offer vastly different services and products ��� you cannot use that name when filing your DBA.

Once you settle upon a name, you may use ���company��� as part it but do not use ���inc.,��� ���corp.��� or ���corporation.��� The exception is if you���ve set up your business as a corporation. Doing that, though, is of little value unless you���re annual profit soars to at least five digits.

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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Editing client publishes latest fantasy novella

A recent editing client of mine has published his latest fantasy novella. R.V. Johnson���s ���Beyond Terra��� begins when strange dark creatures suddenly swoop and crawl from the world���s pollution. Desperation and underground technology offer some solution, albeit perilous ones. Trenton Bonner is set to do whatever it takes to save his world and goes on a mission to do just that. What he discovers beyond Terra, though, he could not have prepared for. The book is available online, and you even can join a readers group for the title.

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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Writing Prompt: Fictionalize yourself

Suffering from writer���s block or need to add some spunk to your writing? The problem may be that you need to change up your routine. To that end, try this tip: Fictionalize yourself in a difficult situation that someone else faces. How would you resolve the problem?

Need an editor? Having your book, business document or academic paper 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. Whether you come from a big city like Houston, Texas, or a small town like Chicken, Alaska, I can provide that second eye.

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Magazine publishes editing client���s essay

Hippocampus Magazine has published an essay by a long-time editing client of mine. Lasher Lane���s ���Mind Readers and Marble Orchards��� appeared in last Thursday���s edition of the creative nonfiction magazine. Lane���s story recalls the burial and life of her Sicilian grandfather in New York City. The essay can be read online.

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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Five Great Quotations about Reading

���You cannot hope to sweep someone else away by the force of your writing until it has been done to you.��� - Stephen King

���I never desire to converse with a man who has written more than he has read.��� - Samuel Johnson

���...reading is a gift. It was a gift that was given to me as a child by many people, and now as an adult and a writer, I���m trying to give a little of it back to others. It's one of the greatest pleasures I know.��� - Ann M. Martin

���Knowledge sets us free, art sets us free. A great library is freedom.��� - Ursula K. Le Guin

���Reading, I had learned, was as creative a process as writing, sometimes more so. When we read of the dying rays of the setting sun or the boom and swish of the incoming tide, we should reserve as much praise for ourselves as for the author. After all, the reader is doing all the work - the writer might have died long ago.��� - Jasper Fforde

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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Writing Inspiration: New year, new location

Try writing in a new location. Even if your current writing spot is perfect for you, sometimes a change in scenery can ignite your creativity and productivity in surprising ways. If you always write at home in your den, try a session at a coffee house or at a local park���s picnic table.

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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