Rob Bignell's Blog, page 279
November 2, 2015
Avoid reader confusion by anchoring story
Readers 
beginning a story need to know where and when the tale occurs. This establishment of the story���s place and time in the first few paragraphs of the story sometimes is referred to as anchoring.
Without such anchoring, most readers will imagine that the story occurs in a different place and time than the author intended. This can lead to confusion later in the story when the author provides details that conflict with this imagined anchor. Or worse, without such anchoring, the reader will be disoriented from the start (Of course, such disorientation may be intentional ��� for example, if the main character has amnesia ��� but this strategy only works for a fraction of all tales written.).
The author need not get too specific about the place and time. That the story occurs in a large city probably is more important to know than giving the exact metropolis. In fact, giving the city���s name can be limiting as the author now must give details specific to that community. That the story occurs in the future is more important to know than giving the exact year. Indeed, in stories written during the 20th century that were set in the then far-off future year of ���1999��� are now out of date.
In addition, the author should avoid using exposition to provide the place and time. For example, rather than telling ���It was noon in a summer day in the city��� show it by writing ���The glare of the sun directly overhead left every driver in the traffic jam worried about their car overheating from the air conditioner set on full blast.��� The latter infers that it���s the lunch hour on a hot day in a metro area.
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 St. Louis, Missouri, or a small town like Cheesequake, New Jersey, I can provide that second eye.
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November 1, 2015
Five Great Quotations about Passion for Writing
���No tears 
in the writer, no tears in the reader.��� - George Moore
���There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.��� - Maya Angelou
���Writing is the only thing that when I do it, I don't fell I should be doing something else.��� - Gloria Steinem
���Writing a book is a horrible, exhausting struggle, like a long bout with some painful illness. One would never undertake such a thing if one were not driven on by some demon whom one can neither resist nor understand.��� - George Orwell
���Writing's like running downhill; can't stop if you want to.��� - Hilary Mantel
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 San Diego, California, or a small town like Eek, Arkansas, I can provide that second eye.
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October 31, 2015
Writing Inspiration: Get into the zone
Lose yourself 
in the momentum of your writing. Turn off the automatic spell checker and your inner self-critic and allow yourself to simply write. After you���ve finished writing, you���ll likely find that your paragraph or scene is better than you initially thought.
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 Youngstown, Ohio, or a small town like Hogshooter, Oklahoma, I can provide that second eye.
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October 30, 2015
Ask at end of your book for a review
One of 
the best ways to encourage people to buy your book is by having others speak highly of it, especially on a web page where a person can make a purchase. Amazon.com and other bookselling websites know this and so allow reviews to be posted on pages that hawk books. The challenge then facing authors is to get people to post reviews on that web page.
A good way to do that is to encourage people who���ve read your read to write and post a few positive words. After all, if someone has made it all the way through your book, they probably enjoyed it. So a good spot to make such a request is after the last page of your book.
The request need not be anything long or complex. A simple, direct sentence will do:
If you enjoyed this book, please take a few moments to write a review of it. Thank you!
Be sure to include the URL where the post can be made; in the ebook version of your book, include an actual link to that page.
While there���s always a chance that someone might pen a negative review, the odds are against it. Someone who disliked your book gave up on it long before reaching the page requesting a review. In addition, most people who post reviews do so because the book in some way positively affected them. Regardless, the more reviews you receive for your book the better. A total of 50 positive and 5 negative reviews will benefit your book sales more than 5 positive and 1 negative reviews, even though you received more bad ones.
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 San Diego, California, or a small town like Eek, Arkansas, I can provide that second eye.
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October 29, 2015
Four main ways exist to present your ebook
Most of us 
know what an ebook is ��� it���s text structured like a paper book that is presented to us digitally, similar to the way that a web page appears in that the text appears on a screen. From there, though, an understanding of the terminology and of how an ebook works or is presented typically takes a sharp downward turn among authors. Yet, knowing that information can help authors make better decisions when self-publishing.
Among the important concepts to know are the various ways that an ebook can be presented to readers. There are fair major formats ��� PDF, Epub, Mobi and AZW.
Long before there were ereaders, tablets and Smartphones, authors distributed ebooks via PDF, or a Portable Document Format. This is a fixed version of what appears like sheets of paper that can be seen on laptops and other computers. Often when creating either a paperback or an ebook, the author must convert their MS Word document into a PDF, which then is uploaded at a website to the ebook���s printer or distributor.
An alternative to the PDF is the Epub, or electronic publication. The Epub is an international standard used by ebook vendors to display text and photos on a screen. Nearly 300 ebook vendors use Epub, most notably Apple���s iBooks and Barnes & Noble���s Nook.
Amazon.com and its division, Kindle, do not use Epub to display text and photos but a version of Mobi, a standard that once was used by the Mobipocket eBook. Technically, the Kindle uses AZW, or Amazon Whispernet, but many often say that Kindle uses Mobi. That���s because the only difference between AZW and Mobi is the former uses DRM, or Digital Rights Management, which includes access controls limiting use of the text and the devices it���s being read on.
An ebook can be designed in MS Word that can be converted to both Epub and the Mobi/AZW formats. Typically, the MS Word file goes through what is called nicknamed a ���meat grinder��� at a vendor (such a Kindle DP or Smashwords) that converts the MS Word document (or the PDF that the MS Word was converted to) into an Epub or a Mobi/AZW file that then can be read on ereaders, tablets, mobile phones, laptops, desktops and so on.
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 Phoenix, Arizona, or a small town like Last Chance, Idaho, I can provide that second eye.
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October 28, 2015
Grammar tip: Groundbreaking vs. ground breaking vs. ground-breaking
Here���s an 
old grammar controversy that���s easy to deconstruct.
The older you are, the more likely your junior high school teacher pounded into you that ground breaking and ground-breaking were the correct spellings when referring to the start of a construction project. These days, however, groundbreaking is far more prevalent, and both Merriam-Webster and Oxford Dictionaries consider it the correct spelling. This is the same spelling that���s used for the traditional definition of the word meaning ���new and revolutionary��� as in The scientist���s proposed theory was groundbreaking.
Ground breaking is still used, though its meaning generally is more literal, as in actually cracking the ground open, like Thor smashed his hammer in a ground breaking smash.
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 Seattle, Washington, or a small town like Uncertain, Texas, I can provide that second eye.
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October 27, 2015
Writing Prompt: Fix your problems
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: Find conflicts in everyday life. Look at the problems those around you are going through and have your characters deal with and rectify those same issues in their universe.
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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October 26, 2015
Editing client publishes post-apocalypse novel
A recent 
editing client of mine, John Gaiserich, has published his first novel, ���The Prelapsarians.��� Twenty-five years after Yellowstone erupts, a handful of humans struggle to survive in the ruins of their shattered civilization. Among them is Ciar��n �� Corraidh��n, an aging American mercenary trapped in the Caucasus. When he meets Ani Ohanyan, a beautiful young woman smuggling Mamikonium, the lone drug that allows humanity to breathe the ash-filled air, Ciar��n finds himself questioning all that he knows and believes. John���s epic debut adds character intimacy and dynamics to the post-apocalyptic fiction genre���s standby of action and adventure. The novel is available for purchase online.
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 Seattle, Washington, or a small town like Uncertain, Texas, I can provide that second eye.
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October 25, 2015
Five Great Quotations about a Writing Life
���Writing is 
not apart from living. Writing is a kind of double living.��� - Catherine Drinker Bowen
���There is nothing harder to estimate than a writer's time, nothing harder to keep track of. There are moments���moments of sustained creation���when his time is fairly valuable; and there are hours and hours when a writer's time isn't worth the paper he is not writing anything on.��� - E.B. White
���Writing is like giving yourself homework, really hard homework, every day, for the rest of your life. You want glamorous? Throw glitter at the computer screen.��� - Katrina Monroe
���To say that a writer's hold on reality is tenuous is an understatement - it's like saying the Titanic had a rough crossing. Writer's build their own realities, move into them and occasionally send letters home. The only difference between a writer and a crazy person is that a writer gets paid for it.��� - David Gerrold
���My aim is to put down on paper what I see and what I feel in the best and simplest way.��� - Ernest Hemingway
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 Miami, Florida, or a small town like Normal, Illinois, I can provide that second eye.
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October 24, 2015
Developmental edit guides author through writing
Authors 
who haven���t started penning their book and need guidance through the writing process typically need developmental editing.
This generally includes:
��� Selecting concepts that a book will focus on
��� Helping organize the book���s structure and its various elements
��� Encouraging authors to maintain a writing schedule and to complete the manuscript by deadline
��� Providing substantive editing to drafts of ���completed��� chapters
Most self-published authors don���t work with a developmental editor. Instead, they rely on fellow authors or colleagues to bounce ideas off of. If going with developmental editing, you will need to work with an editor who you feel comfortable with, as the process will be lengthy and you will receive a lot of suggestions with which you may not agree.
That���s an expensive route for those self-publishing books. Most self-published authors can do the developmental and substantive editing themselves with the help of fellow writers or colleagues. They definitely need copy editing and then a proofreading of their formatted book by an outside source, though. And if a beginning writer, having a substantive edit done until you become more skilled is a good idea.
During the days ahead, we���ll look more in depth at each these different types of editing.
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. I can provide that second eye.
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