Rob Bignell's Blog, page 284

Five Great Quotations about Craft of Writing

���A young writer is easily tempted by the allusive and ethereal and ironic and reflective, but the declarative is at the bottom of most good writing.��� - Garrison Keillor

���Kill your darlings, kill your darlings, even when it breaks your egocentric little scribbler���s heart, kill your darlings.��� - Stephen King

���Genuineness is often sacrificed in order to showcase the author's control over the form and subject matter, the end result technically sound but emotionally cold.���- Jennifer S. Davis

���...each part of a story, each word if possible, was to work frontally as well as laterally...��� - William S. Wilson

���One should use common words to say uncommon things.��� - Arthur Schopenhauer

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 Dallas, Texas, or if you come from a small town Why, Arizona, I can provide that second eye.

 

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Writing Inspiration: Approach story sideways

If blocked while writing the opening of your story, approach the story sideways. Start in the middle or with a scene that is more fully formed in your head. A sculptor, after all, doesn���t have to start with the feet or the crown of the head but can begin at any portion of the statue. He then allows the other sections to coalesce and grow clearer in his head. You can do the same with a story.

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 Daytona Beach, Florida, or a small town like Rabbit Hash, Kentucky, I can provide that second eye.

 

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Get free PR by joining Help A Reporter Out

One great way to information in the media about your book ��� especially if you write nonfiction ��� is to join HARO, or Help A Reporter Out.

Because journalists work on deadline, they often need immediate sources for their stories. The HARO website has become a clearinghouse in which reporters can quickly identify and contact experts who are willing to be interviewed for a news story.

As an author, you are an expert on at least a couple of subjects ��� writing (obviously!) and whatever topic you���ve written about. Reporters prove to readers that you���re a worthy source by listing your qualifications, which usually means giving the title of the book that you���ve published. The published article will generate book sales, and if the article goes online it can continue to sporadically do so in the weeks and months ahead.

Signing up for HARO is free. This contrasts with PR agencies who will charge you thousands of dollars to get publicity and media coverage.

Should a reporter contact you for a news story, always respond immediately. Remember, the reporter is on deadline and you opting to get back to him tomorrow may mean you���ll lose the opportunity to be quoted. In addition, if you develop a good relationship with one reporter, you likely are to be contacted again���and once other reporters see your name in print, they also are likely to contact you for similar stories.

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 Austin, Texas, or a small town like Bald Knob, Arkansas, I can provide that second eye.

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Consider exercising ���nuclear option��� on ebook

You���ve formatted your ebook in MS Word and uploaded it to Kindle DP or Smashwords. When you open the online previewer to see how it looks, you���re surprised to see tons of odd line breaks, strange characters that weren���t in your original Word document, uneven indentations, and a plethora of other problems. So you go through your manuscript, fix them, and upload again.

To your frustration, you find that many of the errors remain ��� and maybe even some new ones crop up.

Rather than continue battling each of these issues, you may want to consider what those in self-publishing call ���the nuclear option.���

The reason your ebook looks like a mess when uploaded is because somehow in MS Word extra coding (or text instructions) have been added. This usually occurs because the manuscript was not formatted correctly to begin with (such as using tabs for indentations rather than relying on a block style appearance) or errors were added unintentionally while editing the manuscript.

The nuclear option wipes out all of this coding and lets you start afresh without losing any text. After all, sometimes returning to your start point is easier than trying to navigate to your destination from the spot where you���re hopelessly lost.

Exercise the nuclear option by first creating a new, blank MS Word file. Don���t delete the file you���ve uploaded, as you may need that later for reference. Then follow these steps (for Windows):
��� Open the MS Word file that you uploaded. Highlight all of the text (CTRL A) and copy it (CTRL C).
��� Open Notepad and paste the text to it (CTRL V). Save this file.
��� Highlight and copy all of the text you just pasted into Notepad.
��� Open the new, blank MS Word file you created for you manuscript. Paste the text to it. Save this file.

This is now the document that you will work on and ultimately upload to Kindle DP and Smashwords. You will have to style this text before uploading it, though. Also, be aware that the nuclear option will remove pictures, so you will need to add those when you reformat.

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 Francisco, California, or a small town like Nimrod, Oregon, I can provide that second eye.

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Rewrite if unclear about subject-verb agreement

Among the most common grammar mistakes that occur in English is subject-verb agreement. Because sentence structure is fundamental in ensuring a sentence makes sense in English, getting this agreement right is paramount. Even if readers get what you mean, lack of agreement can make you appear uneducated.

Subject-verb agreement starts with knowing whether your sentence is about one or more than one object. If it���s one person, place or object as in The parent is very upset, then your subject (parent) is singular. If it���s more than one as in The parents are very upset, then your subject (parents) is plural.

Next, the verb ��� which tells what the subject does ��� needs to match the subject. If you use a singular subject, then you must use a singular verb. For example, in The customer is very happy, both the subject (customer) and the verb (is) are singular. If you use a plural subject, then you must use a singular verb. To wit, in The customers are very happy, both the subject (customers) and the verb (are) are plural.

Usually agreement problems become an issue when the writer is confused as to whether a subject is singular or plural. For example, does everyone refer to a single body of people and so is singular or does it refer to several people and so is plural? If you���re uncertain, a simple solution to get the right answer is to replace the subject with a pronoun and then use it in a sentence with first a singular and then a plural verb. Everyone is present thus could become They is present or They are present. Replace the original sentence with the replacement sentence that is correct, so you could instead write They are present.

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 Tampa, Florida, or a small town like Deadhorse, Alaska, I can provide that second eye.

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Writing Prompt: Get your revenge

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: Fantasizing also can be cathartic. If the reason you feel grief or sadness is because another has wronged you, make a list of all of the things you���d like to do to get back at them but won���t because you don���t feel like spending the next few weeks in jail. That list isn���t off limits to your story���s characters, however!

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 Madison, Wisconsin, or a small town like Possum Grape, Arkansas, I can provide that second eye.

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Vary story structure with ���fate plot���

Another variation on the traditional five-part story structure is the fate plot.

In a fate plot, the climax occurs at the beginning of story. The rest of story is a traditional tale that essentially is a flashback, showing and explaining how the climax was reached. The end of the story is the resolution, which finally brings us back to ���real time��� or the moments after the climax/opening scene.

The main advantage of the fate plot is that it varies up the structure in an anthology of stories about a single character. It is particularly effective when the main character makes a decision that would be shockingly out of character. For that reason, television series often are able to use the fate plot to much better effect than short story writers or novelists.

When writing a fate plot, be sure to follow a couple of guidelines:
��� What happens in the climax/opening scene must be pertinent to the main character ��� Usually something bad happens to the main character, but it also could be an event that somehow involves that person.
��� Skim over the climax after you complete the rising action ��� Once the story arrives at the climax, that part often is quickly covered ��� as the reader already knows what will happen ��� and in short order enters the falling action/denouement.

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 Chicago, Illinois, or a small town like Humptulips, Washington, I can provide that second eye.

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Five Great Quotations about Literary Critics

���If you are not afraid of the voices inside you, you will not fear the critics outside you.��� - Natalie Goldberg

���...I hate orthodox criticism. I don't mean great criticism, like that of Matthew Arnold and others, but the usual small niggling, fussy-mussy criticism, which thinks it can improve people by telling them where they are wrong, and results only in putting them in straitjackets of hesitancy and self-consciousness, and weazening all vision and bravery.��� - Brenda Ueland

���Your function as a critic is to show that it is really you yourself who should have written the book, if you had had the time, and since you hadn't you are glad that someone else had, although obviously it might have been done better.��� - Stephen Potter

���I would rather be attacked than unnoticed. For the worst thing you can do to an author is to be silent as to his works.��� - Samuel Johnson

���As for literary criticism in general: I have long felt that any reviewer who expresses rage and loathing for a novel or a play or a poem is preposterous. He or she is like a person who has put on full armor and attacked a hot fudge sundae or a banana split.��� - Kurt Vonnegut

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 Los Angeles, California, or a small town like Hell, Michigan, I can provide that second eye.

 

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Writing Inspiration: Be okay with imperfection

The quickest way to freeze yourself when writing is to expect perfection the first time around. Yet even the greatest paintings have sections that the artist reworked. Likewise, a writer must do the same with a story. When writing, don���t worry about being perfect the first time around. Instead, take your time and then revise those sections you���re unhappy with.

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 Boise, Idaho, or a small town like Cut n' Shoot, Texas, I can provide that second eye.

 

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Editing client publishes set of children���s books

A recent client of mine has published four children's books and a teachers guide to them. Jeanne Dinkel���s ���The Prairie Dog Triplets��� series follows the adventures of Rusty, Dusty and Nipper as they leave the burrow and explore the prairie around them. Written by a former teacher now residing in Cameron, Wis., the books help kids learn about nature and ecology. The tales are aimed at a third-grade reading level but can be enjoyed by kids from first through fourth grades. They are available for sale online in paperback.

Another client of mine who writes about animals, Alaskan Jana Meador, has published her ebook ���Seven Lucky Stars��� in paperback. The novel, which easily can be followed by middle grade readers, tells the true story of a sled dog left to defend for himself only to find his second chance in life. Sveinn���s incredible story began in the middle of the forested mountains, where he was eventually found. His journey takes him on an unexpected adventure, where he meets his seven lucky stars. The novella is available for sale 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 San Antonio, Texas, or a small town like Toad Suck, Arkansas, I can provide that second eye.

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