Rob Bignell's Blog, page 287

Writing Inspiration: Genre writer stereotypes

What genre do you most like to write in? What are some of the stereotypes of writers in those genres (For example, science fiction writers are nerdy, wear thick glasses, and take great umbrage at anyone who misstates a scientific fact.)?

How do you stack up against those stereotypes? Are there deeper traits or qualities of writers in that genre that they share (such as science fiction writers being inquisitive, willing to explore esoteric ideas, and share a deep interest in science)?

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 Memphis, Tennessee, or a small town like Eastabutchie, Mississippi, I can provide that second eye.

 

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Editing client publishes her first novel

An editing client of mine, Mary Missig, has published her first novel, ���Chasing the Moon.��� The novel tells the story of a how nineteen year-old Milly Hatfield ��� a farm girl from Council Bluffs, Iowa ��� goes to Hollywood in 1939 to pursue her dream of becoming a movie star. She quickly learns that things were not always as easy as they seemed. Then World War II threatens everything Milly knows, as she says goodbye to her fianc�� and perhaps even sacrifices her dream. ���Chasing the Moon��� can be purchased 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 Atlanta, Georgia, or a small town like Atlanta, Idaho, I can provide that second eye.

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Editing Tip: Remember your audience

When writing, always keep your readers��� needs in mind.

That doesn���t mean you should write solely to please the reader and in doing so be inauthentic. Instead, as you tell your story or make your suggestions, think about what your reader might want to know, and how your wording can help them relate to your book.

Readers will appreciate not being talked down to and will recognize that you are not self-consumed.

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 Milwaukee, Wisconsin, or a small town like Dry Prong, Louisiana, I can provide that second eye.

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An innocent man: Pled vs. plead vs. pleaded

Before declaring some writers guilty of mixing up these three words, you may want to consider the evidence against them.

Pleaded is the standard past tense of the verb plead, as in He pleaded innocent in Los Angeles County Court.

Pled ��� long consider the nonstandard past tense of plead ��� is increasingly used by professionals and layperson alike. So while reference books and most style guides recommend using pleaded instead of pled, the rule appears to be about irrelevant as state laws banning witches.

A plea, by the way is a noun. So one makes a plea in a court but pleads to the court.

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 Hartford, Connecticut, or a small town like Hebron, New Hampshire, I can provide that second eye.

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Writing Prompt: Check your project bible

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: Begin keeping a project bible of stories you wish to write. If you already have such a book, select the very first story in it and spend 15 minutes writing it.

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 Norfolk, Virginia, or a small town like Crappo, Maryland, I can provide that second eye.

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Focus on conflict in story's opening lines

Almost certainly the most important lines in a story are the first ones. They give the tale direction and set the mood and tone. With an opening sentence, a writer must push the reader through the looking glass into a new world that can���t be escaped from. 

One good way to do that is to ensure that the opening line suggests what the story���s main conflict is. Conflict, after all, is at the heartbeat of every story. Without it, the story becomes inert and purposeless. Consider these classic opening lines:

Someone must have slandered Josef K., for one morning, without having done anything truly wrong, he was arrested. ��� Franz Kafka, ���The Trial��� (Conflict: Will an innocent Josef K. go free?)

It was a wrong number that started it, the telephone ringing three times in the dead of night, and the voice on the other end asking for someone he was not. ��� Paul Auster, ���City of Glass��� (Conflict: Can the main character overcome the problem created by the odd telephone calls?)

He was an old man who fished alone in a skiff in the Gulf Stream and he had gone eighty-four days now without taking a fish. ��� Ernest Hemingway, ���The Old Man and the Sea��� (Conflict: Will the old man catch a fish and by doing so become ���young��� again?)

An opening sentence can opt to focus on establishing the mood and tone rather than the main conflict (such as George Orwell���s It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen from ���1984���), but is has to be fairly emotive to work. For example, imagine if Jane Austen had opened ���Pride and Prejudice��� by setting the mood and tone rather than suggesting the conflict (Can a man of a higher social class marry a woman of a lower social class for love?):

Conflict (original):
IT is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.

However little known the feelings or views of such a man may be on his first entering a neighbourhood, this truth is so well fixed in the minds of the surrounding families, that he is considered as the rightful property of some one or other of their daughters.

���My dear Mr. Bennet,'' said his lady to him one day, ``have you heard that Netherfield Park is let at last?���

Mood and Tone (my bad rewrite):
Mrs. Bennet stared out her window as rain ran down it, watching a soaked hired hand remove the "For Sale" sign from the Netherfield Park property. It is a truth universally acknowledged, she thought, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife. However little known the feelings or views of such a man may be on his first entering a neighbourhood, this truth is so well fixed in the minds of the surrounding families, that he is considered as the rightful property of some one or other of their daughters. "My dear Mr. Bennet," she said to him, "have you heard that Netherfield Park is let at last?"

Ideally, the opening line establishes both conflict and mood/tone. Focusing on conflict, however, usually gives those first lines more energy. Mood and tone come naturally, as they flow from how the characters experience or react to the conflict.

And in a novel, unlike a short story, there's a little more leeway with the opening lines, of course. So long as you establish the conflict in the opening paragraph, readers should still get hooked and reeled into the 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 Ogden, Utah, or a small town like Rake, Iowa, I can provide that second eye.

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Five Great Quotations for Aspiring Authors

���The best advice on writing I���ve ever received is to take it seriously, because to do it well is all-consuming.��� - David Guterson

���Stop aspiring and start writing. If you���re writing, you���re a writer. Write like you���re a goddamn death row inmate and the governor is out of the country and there���s no chance for a pardon. Write like you���re clinging to the edge of a cliff, white knuckles, on your last breath, and you���ve got just one last thing to say, like you���re a bird flying over us and you can see everything, and please, for God���s sake, tell us something that will save us from ourselves. Take a deep breath and tell us your deepest, darkest secret, so we can wipe our brow and know that we���re not alone. Write like you have a message from the king.��� - Alan W. Watts

���This, above all, ask yourself in the stillest hour of the night: must I write? Delve deep into yourself. And if this should be affirmative, if you may meet this question with a strong and simple ���I must��� then build your life according to this necessity; your life even into its most indifferent and slightest hour must be a sign of this urge and a testimony to it.��� - Rainer Maria

���The surest path to success is to learn to have a healthy relationship with failure. If we aren���t failing, then we aren���t doing anything interesting.��� - Kristen Lamb

���For the length of time it takes to write a book, you need to believe that you���re the only writer in existence; the only one who matters. You need to shut yourself away and allow the creativity to build up, not leak out through worry and comparisons and doubt.��� - Martin Cosgrove

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 Lakeland, Florida, or a small town like Hygiene, Colorado, I can provide that second eye.

 

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Writing Inspiration: Writers��� lifestyles

Reflect upon writers��� lifestyles that you���ve heard about on television/radio programs or read about in books. Did those writers possess a compassion for life and others? In what ways? How are their compassions similar to yours?

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 Nashville, Tennessee, or a small town like Turkey Creek, Louisiana, I can provide that second eye.

 

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Editor reading from novel at arts festival

You���ll be able to catch me reading from my books at the U-Fest arts festival in Rice Lake, Wis., on Friday, Aug. 14, and Saturday, Aug. 15. The event, which features live music, an arts and crafts fair, and a writer-related events, will be held on the UW-Barron County campus.

I���ll read from my novel Windmill Friday night at the Stories Under the Stars event held outdoors on the main stage. The event runs from 8 to 10 p.m.

On Saturday, I���ll read again from Windmill on the main stage between 12:30 to 1 p.m. 

Earlier that day, I am offering a presentation on ���How to Self-Publish a Book��� at the Student Center. The session runs from 8:30 to 9:15 p.m.

In addition, you���ll be able to purchase my books ��� which include a hiking guide to Barron County ��� at the Writers Row on the north side of the gym. I���ll be available to sign any purchases through the day.

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 Washington, D.C., or a small town like Truth or Consequences, New Mexico, I can provide that second eye.

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Writing Inspiration: Why do you write?

What is the purpose of your writing? That is, why do you write? What do you hope to accomplish? Now ask if your writing is true to that purpose.

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 Columbus, Ohio, or a small town like Ricketts, Iowa, I can provide that second eye.

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