Rob Bignell's Blog, page 303

Apply technique learned from writing guides

Learn about specific structural and style flaws that can hamper your writing. Troll through books for suggestions about how to address such problems when revising (One book you may find helpful is my 7 Minutes a Day to Mastering the Craft of Writing.). Ask yourself how you can apply these tips to your writing.

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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Self-publishing tip: Revise by deconstructing

Five Great Quotations about Fantasy Fiction

“Fantasy is hardly an escape from reality. It's a way of understanding it.” - Lloyd Alexander

“If you go too far in fantasy and break the string of logic, and become nonsensical, someone will surely remind you of your dereliction...Pound for pound, fantasy makes a tougher opponent for the creative person.” - Richard Matheson

“Don't use metaphors in fantasy; your readers will take them literally. Or they may take them figuratively - but if so, they'll also take your magics and transformations figuratively. Either way, you're in trouble.” - Teresa Nielsen Hayden

“Fantasy doesn't have to be fantastic. American writers in particular find this much harder to grasp. You need to have your feet on the ground as much as your head in the clouds. The cute dragon that sits on your shoulder also craps all down your back, but this makes it more interesting because it gives it an added dimension.” - Terry Pratchett

“Fantasy is silver and scarlet, indigo and azure, obsidian veined with gold and lapis lazuli. Reality is plywood and plastic, done up in mud brown and olive drab. Fantasy tastes of habaneros and honey, cinnamon and cloves, rare red meat and wines as sweet as summer. Reality is beans and tofu, and ashes at the end.” - George R.R. Martin

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 Ventura, California, or a small town like Big Ugly Creek, West Virginia, I can provide that second eye.

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Writing Inspiration: My words can light the way for someone else on a dark path.

Even if your book never changes the world – let alone influence other authors in its genre – your writing still can make a difference just by affecting the lives of a few or even of a lone reader.

Suppose you publish a book about how you survived cancer. Your trauma can let readers know they are not going through their fear and radiation treatments alone, that someone else has suffered the same despair, the same “slings and arrows of outrageous fortune.” Your triumph can provide the hope and inspiration that they desperately need.

Or perhaps your book gives the reader an idea that becomes their life passion. Maybe the character of your book volunteers, stirring a reader to help at a food pantry and work to end world hunger. Maybe the science fiction story you wrote contains some device that is so cool – portable phones and desktop computers, for example, appeared in many futuristic stories published during the mid-20th century – that a reader works toward inventing it and in doing so changes the world for the better.

You need not write a profound book to make a significant difference in another’s life. If penning nonfiction, your book may help others better manage their money, get a date and find love, improve their parenting, discover a new delightful dish to prepare, organize their home, plan their vacation, understand how the world works, and much, much more. In fact, often nonfiction directly affects peoples’ lives for the better because it provides valuable information that they’re seeking.

Even fiction with no profound message and that serves solely as an escape can help people. Sometimes people need just a few minutes a day to get away from the world’s crushing troubles and responsibilities, and your mystery novel or space adventure short story might just be the turn of the valve they need to release some pressure.

Once you publish and get out in public to promote your book, you’ll likely meet many readers who will want to share their story of how it affected their lives. You’ll be surprised by their stories and the unexpected ways that your words made a difference.

Indeed, for every reader who had the courage to tell you their story, another dozen never will, as they don’t know how to contact you or are too shy to tell their tale. The truth is your book will have a much greater impact than you ever will know.

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 Springfield, Massachusetts, or a small town like Burnt Corn, Alabama, I can provide that second eye.

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Sales advantages of writing nonfiction books

If you’ve got ideas for both a novel and a nonfiction book, you may want to write the latter first.

If only from a sales perspective, nonfiction books tend to garner more sales than novels. According to a recent Gallup poll, 46 percent of Americans have nonfiction book on their nightstands; in contrast, only 35 percent of Americans have fiction at their bedside.

Nonfiction also offers a marketing advantage for new writers. Readers of fiction will go with a book by a big, recognizable name over an unknown when choosing a title to buy. That’s not the case with nonfiction readers; while the author’s expertise plays a minor role in the decision to buy, what matters most to readers is how well the book’s topic matches their needs or interests. Given this, the competition isn’t quite as tough in nonfiction as it would be for novels.

Furthermore, there are a lot of niche topics left to exploit in nonfiction. Mainstream publishers have tended to favor topics that have wide appeal, meaning there are lot of areas in which few if any titles have been published. This means there is a thirst for books that have yet to be written – books that you could pen!

If the nonfiction topic you choose to write about is of high appeal to male readers, all the better. A National Endowment for the Arts survey showed that nearly two-thirds of male readers choose nonfiction books over novels. Women, however, generally prefer prefer novels, with 55 percent of them opting for the fiction book.

Of course, you always should write what you’re most passionate about. Churning out nonfiction books when you dream of writing the next Great American Novel means you’re writing for the wrong reasons and probably will turn out drab, flat text.

But if your passion for either format is equal and you hope to make a little money self-publishing, then going the nonfiction route definitely is a good choice.

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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How to properly punctuate 'et. al'

Editing tip: Use parentheses and keep going

If a line is vexing you, simply place it in parentheses and continue writing the next sentence. Through the day, you can think about what might be written in the spot you skipped.

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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Feeling left out? Accept vs. except

Opposites might attract, but you shouldn’t mix them up. Alas, that’s what occurs all too often with accept and except.

Accept means to receive or believe, as in Residents of New York City accept the fact that often they will meet people who do not fluently speak English.

Except means to exclude, as with Residents of Los Angeles would snarkily say Southern California includes all coastal areas from Malibu south – except for San Diego.

Here’s an easy memory trick for these two words: We accept things with an A grade but exclude them like we would our EX.

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 Syracuse, New York, or a small town like Hicks, Alabama, I can provide that second eye.

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Writing Prompt: Practice being present

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: Practice being present. Anytime you’re waiting, write down what you see, hear, smell, taste and sense through touch. Can you organize these details you’ve observed into a coherent paragraph that describes this setting?

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 Colorado Springs, Colorado, or a small town like Big Chimney, West Virginia, I can provide that second eye.

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Do characters’ actions arise from their needs?

When editing drafts of your manuscript, examine how your characters’ motivations are presented as the story unfolds.

Do their actions and decisions arise from those needs? If not, readers won’t view them as realistic because the characters do what the author wants them to do.

Instead, the characters should behave like real people with those actual desires and goals. Because the characters are intrinsically motivated rather than the author’s puppets, they will be independent and hence “real.”

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 Charleston, West Virginia, or a small town like Frog Eye, Alabama, I can provide that second eye.

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Five Great Quotations about Dialogue

“The language fictional characters use is chosen for effect, at least if the author is concentrating.” - John M. Ford

“All the information you need can be given in dialogue.” - Elmore Leonard

“James Blish told me I had the worst case of "said bookism" (that is, using every word except said to indicate dialogue). He told me to limit the verbs to said, replied, asked, and answered and only when absolutely necessary.” - Anne McCaffrey

“Always get to the dialogue as soon as possible. I always feel the thing to go for is speed. Nothing puts the reader off more than a big slab of prose at the start.” - P.G. Wodehouse

“A two-headed man should have twice the IQ, and the ability to have internal dialogues externally.” - Jarod Kintz

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 an urban area like California's Inland Empire or a rural area like Loving County, Texas, I can provide that second eye.

 

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Writing Inspiration: Never be afraid to write what you believe. If the message speaks the truth, others will fear your words for you.

You’re at a cocktail party, are introduced to one of the guests. He asks, “What do you do?”

“I’m a writer,” you respond.

“Oh. What do you write?”

At that moment, does your stomach churn with anxiety and your palms sweat? Do you believe that if telling the truth, you’ll be looked down upon, that others behind your back will whisper, “He writes that weird nerdy science fiction stuff…he writes erotica, must be a pervert…she writes trashy hackneyed romances, must not have any talent…she writes that highfalutin literary stuff that no one can understand – and that no one every buys.”

When you’re afraid how others will react to your writing, you’ve allowed them to define you. Should you write only what others find acceptable, you’ve allowed them to control you. You’ve given their values a higher priority than your own tastes and standards.

As you writer, you cannot care what others will think of you or your writing. You instead must care about the truth.

Of course, “the truth” often is a wide swath of gray. People possess different values, they see the world from different perspectives, their memories falter over time. But what is your truth? What are your values? What is your perspective on the world? What is your memory of an event?

If your strive to be truthful in writing – that is deliberately not contradicting your values, not distorting your perspective, and not altering your memories for personal gain – your words will be authentic. Not all readers may agree with you (and truthfully, you never can please everyone), but they will respect your genuineness.

And perhaps the best response your writing ever can receive is criticism of your ethics, viewpoints, and recollections. It means that your writing touched more than a nerve in readers, suggests that others fear what you have to say because they have something to lose should the truth be widely known.

So don’t mumble your answer and fidget when someone asks what you write. Tell them loudly and confidently what your book is all about. They’ll then be the ones whose foreheads break a sweat…or maybe they’ll even be the ones who heartily clasp your hands and thank you for what you’ve written.

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 Greensboro, North Carolina, or a small town like Weed, California, I can provide that second eye.

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