An old but apt writing adage goes “Start your story in the middle.” That is, rather than give background information about how the story’s main conflict came to be, instead start it by dropping the reader right into the hornet’s nest.

Some writers consider this disorienting and so avoid it. While that may true of young readers, almost anyone who’s at least a teenager has read or seen acted out so many stories that they won’t be confused. If anything, the uncertainty will make them read on to find out what’s happening.

For example, starting a story in which a naval ship comes upon a sister craft that has mysteriously been attacked is more interesting than starting with exposition about the search for it. Yes, the “story” technically began with receiving orders from the admiralty to look for the ship, but rarely does anything that’s particularly interesting occur during the search (Unless your story is about the search itself, of course). Given this, starting the story at the moment that the crew sees the listing ship can be emotionally evocative and set in motion a lot of action, conflict and suspense as the rescue gets underway. This likely is more important in a short story than a novel.

Readers will learn what is going on, who the main characters are, and the setting as this action unfolds. Not only is that a more economical way to deliver what otherwise would be considered exposition, it’s also more interesting.

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My name is Rob Bignell. I’m an affordable, professional editor who runs Inventing Reality Editing Service, which meets the manuscript needs of writers both new and published. I also offer a variety of self-publishing services. During the past 15 years, I’ve helped more than 350 novelists and nonfiction authors obtain their publishing dreams at reasonable prices. I’m also the author of the 7 Minutes a Day… writing guidebooks, four nonfiction hiking guidebook series, and the literary novel Windmill. Several of my short stories in the literary and science fiction genres also have been published.

Check out some of my self-publishing guidebooks:

To be a writer, one must write. With all of the modern world’s distractions – social media, the demands of work, a house to be cleaned, cell phone texts, a family that needs attention – finding time to write may not always be possible. Even if you set aside a quarter hour every day to write, interruptions may occur.

Given this, you must always be ready to commit pen to paper or fingers to keyboard. You never know when free time will avail itself, and you don’t want to miss that opportunity to write. Fostering in yourself the attitude that you are always ready to write is paramount.

How can you do that?

Always keep a story idea in your head
Each morning when you wake up, select a story idea that you will think about through the day. You may be outlining the story, you may be developing images for a specific scene in the story, you may be devising dialogue. Whenever you do mundane tasks – folding laundry, driving to the supermarket, waiting for a meeting to start – use that opportunity to think about your story idea.

Carry a notepad and pen wherever you go
When an idea for your story comes to you, write it down. Don’t limit yourself to that day’s story idea; write down any ideas for any story that come to you.

Ask how an object/idea can be incorporated in your story
Perhaps you pass a painting in a corridor at work or hear an interesting radio report about the nature of memory. Think about how that painting or insights on memory might be incorporated in your story, perhaps as an image or as a theme.

Sketch during any free moment
Can’t think of an idea for your story but stuck waiting in line or listening to a dull speaker in a meeting that doesn’t really concern anyway? Use this opportunity to write a description of a person or a location, as if an illustrator penciling a rough sketch of a person or a landscape.

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My name is Rob Bignell. I’m an affordable, professional editor who runs Inventing Reality Editing Service, which meets the manuscript needs of writers both new and published. I also offer a variety of self-publishing services. During the past 15 years, I’ve helped more than 400 novelists and nonfiction authors obtain their publishing dreams at reasonable prices. I’m also the author of the Storytelling 101 writing guidebooks, four nonfiction hiking guidebook series, and the literary novel Windmill. Several of my short stories in the literary and science fiction genres also have been published.

Check out some of my writing guidebooks:

One of the best ways to keep readers interested in your books is to give away “valuable” content. For example, in your ebook, you might link to additional articles about your book’s topic or its main characters. These articles would appear on your book’s website so that readers who purchase paper versions can read the URLs and locate them, too. Others who stumble across your site then can enjoy them as well, and the articles then would serve as an enticement to purchase your book.

There are a variety of “valuable content” options awaiting you. If writing fiction, you might include:
•  Unpublished short stories involving your characters
• Biographies of your characters
• Chapter of your next book
• Map of community used in your book
• Recipes of dishes eaten by your characters (if food is important in the story) 
If writing nonfiction, you might include: 
• Articles related to the topic but not included in your book
• Worksheets that take readers step-by-step through a process described in your book
• Tutorial guides to topics only touched upon in your book
• Photo albums of places or objects mentioned in your book
• Videos taking readers step-by-step through a process outlined your book

Obtaining this extra content usually is easy. Often when writing you’ll strike out passages, sections or chapters because they’re poorly related to the book or because they go in a different direction than you intended for your book. Never delete any of this but instead mine through it for valuable content that you can ad. In other cases, you might experiment with a new social media platform, such as YouTube, and that first video you create can become valuable content. 

One important rule to follow when offering valuable content is to ensure that it is of quality. If that unpublished short story is poorly constructed or the article doesn’t offer information any different from what is provided in your book, it’s not really valuable to the reader. In fact, you wasted the reader’s time. Create a memorable experience for readers, however, and many of them will purchase your next book.

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My name is Rob Bignell. I’m an affordable, professional editor who runs Inventing Reality Editing Service, which meets the manuscript needs of writers both new and published. I also offer a variety of self-publishing services. During the past 15 years, I’ve helped more than 350 novelists and nonfiction authors obtain their publishing dreams at reasonable prices. I’m also the author of the 7 Minutes a Day… writing guidebooks, four nonfiction hiking guidebook series, and the literary novel Windmill. Several of my short stories in the literary and science fiction genres also have been published.

Check out some of my self-publishing guidebooks:

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:

Think of a time you’ve faced personal turmoil in your life. Write a page about the emotions you experienced during that difficult time.

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My name is Rob Bignell. I’m an affordable, professional editor who runs Inventing Reality Editing Service, which meets the manuscript needs of writers both new and published. I also offer a variety of self-publishing services. During the past 15 years, I’ve helped more than 400 novelists and nonfiction authors obtain their publishing dreams at reasonable prices. I’m also the author of the Storytelling 101 writing guidebooks, four nonfiction hiking guidebook series, and the literary novel Windmill. Several of my short stories in the literary and science fiction genres also have been published.

Check out some of my writing guidebooks:

“People on the outside think there’s something magical about writing, that you go up in the attic at midnight and cast the bones and come down in the morning with a story, but it isn’t like that. You sit in back of the typewriter and you work, and that’s all there is to it.” – Harlan Ellison

“Writing is easy; all you do is sit staring at a blank sheet of paper until the drops of blood form on your forehead.” – Gene Fowler

“I am irritated by my own writing. I am like a violinist whose ear is true, but whose fingers refuse to reproduce precisely the sound he hears within.” – Gustave Flaubert

“The work never matches the dream of perfection the artist has to start with.” – William Faulkner

“If you haven’t got an idea, start a story anyway. You can always throw it away, and maybe by the time you get to the fourth page you will have an idea, and you’ll only have to throw away the first three pages.” – William Campbell Gault

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My name is Rob Bignell. I’m an affordable, professional editor who runs Inventing Reality Editing Service, which meets the manuscript needs of writers both new and published. I also offer a variety of self-publishing services. During the past 15 years, I’ve helped more than 400 novelists and nonfiction authors obtain their publishing dreams at reasonable prices. I’m also the author of the Storytelling 101 writing guidebooks, four nonfiction hiking guidebook series, and the literary novel Windmill. Several of my short stories in the literary and science fiction genres also have been published.

Check out some of my writing guidebooks:

Sometimes authors, in the mistaken belief that they are creating a more exciting story, commit the error of reader cheating.

This occurs when the reader has no reasonable opportunity to anticipate that some decision, realization or event will occur.

Suppose in a fantasy novel that the main character uses magical abilities to resolve the story’s central problem. If the main character never used magic and the reader had no inkling that he even had that ability, then then the author is cheating the reader. Readers dislike this unwarranted surprise because it breaks their suspension of disbelief. No amount of explaining away the surprise after it occurs will fix that.

Instead, the author should plant subtle clues suggesting that the main character might indeed have magic. Perhaps his parents are mages. Maybe minor wishes he makes comes true. Possibly he feels oddly different at times, such as being “at one with nature” or full of boundless energy. Natural explanations should be given for these clues – such as the frame was rotted so the door fell off the frame, though the main character coincidentally wished for it, or perhaps he was extremely excited when walking all night without ever tiring. This way the reader believes that the main character can’t use magic to resolve the story’s problem, but when he does, it is believable.

There are several ways authors can avoid reader cheating. First, always plant subtle clues. The trick is to give hints that allow for a later action to occur but don’t make that solution so obvious that readers know how the story will end. Secondly, never withhold information from the reader. A character should be able to make a deduction only with the same information that the reader has been given. Finally, don’t let a character lie in his internal narrative, as this deceives readers. In the fantasy novel described during the previous paragraph, the main character shouldn’t know he has magical abilities. Instead, he should be as surprised by the reveal as much as the reader is.

The term was coined by science fiction author James Patrick Kelly as part of the Cambridge Science Fiction Workshop.

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My name is Rob Bignell. I’m an affordable, professional editor who runs Inventing Reality Editing Service, which meets the manuscript needs of writers both new and published. I also offer a variety of self-publishing services. During the past 15 years, I’ve helped more than 400 novelists and nonfiction authors obtain their publishing dreams at reasonable prices. I’m also the author of the Storytelling 101 writing guidebooks, four nonfiction hiking guidebook series, and the literary novel Windmill. Several of my short stories in the literary and science fiction genres also have been published.

Check out some of my guidebooks for plotting your story:

The most significant problem with nonfiction books that I edit is their tone – they are either a dry read or too preachy. By dry, I mean they stick solely to the facts and sound like an encyclopedia article. By preachy, I mean they come off as self-righteous. The tone of the former tends be flat and unvarying while the latter is a tiring, constant shout.

The best nonfiction manuscripts, however, have an entirely different tone, specifically one that is conversational. Reading them feels like I’ve been sitting at a campfire talking with understanding friends.

To strike a conversational tone in your nonfiction book, see if you’re doing the following:
• Being informal – While the book’s structure may be quite formal, the wording doesn’t have to be. Write the book as if you were speaking with someone you know and like. The writing should be accessible and at times even entertaining via subtle humor. Don’t be too loose, however, or you can undercut your professional appearance.
• Sharing stories – Personal anecdotes and others’ insightful stories can be weaved into the manuscript to help explain concepts and issues. Often readers will identify with the struggles relayed in those stories and will better relate to you as an author and connect to the book.
• Encouraging the reader – Be upbeat in your manuscript. Avoid negativity and instead focus on assisting the reader. Remember, a reader has come to you, through your book, for help. Show them through your tone that you welcome them and believe they are capable of benefiting from what you have to tell them.

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My name is Rob Bignell. I’m an affordable, professional editor who runs Inventing Reality Editing Service, which meets the manuscript needs of writers both new and published. I also offer a variety of self-publishing services. During the past 15 years, I’ve helped more than 350 novelists and nonfiction authors obtain their publishing dreams at reasonable prices. I’m also the author of the 7 Minutes a Day… writing guidebooks, four nonfiction hiking guidebook series, and the literary novel Windmill. Several of my short stories in the literary and science fiction genres also have been published.

Check out some of my self-publishing guidebooks:

When promoting your book, you always should have a website, send out press releases to bloggers and mainstream media, and arrange book readings/signings to ensure the title is properly promoted. But those aren’t the only things you can do. In fact, they may not be enough. One marketing effort you might want to consider is creating a book club guide.

Often avid readers who enjoy discussing books form or join book clubs. You could create a guide to your book and distribute it for free to book clubs in hopes that they opt to read your title (which means their members then will buy your book). This works especially well for novels. Your guide largely will be sets of open-ended questions intended to generate conversations about the book. You’ll likely want to ask questions about characters, the writing style, the message, and possibly the setting. Read other book club guides and emulate the aspects you find most relevant.

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My name is Rob Bignell. I’m an affordable, professional editor who runs Inventing Reality Editing Service, which meets the manuscript needs of writers both new and published. I also offer a variety of self-publishing services. During the past 15 years, I’ve helped more than 350 novelists and nonfiction authors obtain their publishing dreams at reasonable prices. I’m also the author of the 7 Minutes a Day… writing guidebooks, four nonfiction hiking guidebook series, and the literary novel Windmill. Several of my short stories in the literary and science fiction genres also have been published.

Check out some of my self-publishing guidebooks:

Get the use of these words wrong, and an editor likely will have to follow up with the admonition to better proofread your writing next time.

Follow-up with a hyphen can be used in two ways:
• An adjective meaning “following an earlier event”: The reporter made a follow-up call to double check his facts.
• A noun meaning “an event that follows an earlier one”: After breaking the news story, the reporter wrote a follow-up for the next issue.

Follow up with no hyphen has a third meaning. It’s a verb showing what one is doing: After covering the fatal accident, the reporter will follow up with a story about the deceased’s life.

“Followup” with no space or hyphen sometimes is used as a replacement for “follow-up.” Editors and instructors generally eschew this spelling, however.

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My name is Rob Bignell. I’m an affordable, professional editor who runs Inventing Reality Editing Service, which meets the manuscript needs of writers both new and published. I also offer a variety of self-publishing services. During the past 15 years, I’ve helped more than 350 novelists and nonfiction authors obtain their publishing dreams at reasonable prices. I’m also the author of the 7 Minutes a Day… writing guidebooks, four nonfiction hiking guidebook series, and the literary novel Windmill. Several of my short stories in the literary and science fiction genres also have been published.

Check out some of my self-publishing guidebooks: