Sometimes we just need a little inspiration or encouragement to write – those times when we’re uncertain if the novel we’re working on is any good, the times when writer’s block holds us down. Here are some great tips to stoke your creativity (click the linked title for the full article):

• I am a successful writer because I decided to be 
• I drive my story in the direction it wants to go 
• Express your gratitude by continuing to write! 
• Reading is an ocean. Writing is a boat. 
• Good writing asks good questions 

______________

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:

Science fiction stories typically arise from a novum, a scientifically plausible concept that is a “reality” in the tale. The novum might be an mechanical device like robot servants, artificial intelligence, or faster-than-light spacecraft; it also can be a hypothetical idea such as “The Earth is a scientific experiment run by aliens to determine the meaning of life” or “The government outlaws books.” The author then asks “What if?” exploring how the world with this novum is different than ours.

Among the problems of many novice science fiction writers is instead of introducing a new novum they rely on used furniture – that is, they borrow novums from popular SF series. After all, how many novels have you read that use starships exploring the galaxy for the Earth-based Federation? Barely changing names to appear as if you are not appropriating – a starcraft seeking M-class worlds for the Earth-centered Alliance – still doesn’t cut it as original or fully using the potential that science fiction offers to examine our culture or humanity.

To help SF writers, here are some novums of potential near-future inventions from which stories could be built:

Delta Pavonis colonization
What if future space explorers decide to colonize a habitable planet circling this star, which is slightly brighter and older than our sun? What challenges face those who settle a more luminous star? 

Implanted mobile phones
What if a mobile phone simply could be implanted in your body, say in your hand? Apps on the phone could be used to track your health and determine your location, and you never would have to worry about misplacing your phone again (unless you got cut up in a car accident).

Intelligent buildings
What if each building had an artificial personality that communicated with people to ensure human comfort and regular maintenance? The building also uses UV and ionizing technologies for sterilization and zap insects with laser-based devices.

Sleep exams
What if a small sensor could be placed on your head to determine if your mind was showing indications of Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, depression, schizophrenia and more? The sensor would monitor your brain waves, which could be run through an app on your computer.

Exoskeletal casts
What if instead of plaster casts we wore a lightweight exoskeletal cast that was modeled on 3D imaging of the limb’s shape and an X-ray of the fracture suffered? Could these casts be used for other purposes than to heal a fracture?

______________

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:

• How to establish your own writer’s voice 
Every writer has his own voice. But some writers – especially beginners – sound flat and all too similar. Some would say those writers haven’t found “their” voice yet, and there’s some truth to that. But more likely the problem is they haven’t fully mastered the craft of writing.

• Utilize parallel structure for crisper writing
To make your writing smoother when listing items, consider using parallel structure. This occurs when you follow the same grammatical pattern as providing a list of equal items or ideas within a sentence.

• Avoid committing runaround error in story 
Sometimes novice authors write scenes that are fun and action-packed but simply don’t contribute anything to the story. These parts of the tale are called runarounds and are best avoided.

• Improve writing with ‘What do I mean when I say’ 
When writing fiction, you almost always want to show rather than tell. By showing, you infer through a character’s actions or dialogue what one feels.

• Don’t confuse readers with misplaced modifiers 
A common word order error in writing is a misplaced modifier. This occurs when a word, phrase or clause describing something doesn’t appear next to the word(s) it describes.

• Use active voice
Verbs give sentences and books vibrancy. When too many of them in a story are passive or weak, the writing sounds drab.

• Avoid microwaving the soufflé in your story
In real life, achieving a goal and obtaining a possession usually is more satisfying when a lot of hard work went into it. The delay in gratification as the desire for and anticipation of success grew simply results in a greater release of emotion and tension. Storytellers are wise to utilize this strategy in their fiction.

• Use concrete details to make writing more vivid
When writing descriptions, make them concrete. That is, make them tangible by appealing to the five senses of sight, smell, sound, taste and touch.

• Be a better writer by empowering your reader
When you empower your reader, you become a better writer. To empower your reader means respecting his intelligence.

“I admire anybody who has the guts to write anything at all.” – E. B. White

“Let the world burn through you. Throw the prism light, white hot, on paper.” – Ray Bradbury

“Write while the heat is in you. The writer who postpones the recording of his thoughts uses an iron which has cooled to burn a hole with. He cannot inflame the minds of his audience.” – Henry David Thoreau

“As writers we live life twice, like a cow that eats its food once and then regurgitates it to chew and digest it again. We have a second chance at biting into our experience and examining it. …This is our life and it’s not going to last forever. There isn’t time to talk about someday writing that short story or poem or novel. Slow down now, touch what is around you, and out of care and compassion for each moment and detail, put pen to paper and begin to write.” – Natalie Goldberg

“Above all, let who you are, what you are, what you believe, shine through every sentence you write, every piece you finish.” – John Jakes

______________

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 there just isn’t a rule for a grammar dilemma. Such is the case with driver side vs. driver’s side.

Either form is quite common and acceptable in writing. Such is the case with other similar constructions, such as dog collar vs. dog’s collar and passenger side vs. passenger’s side.

No doubt the reason driver’s side and passenger’s side sound like they may be wrong is because the word following the apostrophe s begins with an s. To many people, that’s awkward to say aloud. Indeed, a Google search query for the two terms shows that people prefer driver side, which receives about 11 million more returns than driver’s side. Passengers side also is preferred over passenger’s side by 43 million more hits.

Given this, I recommend dropping the apostrophe s or using whatever the stylebook for your publication advises.

______________

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:

Science fiction stories typically arise from a novum, a scientifically plausible concept that is a “reality” in the tale. The novum might be an mechanical device like robot servants, artificial intelligence, or faster-than-light spacecraft; it also can be a hypothetical idea such as “The Earth is a scientific experiment run by aliens to determine the meaning of life” or “The government outlaws books.” The author then asks “What if?” exploring how the world with this novum is different than ours.

Among the problems of many novice science fiction writers is instead of introducing a new novum they rely on used furniture – that is, they borrow novums from popular SF series. After all, how many novels have you read that use starships exploring the galaxy for the Earth-based Federation? Barely changing names to appear as if you are not appropriating – a starcraft seeking M-class worlds for the Earth-centered Alliance – still doesn’t cut it as original or fully using the potential that science fiction offers to examine our culture or humanity.

To help SF writers, here are some novums of potential near-future inventions from which stories could be built:

Artificial antibiotics
What is we engineered artificial microorganisms to serve as antibiotics? Would such microorganisms be better or worse than using nanites to fight disease?

Barnard’s Star colonization
What if Barnard’s Star, an old red dwarf that in 9000 years will be closer to the Sun than Alpha Centauri, had a habitable planet that humans can colonize? The planet would be tidally locked and orbit its star every 5-22 days. 

Emotion sharing
What if while viewing a photo, through direct brain stimulation, you also could experience the emotion that the photo-taker intended? How does society balance the bonding and creative potential of such sharing with the potential for mind control and manipulation by politicians and marketers?

Problem-solving games
What if video games become collaborative efforts to solve problems – breaking genomes of new pathogens, locating natural resources, dancing on a pad to generate energy – rather than competitive in nature (that is, human vs. human)? When world problems become “fun,” how does this change the dynamic of human and cultural relationships?

Senses upgrade
What if humans could receive implants that allows their brains to safely detect electromagnetic radiation outside of their senses, such as radio waves, infrared, ultraviolet, and X-rays? What laws would have to be passed to prevent people from committing crimes against people with upgraded senses?

______________

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:

Anytime you write an academic paper or a nonfiction book, you likely will need to quote your sources, especially when they make their point in a powerful, evocative way. Should the quote be lengthy, you may need to typographically set it apart as a block quotation so that it is easy to read.

A block quotation is a lengthy, free-standing direct quotation that is separated from the rest of the text. Sometimes it’s also called a long quotation.

If using APA style for your academic paper, use the block quotation style when the direct quotation is at least 40 words or longer.

The rules for formatting a block quotations include:
• Indent a half-inch from the left margin
• Omit quotation marks
• Double space
• Indent first line of a second and subsequent paragraph a half-inch from the new margin (or a full inch from the original left margin)
• Parenthetical citation comes after the closing punctuation mark

Here’s how a block quotation should look in APA style…

Bignell (2013) states that developed characters make for better

tales:

     That’s because successful stories involve drama, which

     arises from tension between characters and the situation

     in which they’ve been placed. That situation is your

     story’s plot. The more developed the character, the

     greater the drama, for more tension can arise as your

     hero can interact with the situation in more varied

     ways. (p. 40)

An excellent example of this in literature is Hamlet, who suffers

from indecision and psychic torment.

______________

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:

“A simple act of putting on clothes is almost impossible for me to describe without many false starts.” – Eudora Welty

“First, cut out all the wisdom, then cut out all the adjectives.” – Somerset Maugham

“One tends to write beyond what’s needed.” – James Schuyler

“Write with the door closed, rewrite with the door open.” – Stephen King

“The beautiful part of writing is that you don’t have to get it right the first time, unlike, say, a brain surgeon.” – Robert Cormier

______________

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 when typing or formatting a manuscript in Microsoft Word, to indicate a change of scenes, you might center a group of three to five asterisks between paragraphs. Then you hit return. 

And the darndest thing happens: The asterisks turn to a whole line of them, and no matter what you do – highlight and delete them, cut and paste them to Notepad then cut and paste that back to Word – you can’t seem to delete the line. Even if you succeed in getting them off the screen, as soon as you hit return again at the end of the next paragraph, they come back!

Well, there is a way to get rid of them.

The problem is that hitting return after certain characters, such as asterisks, results in a border being created. Don’t ask me why anyone would design their software to do that.

The solution then is to delete a border by:
• Place your cursor at the end of the paragraph before the line of asterisks/dots/rule.
• Under the Home tab, in the Paragraph section, look in the lower right hand corner for an icon that appears to be a square divided into four. Click the pulldown menu next to it and hit “Borders and Shading.”
• A pop-up window will appear. Make the sure the tab atop the pop-up is on “Borders.”
• On the same pop-up window, under “Setting,” click “None” then click “OK.” The rule should disappear.

To avoid running into this problem again, hit return twice where the break between scenes should occur and then begin typing the next paragraph. Move your cursor back to the empty line and place the centered asterisks. Don’t hit return but move the cursor to where you left off with the last paragraph.

___________________

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 self-publishing guidebooks:

Adverse and averse often are confused because both imply something negative while sounding very similar. But as with the way these words are spelled, so there also is a subtle difference in their meanings.

Adverse means unfavorable or harmful, as in Mary suffered an adverse reaction to the medication.

Averse means strongly dislikes or opposes, as in A lifelong Republican, Sam had an averse response to the Democratic speaker.

Now that you know the difference between these two words, editors no longer should have an adverse response to your writing simply because they are averse to poor grammar.

______________

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: