“There are two kinds of writer: those that make you think, and those that make you wonder.” – Brian Aldiss

“A writer is someone who can make a riddle out of an answer.” – Karl Kraus

“To achieve lasting literature, fictional or factual, a writer needs perceptive vision, absorptive capacity, and creative strength.” – Lawrence Clark Powell

“Words are the most powerful drug used by mankind.” – Rudyard Kipling

“It is the writer who might catch the imagination of young people, and plant a seed that will flower and come to fruition.” – Isaac Asimov

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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:

For novice and unpublished writers, questions often are more important than answers. What are your writing goals? What skills do you need to achieve that goal? How can you learn those skills you don’t have?

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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:

You always have great book ideas, but whenever you sit to type, you just can’t get comfortable enough for the words to come out. In a short while, your eyes are burning and your wrists aching. You’re wondering if you’re really cut out to be an author, even though you enjoy writing a lot.

The problem probably has little to do with your love of or skill for writing but with ergonomics issues.

The human body really isn’t meant to perform for hours on end some of the tasks that our modern writing and office equipment demand of it. All too often our necks cramp from looking at computer screens at slanted angles, our eyes burn from staring too long at a fixed distance (a computer monitor), and our fingers turn numb from the strain of our wrists performing repetitive motions.

If you’ve spent all day working in an office under such conditions, the last thing your body wants to do once you’re home at night or for the weekend is to keep it up.

To address ergonomics issues, listen to your body. If your wrists or back feel stressed when writing, you may need to “revise” your writing area. Sometimes you simply need to raise or lower your chair to avoid typing at odd angles or to adjust the computer monitor to eliminate glare. You may need to add lighting to prevent eye strain.

In addition, always sit up straight when typing and take frequent breaks if using a computer. If your body still feels stressed, consider writing like during the days of old with a pen and notebook. While you’ll ultimately want to get your writing typed and saved, at least when you have good ideas you can continue to pursue 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 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 way to sell your books is through Back of Room sales. This occurs when you give a presentation and have copies of your book(s) for sale on a table nearby – usually at the back or side of the room or just outside it.

Back of Room sales work because those attending your presentation are interested in your book’s topic. They are naturally ready to purchase your book. If you’ve done a good job during the presentation, then you’ve got them even more excited about the topic, increasing the odds of a sale.

A book signing or book reading is a form of a Back of Room sales. But think about what might attract more attendees to your reading and instead give a presentation at a seminar or workshop about a topic covered in your book.

For example, I write hiking guidebooks. While interesting to read if you’re a backpacker who wants to hike the region covered in the book, the trail entries otherwise are a dry read and not ideal for a standard book reading. However, if I give a presentation about “The 10 Best Hiking Trails in Denver” and offer my own passionate summaries of the trails and include pictures of the scenery on a large screen, I’ll attract more attention.

You can use this approach to extend the shelf life of your book. For example, I can do a presentation in September about “Denver’s Best Autumn Leaf Trails,” one before Valentine’s Day about “Denver’s Most Romantic Trails,” then one in spring about “Denver’s Best Wildflower Trails,” all culling information from one trail guidebook.

Set up and promote the presentation the same way that you would a book signing/reading. However, you’re not limited to bookstores. Presentations can be given almost anywhere, such as the local library, coffee houses with stages, or at conventions.

Be sure to make your table where the books are available is attractive. A single-colored tablecloth is a good idea, as is a poster about yourself or your books. In addition, if handling the sales yourself, make sure you bring enough money in different denominations to make change. You also may want to have business cards or freebies (such as bookmarks) related to your book that those attending the event can pick up.

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My name is Rob Bignell. I’m an affordable, professional book 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 decade, I’ve helped more than 400 novelists and nonfiction authors obtain their publishing dreams at reasonable prices. I’m also the author of 80 books including 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 book marketing guidebooks:

Good stories center on the clashing of characters’ goals and motivations. Sometimes a character’s goals and motivations arise from desiring what another has, especially in a relationship. Here are four writing prompts for stories that center on jealousy.

Man vs. nature
What if the antagonist’s jealousy leads him to banish a loved one to a wilderness. How does she overcome the natural dangers of this exile? What does she learn from this that allows her to first survive then thrive?

Man vs. man
The protagonist discovers his best friend is dating the woman he’s always longed for from afar. Overcome with jealousy, he competes with his best friend for the heart of this woman. How does he do that? Who will the woman decide is the better man (if either one!)?

Man vs. society
Our main character is jealous of others in an organization he belongs to or company he works for. He believes they are wealthier, better traveled, more cultured than he is. He decides to prove he is second to none, but there are those he envy who wish to keep him in his place. How does he deal with them – and with his inner demons?

Man vs. himself
Our main character finds that his divorced ex is now happy with a new man. Rather than be angry at her, he is jealous of the new man, especially in light that he has lost everything he knew himself to be – a married man, a father who saw his children every day, his nice home and earnings. How does he overcome this jealousy before it eats him from the inside out, destroying what little he has left?

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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:

Among the many words whose spellings appear to be changing is babysitter, confusing many a little firecracker of smartness. Is it one word, two words, or hyphenated?

Older editions of dictionaries tend to hyphenate the word. Increasingly, though, newer editions are lopping off the hyphen and spelling it as one word, as in: We asked Jane if she would be little Jimmy’s babysitter.

Go with babysitter as one word, no hyphen. Should anyone ask why, be one smart apple and say “brevity.”

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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:

In every story, there comes a turning point or an ultimate moment in which the situation has become so intolerable that the main character must take a decisive step and emerge victorious. This scene is known as the climax.

Also called a “final obstacle,” the climax comes at the end of the story’s rising action. The main character metaphorically has reached the mountain top and either must push off the antagonist or be pushed off. Because of this, the climax is a scene of escalated action. It is that part of the story when the main character resolves the story’s central problem.

An excellent example of a climatic scene is the rebel’s attack on the Death Star in “Star Wars IV: A New Hope.” As the scene begins, the tension has built to the point where if the rebels do not destroy the Death Star, they are doomed. Faster and more dramatic than any other scene in the movie, the assault on the Death Star even appears as if it will fail. Using the lessons learned through the story about the Force, however, Luke Skywalker succeeds in a climatic moment by firing the one in a million shot that destroys the Empire’s weapon of ultimate destruction. In doing so, the threat of the Death Star disappears, and the rebellion is saved.

Sometimes for dramatic effect, writers employ a “false ending.” In this technique, after readers think the climax has been reached, the villain comes back one last time for a confrontation. An example is the first “Terminator” movie in which Sarah O’Connor apparently has destroyed the robot from the future in a steel factory. The Terminator’s metal skeleton rises from the flames, however, to pursue Sarah. The false ending actually is the last scene of the rising action.

When writing a climactic scene, writers should follow a couple of simple guidelines:
 • The climax must be the largest obstacle facing the main character and test him in the most significant ways – In the climax of “Star Wars IV: A New Hope”, not only Luke Skywalker’s piloting skills but also his faith in the Force are tested. Without the mastering of both, he cannot destroy the Death Star.
• The outcome heading into the climax should be uncertain – Often the antagonist holds the upper hand as the rising action ends. In “Star Wars IV:A New Hope”, an operational Death Star is bearing down on the rebel base, and the rebellion appears to be outgunned and outmatched. However, the reader’s understanding of Western storytelling techniques tells him that the main character should emerge victorious. This balance creates dramatic tension as the reader wonders how the rebels might overcome the Death Star when the odds are against 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 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:

“It begins with a character, usually, and once he stands up on his feet and begins to move, all I can do is trot along behind him with a paper and pencil trying to keep up long enough to put down what he says and does.” – William Faulkner

“My characters are fictional. I get ideas from real people, sometimes, but my characters always exist only in my head.” – S. E. Hinton

“…the thing about great fictional characters from literature, and the reason that they’re constantly turned into characters in movies, is that they completely speak to what makes people human.” –Keira Knightley

“When writing a novel a writer should create living people; people not characters. A character is a caricature.” – Ernest Hemingway

“In writing a series of stories about the same characters, plan the whole series in advance in some detail, to avoid contradictions and inconsistencies.” – L. Sprague de Camp

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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 decade, 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:

You may feel the reason your writing time isn’t productive is because you don’t have a way to measure it. If so, consider setting a goal each day for writing – word count, percentage of a page, number of paragraphs, or some other way of showing success.

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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: