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Science fiction stories typically revolve around a novum, a scientifically plausible concept that becomes “reality” in the tale. The novum might be an mechanical device like robot servants, artificial intelligence, or a space station with artificial gravity; it also can be hypothetical idea such as “The Earth is a scientific experiment run by aliens to determine theContinue reading “5 Science Fiction Writing Prompts”

When describing a fair-haired man, don’t use blonde, even if the dude looks like a lady. A flaxen-haired female is a blonde, but a sandy-haired male is a blond (no e, please). ______________ 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 newContinue reading “Nothing to Joke about: Blonde vs. Blond”

Among the most annoying features of Microsoft Word’s Track Changes program is that every time you reopen a file, the corrections show up. To not see the corrections, you have to toggle the “Display for Review” setting to “No Markup.” This is a default setting because Microsoft says it doesn’t want you to share with others an editedContinue reading “How to Get Rid of Word’s Proofreading Marks”

“Any man who keeps working is not a failure. He may not be a great writer, but if he applies the old-fashioned virtues of hard, constant labor, he’ll eventually make some kind of career for himself as writer.” – Ray Bradbury “Publishing is a business. Writing may be art, but publishing, when all is said andContinue reading “Five Great Quotations about Business of Writing”

What is your big, seemingly impossible, goal as writer? To write a nonfiction book? To publish a short story? List the steps you must take to achieve this vision. Now work on achieving each one of those smaller steps as you head toward your big goal. ______________ My name is Rob Bignell. I’m an affordable, professional editorContinue reading “Writing Inspiration: Set Steps for Your Goal”

The next time you write one of these words, you may want to back up and see if you’ve got it right. Knowing which part of speech you’re using will prove helpful. “Backup” as a single a word with no space or hyphen can be used either as an adjective (When Johnson got knocked out, theContinue reading “Get in Gear with Backup vs. Back Up vs. Back-up”

Perhaps the most profound conflict a character can face is coming into conflict with himself. Conflicts in which the protagonist faces off against other individuals or society often result in characters that represent ideals and concepts. But the character that first must deal with his own foibles to overcome a villain or oppressive values has learnedContinue reading “Strengthen Story with Man vs. Himself Conflict”

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 ofContinue reading “5 Cool SciFi Novum Writing Prompts”