Inventing Reality Editing Service

Create intimacy with narrator via first-person

A story can be told from several viewpoints. When the main character narrates his experiences and observations, the author is using “first-person limited” point of view.

This viewpoint is autobiographical in nature. It is “limited” because the narrator only can tell what he perceives, not what other characters see, hear or think.

Consider this snippet, written to be told in first-person limited:

My back ached, and I tuned out my brother as wishing for a friend to tell my thoughts to; I had needed one ever since our father died during the last tourney a year ago, but now that Evod was head of the house, his single-mindedness in regaining our family’s pride prevented it as all we did was friggin train. For the time being, my inner ear would have to suffice. Odd how on our homeworld the males make the decisions while the females make the sacrifices.

We only know the world from the narrator’s perspective. We have no idea what Evod thinks about the narrator, his father, or their family duties except through the filter of the narrator.

There are several advantages to using first-person limited:
• Immediacy – Since the story is told as the main character makes observations, the reader in turn observes the story’s world as the same moment that the character does. This helps keep a strong flow of dramatic tension.
• Identification – This point of view typically makes identifying with the character easier for readers. They have a greater feeling of intimacy with him.
• Distinctive voice – Often a unique narrative voice is possible, which can make the story more interesting to the reader. In the above snippet, you gain a real sense of Nevar’s anger when she uses the word “friggin.” Her observation about the men making decisions and women the sacrifices also takes on a slightly more resentful tone than the original even though the exact same words are used.
• Control – The author arguably can better control flow of narrative when it is first-person limited. Because only one character’s perspective is told, the pace of what happens to that character primarily affects the story’s flow.
• Conversational – This viewpoint often sounds more conversational in tone. This allows for use of slang, jargon, and offbeat expressions, as in the novel and movie “A Clockwork Orange.”
• Awareness – This perspective sometimes is used because it allows for characters who are naïve, evil or mistaken to reveal their flaws even though they haven’t grown or changed during the story. Because the author can control the narrative flow, he can point out via the narrator’s errors in observation that a character fault exists. Readers picking up on this error find themselves contemplating if they themselves possess this fault.

Depending on the story you’re telling, first-person limited can be ill-suited. A few disadvantages of using this point of view include:
• The reliability of the narrator can be problematic – Since the narrator could be lying or distorting events, the reader may not identify with or understand that character.
• Any action not directly involving the narrator can’t be told – This can be limiting for an author, who may need to show how other characters react to an event with more depth or objectivity than the narrator’s perception of those characters can offer.
• Threats to the main character can seem less dramatic – The reader knows in advance that the narrator will survive, as a dead narrator can’t tell a story, after all.
• The main character typically can’t describe himself – When the narrator does, he runs the risk of sounding obnoxious, or the passage can appear forced.

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 Orlando, Florida, or a small town like Beer Bottle Crossing, Idaho, I can provide that second eye.

Editing client publishes sequel to popular novel

A long-time
editing client of mine, Steven S. Sharp, has published his second novel, “The Separation.” The sequel to his novel “After Life's Hurdles & The True Winner,” Sharp’s new book continues the story of Nate Kelly, who to heal his inner pain documents a nightmarish 1978 traffic accident that takes the lives of his two best friends and high school sweetheart. Though he prays for a miracle, a decade later he still struggles to live without them. Unexplainable and eerie encounters with beings, places and objects repeatedly remind him of the haunting tragedy as he finally begins moving forward with his life. The book is available for purchase online.

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 Charlotte, North Carolina, or a small town like Butts, Georgia, I can provide that second eye.

Five Great Quotations about Good Writing

“If you can tell stories, create characters, devise incidents, and have sincerity and passion, it doesn't matter a damn how you write.” – Somerset Maugham

“Make him [the reader] think the evil, make him think it for himself, and you are released from weak specifications.” – Henry James

“If a writer of prose knows enough about what he is writing about he may omit things that he knows and the reader, if the writer is writing truly enough, will have a feeling of those things as strongly as though the writer had stated them. The dignity of movement of an iceberg is due to only one-eighth of it being above water. A writer who omits things because he does not know them only makes hollow places in his writing.”– Ernest Hemingway

“The main question to a novel is – did it amuse? Were you surprised at dinner coming so soon? Did you mistake eleven for ten? Were you too late to dress? and Did you sit up beyond the usual hour? If a novel produces these effects, it is good; if it does not – story, language, love, scandal itself cannot save it. It is only meant to please; and it must do that or it does nothing.” – Sydney Smith

“You have to write the book that wants to be written. And if the book will be too difficult for grown-ups, then you write it for children.” ― Madeleine L'Engle

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 Dallas, Texas, or if you come from a small town Why, Arizona, I can provide that second eye.

Every moment offers a great opportunity to write

A passionate writer never can be bored. Every location and situation offers an opportunity to write.

Writing is largely an internal, in-your-head activity, after all. It involves your imagination and creativity, which really are nothing more than combining your memories and thoughts in interesting ways to create new ideas or to better understand yourself and the world. No matter where you are, you can create and therefore write.

Whenever you a have a free moment, there are many writing activities you can engage in. You might outline your next story; if you already have an outline, go more in-depth with a beat-by-beat listing of what will occur in the next scene. You might continue working on your draft. If you have an Internet connection, you might research a process or facts that appear in your book.

Combine being present with your creativity, and your ability to write at any given moment will soar. By being present, you engage your setting through taking in its sights, sounds, smells, tastes and how it physically touches you. For example, if in a coffee shop, you might see a customer standing in line with arms folded, hear her tapping her foot as she waits for the busy barista to take her order, smell her expensive perfume indicating she is not a person accustomed to waiting for someone else, sense the growing heat of her anger as her foot tapping picks up its pace. In this instance, by simply being aware of your surroundings you’ve observed – and with your creativity can write a passage about – impatience.

By being present, even if not working on your current book, you can practice writing by penning passages that can be used in a later manuscript. Or you night simply do some journaling, in which you describe a scene or a person in that setting, or simply ponder an idea.

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 Sacramento, California, or a small town like Intercourse, Pennsylvania, I can provide that second eye.

What is a ‘platform’ when promoting a book?

One question I frequently receive from editing clients who’ve just self-published their books is “What is a platform?” The word is bantered about a lot on self-publishing blogs and in guides about marketing books, but it’s rarely ever defined.

A platform is the combination of all the tools you use so people become aware of your book and purchase it. Typically it consists of a website, a blog, social media (particularly Goodreads, Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, LinkedIn and Pinterest), and website pages where your book is for sale (such as Amazon.com, CreateSpace and Smashwords). Essentially, the platform is a way for you to reach others; it also is a way for others to stumble upon your book when using a search engine across the Internet or at a specific website.

Some marketing gurus would expand the definition to include any effort you make so that people are aware of your book. This could include press releases to the media, appearances on radio and television programs, book readings/signings, speaking engagements, handing out a business card, and so on. While these efforts do allow people to find out that you have a book and to purchase it, those efforts are much more ephemeral than my more limited definition of a platform. After all, so long as you don’t remove your website and Amazon.com page, they are always there for someone to discover. In contrast, once you’re done with the book signing, the opportunity that was offered for someone to stumble across your book disappears.

How important is a platform? Some authors trying to peddle gimmicks will say it’s entirely unimportant. Mot authors (including myself) disagree. A platform is absolutely vital to your success, especially over the long haul. However, the elements that make up your platform, how you utilize the tools in your platform, and the frequency that you use those tools varies greatly from book to book. There is no single formula that works for every title; rather, it varies depending on your potential readership, your sales goals, and how effective you are at utilizing each tool.

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 Denver, Colorado, or a small town like Dewey Beach, Delaware, I can provide that second eye.

Guidelines for creating an ebook cover

Despite the old adage, people will judge your book by its cover. As humans are visually-oriented, the first thing a potential buyer of your book will spot on a web page is your cover; almost always the words come later. In addition, that cover typically will just be a thumbnail.

Given this, there are several principles of ebook cover design you should follow:
g Use a sharp, quality picture of a single, recognizable object – That means ensuring the photo is at least 300 dpi and slightly larger than the size that must be uploaded when you self-publish. If you go with a lower dpi or a smaller size, the photo will appear pixelated or blurry. In addition, since the cover potential buyers will see is literally the size of your thumb, the illustration or photograph on the cover should not be complex or detailed. All of that simply will get lost in the small size and look like colors splattered on the screen.
g Properly crop and touch-up the picture – The picture needs to be shaped so that it is proportionately the same as the thumbnail. If the thumbnail is two inches tall by an inch wide, then the photo itself needs to be twice as tall as it is wide; a photo that is three times as tall as it is wide won’t work and will need to be cropped. Further, don’t distort (or change the aspect ratio) of the picture to force it to fit the thumbnails dimensions. Finally, if you’ve taken the photo yourself, ensure its coloration is good and that red-eye is removed.
g Leave space on the photograph for the text – Decide in advance where the title, subtitle and byline (the author’s name) will go on the cover. The object in the picture should not be covered (or at least mostly not be covered) by the text. For example, if the cover photo is of a sunflower, leave a sufficient amount of blue sky above the blossom where the title can go and some mostly mono-colored grass below the blossom where the byline can be placed.
g Use readable and large fonts – Avoid fancy fonts, especially those that are italicized, in Old English or gimmicky (like Comic Sans) for your cover’s text. There may be instances when those fonts would work, but rarely can they be read on a thumbnail. Instead, opt for an easy-to-read font and place them in boldface to stand out.
g Limit wording on the cover – The book’s title, subtitle, and a byline is all that’s needed for an ebook. Any more just clutters the cover and forces you to make the text smaller, thereby ensuring it is more difficult to read.
g Make the title the largest lettering – If the picture and overall cover design is attractive, then a potential buyer will notice the title. Help them find the title by ensuring it is larger than the subtitle and the byline. The only time to make a byline larger than a title is if you are a famous author whose name is a household word.
g Arrange text so it reads right to left – Avoid having lettering reading north to south or scrambled about on a page. Remember that potential buyers will view and read the thumbnail very quickly, so the more difficult the text is to read, the more quickly they’ll move on to another author’s book.
g Avoid color clash – Use contrasting colors. The text lettering should stand out against the picture. If the spot on the picture where the lettering will go is light or bright, use dark text and vice versa. If placing your text on a black background, use a light hue that is an accent color in your picture. Also avoid changing the color of each word or sets of words within the title, subtitle and byline. Keep to one color.
g Leave “by” off the byline – The only name that ought to appear on the cover is the author’s, so why place “by” before it? Besides adding clutter to the page, it looks amateurish.

These guidelines also apply to paper book covers – particularly those sold exclusively online – but generally you do have a little more leeway with the picture’s complexity on the larger cover.

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 San Diego, California, or a small town like Eek, Arkansas, I can provide that second eye.

For convenience sake: How should it appear?

For heaven’s sake, why didn’t somebody teach how to spell and punctuate this expression to some writers? Probably because it’s one of those rules in flux.

Most writers learned that any time a possessive is used, an apostrophe is needed. As the expression shows that sake belongs to convenience, it ought to be spelled/punctuated for convenience’s sake, right?

Not exactly. The use of sake allows for two exceptions to the above rule. First, if the word coming before sake ends in an ss, most speakers would find it difficult to say aloud, and it sure would look darn ugly on the page or screen, so the ’s is dropped. Hence, we write for goodness sake and not for goodness’s sake. Secondly, if the word coming before sake is more than a couple of syllables long and ends in ce, most speakers likewise find it awkward to say and so the ’s is dispensed with. Hence, we write for convenience sake. In all other cases – such as for Pete’s sake or for God’s sake – include the ’s.

Of course, not all speakers (and therefore readers) find adding that ’s particularly difficult to say. So they say it. And then some authors write it. Ultimately, this is one of those grammatical rules in flux, and increasingly dictionaries and grammar guidebooks are allowing for either spelling/punctuation as acceptable, standard English.

As a writer, you can avoid the matter by revising the phrase to for the sake of convenience. Otherwise, stick to the original rule of no ’s or whatever the style guide of your publishing house advises.

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 Atlanta, Georgia, or a small town like Atlanta, Idaho, I can provide that second eye.

Utilize milepost character to critique concepts

Sometimes to critique an idea in a story, you might employ a milepost character. This is a character who never changes though the main character’s perspective of him does. It’s a term coined by David Smith in an article for the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America.

Suppose, for example, that you wanted to show how the idea of materialism is a bad concept. You might personify that idea through a milepost character, say a banker at a larger corporate financial institution. The banker could enjoy a life in which he wears the best clothing, drives the best cars, and owns the largest of houses.

At first, the focus character – who is a new employee at the bank – might admire the banker, who compliments him and is courteous to others. As the story evolves, however, the focus character may learn more about the banker, maybe catching the latter in a moment of criticizing the poor or turning down a house loan for a hard-working single mother. The focus character might chalk up the former to drink and the latter to “That’s business,” but it taints his perspective. Perhaps when the banker decides to foreclose on a long-time friend who’s missed two payments, the focus character’s views of what qualities are the best in humanity continues to transform. In this way, the reader along with the focus character begins to question the value of materialism.

In addition to critiquing an idea, the milepost character offers the obvious advantage of showing how the focus character is growing and developing. As if a scientific experiment, the reader now can use the milepost character as a basis of comparison with the focus character’s perspectives.

When creating a milepost character, avoid creating a flat stereotype. While the milepost character doesn’t grow, there ought to be good reasons for his motivations and actions (In the above example, for example, the banker might argue that he can’t help everyone or the institution would collapse, and that would be bad for the community overall, as the bank helps create businesses that employ people.). Rather than be a comic character (unless writing humor, of course), the milepost character can be somewhat tragic, a prisoner of his own inability to change or escape the trappings of the idea he personifies.

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 Minneapolis, Minnesota, or a small town like Nothing, Arizona, I can provide that second eye.

Cut plot cliché of histrionic exit

To ensure readers hold your story in high regard, you’ll want to avoid plot clichés, or overused literary devices, which typically are employed by lazy or unskilled writers.

One such plot cliché is the histrionic exit. This involves punctuating the end of a scene with a physical action aimed at evoking an emotional response in the reader. For example, after an argument between two characters, when one of them leaves he slams the door. The reader then would say, “Wow! That character is really angry!” The term was coined by CSFW’s David Smith.

Usually the writer includes a histrionic exit to make up for a lack of style in the scene. In the above example, as the writer fears that the argument didn’t sufficiently show the character’s anger, the physical action was added, like an exclamation point to a sentence.

The solution is to delete the physical action and fix the scene so the characters’ anger is apparent to readers. In the above case, the character might make cutting remarks or a description of them being angry, such as balling their hands into fists, could be included.

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 San Jose, California, or a small town like Boar Tush, Alabama, I can provide that second eye.

Five Great Quotations about Readers

“If you try to please audiences, uncritically accepting their tastes, it can only mean that you have no respect for them: that you simply want to collect their money.” – Andrei Tarkovsky

“In the tale, in the telling, we are all one blood. Take the tale in your teeth, then, and bite till the blood runs, hoping it’s not poison; and we will all come to the end together, and even to the beginning: living, as we do, in the middle.” – Ursula K. Le Guin

“That’s the essential goal of the writer: you slice out a piece of yourself and slap it down on the desk in front of you. You try to put it on paper, try to describe it in a way that the reader can see and feel and touch. You paste all your nerve endings into it and then give it out to strangers who don’t know you or understand you.” - Stephen Leigh

“I’m the kind of writer that people think other people are reading.” – V. S. Naipaul

“A person who publishes a book willfully appears before the populace with his pants down...If it is a good book nothing can hurt him. If it is a bad book, nothing can help him.” – Edna St. Vincent Millay

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 Birmingham, Alabama, or a small town like Buttzville, New Jersey, I can provide that second eye.