The Motivational Editor

Helping Writers Go from Unpublished to Published

Writing Skills

What Books Have Impacted Your Life?

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My 8 recommended books on writingMost writers are also avid readers. It’s a part of how we learn the craft of writing. For me it’s also a part of how I enjoy life.

Right now I’ve got 6 books going, 4 nonfiction, and 2 fiction. The fiction are strictly for entertainment. The nonfiction for my own education—for my business and personally. The books in the picture above are among the many I recommend to writers.

Most of the time, I discover new books because someone else told me about them—the best advertising there is!

Today, I’m turning the blog over to you, dear readers. Post in the comments one or two books you recommend and why.

The 4 Most Important Elements in Fiction Writing

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Space Shuttle launch. Essential elements of fiction writing.

All great fiction writing has more than 4 important elements; however, in my opinion, there are 4 that are the driving force behind your story.

Any avid reader can quickly identify when a book is going to be great or not. They may not be able to tell you the elements that are or aren’t there, but they’ve learned to recognize what a story needs for it to be a page turner.

Today’s post looks at those 4 foundational building blocks of fiction writing. [Read more…] about The 4 Most Important Elements in Fiction Writing

Formatting Your Manuscript for Publisher Submission

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Lately, I’ve gotten a lot of manuscripts to edit with incorrect formatting.

Using the standard format for your manuscript for submission to a publisher or freelance editor is important. Do it incorrectly and you immediately tell that publisher you’re an amateur.

Yes, we all start at the beginning, but there’s no need to let the publisher know you’re new at this. You can submit like a pro the first time! [Read more…] about Formatting Your Manuscript for Publisher Submission

The Ns and Outs of Writing for Kids

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children's author Ramona Woodby Ramona Wood

Children’s book author Ramona Wood’s maxim is “Never stop learning.” Wood is a member of the SCBWI and has written and illustrated five children’s books that can be seen at Amazon.com and RamonaWoodBooks.com. Her latest, Manners & Tips for Caring Kids, has just gone live as her first print-on-demand publication.

The Ns and Outs of Writing for Kids

Give your kids’ book a fighting chance from the start! Consider these four Ns before you get too far along:

NEED—Learn what the market needs and what is selling. How? [Read more…] about The Ns and Outs of Writing for Kids

I have a message to share, but where do I start?

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Getting your message organizedMany of us write because we believe we have a message God wants us to share. In fact, our first book is often about lessons learned from a personal experience that we believe will help others. We want to convey information that will help others navigate and conquer a similar problem.

That was certainly the case for my first book, Help! My Husband Has Sexually Abused Our Daughter (updated, revised, and retitled Carried by Grace in 2014). [Read more…] about I have a message to share, but where do I start?

Using text stats to help with SEO

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Search engine optimization. Otherwise known as SEO. If you’ve been writing for the web, more than likely you’ve heard this term even if you don’t understand it.

I recently had my admin assistant do a Google search for several keywords, among them were editor and freelance editor.

Ahhh!

My website didn’t turn up anywhere in the first 6 pages of the search results—we stopped looking at that point. Not a good thing for a person who runs a freelance editing business. To fix this I need to ensure editor or freelance editor appear more often on my services page.

Why do I need search engine optimization?

[Read more…] about Using text stats to help with SEO

The Major Plot Events of a Novel and When They Occur

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building blocks, an analogy of plot eventsThis month’s last post on plotting concerns the major plot events, or building blocks, of your story.

Most writers understand all fiction has a climatic scene, aka the climax. They also know it occurs very near the end of the story.

However, many writers miss several other plot events essential to their story. [Read more…] about The Major Plot Events of a Novel and When They Occur

Story Premise: What it is and how to develop it

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In last week’s “To Plot a Story,” guest Deborah Lyn Stanley stated, “A one-sentence premise is essential to a strong story.”

Many writers may not understand what a premise is or how to arrive at that one-sentence, so let’s take a look at it today.

Premise. Little boy meets alien.In almost all of the books I have on the craft of writing, discussion of premise is missing, or perhaps they use different terminology. So is it any wonder when I ask writers what is the premise of their book, they answer with a blank stare. [Read more…] about Story Premise: What it is and how to develop it