The Motivational Editor

Helping Writers Go from Unpublished to Published

How to Format Small Caps in MS Word and Scrivener

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You’re quoting the Bible in your book and many of the verses use LORD in small caps. But you don’t know how to get those little capitals so you type LORD in your manuscript.

Or maybe you missed the fact completely that Lord was in all caps. I see that often in the nonfiction manuscripts I edit.

If you fail to use all caps, you are misquoting the verse. Lord and LORD represent different Hebrew words.

If you’ve made this mistake, don’t worry. Creating them is simple, both in MS Word and in Scrivener (but not on the web!). [Read more…] about How to Format Small Caps in MS Word and Scrivener

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

Leaning on God for His Direction for Your Book

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Leaning on God for His Direction for Your BookWelcome to this month’s Friday Feature Author Interview. Today I’m visiting with Dr. Stephanie M. Carter. She is an author, bible teacher, ordained minister, and women’s life coach of a ministry called Grace to Live Coaching. Her journey of God’s direction in writing this book is inspiring.

Grab your java or tea and then let’s dive in.

How do you keep yourself motivated to write? [Read more…] about Leaning on God for His Direction for Your Book

Two Ways for Tracking Important Elements of Your Story

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You’re writing your story in multiple point of view. How do you keep track of how many scenes you have in each POV?

Your story has a specific time frame. How do you track your scenes to ensure you follow that timeline?

Maybe your story takes place in 5 different cities. How can you ensure you’re in the right place?

Today, I’m going to look at 2 ways for tracking important elements of your story and how you can see them at a glance. [Read more…] about Two Ways for Tracking Important Elements of Your Story

7 Ways to Overcome Discouragement

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I can do this! With God, all things are possible.

You want to get published.

You want to get your book to the best seller lists.

Maybe you’d just like to see your book sales adding up and receive a decent royalty check every month.

But it isn’t happening. Instead you find yourself in a daily battle with the big D—discouragement.

So what do you do? I’m well acquainted with the emotion and have developed a few weapons to wield… [Read more…] about 7 Ways to Overcome Discouragement

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

Capturing life events for your book ideas: an interview with Melody Schaefer

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Capturing life events for your book ideasI’ve got children’s author Melody L. Schaefer here with me today. I met Melody at my local writers group, and we’ve had a good time getting to know each other. Besides writing her books, she does all her own illustrating.

Melody’s newest release, Penny the Parakeet and the Solar Eclipse, is the perfect example of capitalizing on life events.

A total solar eclipse happens next month, and the best place for viewing it in its totality is none other than where we each live, St. Joseph, Missouri. Here in St. Joe this event has been a topic of conversation for over a year.

Melody realized early on this was an event she could tag onto by [Read more…] about Capturing life events for your book ideas: an interview with Melody Schaefer

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