The Motivational Editor

Helping Writers Go from Unpublished to Published

Debra L. Butterfield

7 Manuscript Formatting Programs

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Formatting programs for book publishing

Writers ask lots of questions, and the writing community pays it forward quite well.

I see many questions on a regular basis. One is “what program do you use to format your manuscript?” These writers aren’t talking about how to format their manuscript for presenting to agents, editors, or publishers, but programs to format the manuscript for actual book publishing.

Amazon accepts several file formats for ebooks. Here’s a list. Now that they accept epub files, writers don’t have to fret over converting their files to mobi. That makes things a lot easier!

[Read more…] about 7 Manuscript Formatting Programs

Are You Trying to Reach Your Goals?

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Person jumping from hill to hill. Doing rather than trying.

Do you have a vision of your book as a best seller? An award-winner? Many writers have these dreams, myself included.

You could write the greatest novel since Dean Koontz or James Patterson, but if you don’t market your book, you won’t accomplish best-seller status.

You could have the most amazing marketing strategy and plan, but if you’ve written a terrible book, you won’t accomplish best-seller or award-winning status.

And underlying all this is your mindset—your paradigm.

[Read more…] about Are You Trying to Reach Your Goals?

Character Development, Draft and Revisions

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Character development, Picture of Yoda.

Late last year I completed the draft of a novel—the first novel I’ve managed to finish!

Fiction is my passion, but it seems at this point in my writing career I write mostly nonfiction. Not sure why that is. I’ve started as many novels as I have published nonfiction books. Those novels sit partially written, collecting electronic dust.

As I spent time in December 2019 seeking God’s plan for 2020, the one word I got was write. Actually I got write, write, write. I couldn’t be more delighted. I come alive when I write. And for a writer that’s how it should be!

My little fingers will flame with fiction this year—along with some blogging.

First on the list is my current WIP “Sally and the Cowboy.” I spent most of December 2019 doing revisions. I discovered the story needed deep revision not only to the plot, but also to the main characters. All drafts need deep revision…what mine needs is deeper than I anticipated. Ugh.

Character development is essential to any great story. For me, it’s part of what makes a story memorable and worth reading over and over and over.

My main character seemed depressing and complaining. Granted, at that point in my revision I had focused on developing her inner conflict, so maybe my perspective was a little skewed. Skewed perception aside, Sally needs major character development.

For help in the task, I’ve turned to Donald Maass book Writing the Breakout Novel—an excellent book and one I recommend often. Chapter 5 tackles character development. Maass states:

Conflict is the first principle of plot construction, and it is also the underlying secret of great characters.

I’ve been re-examining Sally’s…

  • Inner conflict (what is it, is there enough, too much?)
  • Story goal,
  • Story arc, (how will she grow as a person as the story progresses?)
  • History,
  • Personality,
  • Strengths, and
  • Weaknesses.

I read a few paragraphs from Maass, then I pick up pencil and paper and make notes, ask questions, and am drawing out from my imagination a more compelling and memorable Sally. Yes, I’ll be doing the same thing for the Cowboy.

Virtually all readers unconsciously seek out novels for an experience of human life that is admirable, amusing, hopeful, perseverant, positive, inspiring, and that ultimately makes us feel whole. ~Donald Maass, Writing the Breakout Novel

Does your fiction fit into that list anywhere? Do your characters possess any of these characteristics? Maybe not at the beginning of your story, but do they discover they have something on that list by the end of the story?

Within that quote from Maass is an aspect that I believe accounts for today’s popularity of superhero movies: an experience that is admirable, hopeful, positive, inspiring.

Don’t settle for surface-level revisions on your novel. Dig deep. Perform invasive surgery on that sucker.

  • Are your characters as memorable as those from your favorite novels?
  • Ask yourself if you’d enjoy reading your own story over and over.

Take your favorite novel and examine the protagonist and antagonist.

  • What character qualities does he/she have?
  • How has the author developed the character?
  • Use what you learn to revise your own protagonist and antagonist.

If you haven’t yet begun your novel, do this deep work ahead of time. You’ll be glad you did!

(Post contains affiliate links.)

Stand on God’s Promises–All Things Are Possible

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With God all things are possible

The year is drawing to a close and 2018 looms ahead. When I was a kid, 1980 seemed futuristic!

This is the time of year I usually look back through my year to see what I’ve accomplished and compare it to the previous year. Invariably my growth surprises me.

Perhaps you’ve had a bad year. Or you haven’t met your goals. I understand!

Most of us have a bad day here and there, or a bad week, or sometimes even [Read more…] about Stand on God’s Promises–All Things Are Possible

How to Use Snapshot in Scrivener

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Using Scrivener Snapshots

In my pre-Scrivener days of writing, I used MS Word. It got the job done, but when it was time to revise I got paranoid.

  • What if I didn’t like all the changes I had just made?
  • What if I liked most of them, but not all?
  • What if deleted an entire scene, then two days later realize I needed that scene after all?

So I learned work arounds… [Read more…] about How to Use Snapshot in Scrivener

4 Life Principles I Learned as a US Marine

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blog image titleI’m celebrating a birthday today—the 240th birthday of the US Marine Corps. Yes, the Marine Corps really is one year older than the United States. Today is also an anniversary of sorts for me. On Nov. 10, 1977, I was honorably discharged from the Marine Corps.

I never realized how much I learned about life by being a Marine until one day when [Read more…] about 4 Life Principles I Learned as a US Marine

Author RJ Thesman on Getting Published

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Are you a fan of book series? What avid reader isn’t.

Author RJ ThesmanToday’s guest RJ Thesman is author of the Life at Cove Creek series. Her book Final Grace for Reverend G released today and is the third and final installment of the series about Reverend G and her battle with Alzheimer’s.

And because it’s launch day, RJ is offering a free copy of Final Grace for Reverend G to one winner. See below for contest details.

RJ Thesman writes as a daughter whose mother is disappearing into the shadows of Alzheimer’s disease. Her hope is that [Read more…] about Author RJ Thesman on Getting Published

When Effect Comes Before Cause

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two men fightingWhile reading a book, have you ever found yourself saying There’s something wrong with that sentence, but I can’t quite figure out what?

Do you stop to figure out what’s wrong or just keep reading? I’m guilty of doing both, depending on the circumstances of the moment. Of course, if I’m editing a manuscript, I stop to figure it out.

Today, let’s take a look at what might be the problem. [Read more…] about When Effect Comes Before Cause