Editing Tip – Is It Logical?

by Stephen Nelson

I read the novel and jot down some details in each chapter about characters, location or something I think will be referred back to later in the novel.

I write down sentences that don’t make sense to me.

Some examples are:

He walked upstairs, put on his suit, showered and shaved.

To me, the sentence is not logical.

The way it’s written, he showered when he was wearing his suit. So… he’s wearing a soaking wet suit. Unless that’s the point, the word order should be changed.

Johnny printed his name in blue ink on the black puck.

The idea of printing his name on the puck so he wouldn’t lose it is perfect, but it’s not logical.

Blue ink can’t be seen clearly on a black object. I recommended the authour amend the colour of the ink to neon green. 

© Stephen Nelson 2020

The Art of Worldbuilding, Part II

by Stephen Nelson

A world for your characters to inhabit is a daunting task to build. Doing the research to make your world believable to your readers might take as much time as writing your novel.

You probably have compiled a Story Bible or electronic folders and files containing the aspects of geography, society, fashion, language, inventions, nature and weather. The collected information is important when writing the novel, especially if there are differences from the world we live in. 

If dragons, elves or aliens exist in the world of the novel, maybe their lifecycle and powers can be noted in the documentation for easy access when you write the novel. 

Cheat Sheets

Cheat sheets can be helpful for reference when you write. A double-sided page for each character, location, geography, weather conditions, flora and fauna (nature), inventions, society, language(s) and fashion.

Map and Illustrations

Some readers love seeing a map of the imaginary world in which the novel is set. A map and illustrations dispersed through the book can pique a prospective buyer’s interest when they take the book off a bookstore shelf and thumb through the pages. Illustrations can be simple or complex in nature.

List of Characters

I find it useful sometimes to read a list of characters in the back of a novel. Their name, relationship to others and maybe their occupation, if relevant can be written.


Historical and any sub-genre, science fiction and fantasy novels can have terms or words which the reader might not know. Some names of creatures or the alien lifeforms for example can be described in a glossary at the end of the book.

Guide Book or Encyclopedia

Why let the hard work of research, developing and writing a new world go to waste? Something to consider is writing an encyclopedia which is the source material you used to build the world where your novel is set.

Anything you have written as source material for the novel can be incorporated in a guide book or an encyclopedia. Many readers love to know more about their favourite novels. An example is, J.K. Rowlings, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is a guide book.


These ideas might trigger your own creativity to develop the material you were ready to purge. Remember that fabric scraps in the right hands can make a beautiful quilt. The same goes for scraps of information can be recycled and reused. After all, it is your material to use in another work in progress.

© Stephen Nelson 2020

The Art of Worldbuilding, Part I

by Stephen Nelson

Reading a short story or novel pulls the reader into the world which the authour has made for the characters. That is the beauty of imagination. To make a person believe they are in the world of the characters. Worldbuilding can be as small as a room or a boat on the ocean. Other stories and novels can be set in a fictional city or even on a planet.

Each genre has its aspects of worldbuilding. An historical novel regardless of its subgenre like mystery or romance has to have some accuracy in its description of society, fashion and events unless it is an alternative history novel or short story.

Whether a novel is a standalone, or one of many in a series, the novel’s world must be created. The set could be set in an existing town or city or an invented location using bits and pieces of a current place. An authour might create a complete world from their imagination, like J.K. Rowlings, Harry Potter and J.R.R. Tolkien, Lord of the Rings.

I must confess. I am a Planner. I plan as much as possible before putting pen to paper or striking a computer keyboard to write a short story or novel.

I will do a second Worldbuilding post for science fiction and fantasy writing, but a novel can have locations and settings which are from the authour’s imagination. I like to think the following should be considered before writing any genre.


I like to call it, the “lay of the land”. Sending characters on a quest or trip to find a person or an object is affected by the geography they cross. Obstacles like mountains, volcanoes soon to erupt, raging rivers, oceans to cross provides drama and conflict in a novel or short story.


A character’s social class, where they live in the community and income might influence how they react to an event. The late 1800s social norms are far different than present day. Research is necessary to write accurate details.

What a wealthy family does for a living, where they live and for entertainment wouldn’t be the same as a poor family.


Fashions and fads change. Different countries have different fashions. A person wearing bell bottoms and platform shoes would stand out in a Regency romance novel. The fashion of the people has to be from the era which the novel is set.


People speak differently, depending on where they are from. Idioms and slang words might identify the nationality or at least the region to which the character has connection. Two different words in English can mean the same object if one is from North America and the other is from the United Kingdom.


When writing an historical novel or story, you have to make sure the inventions of the day are accurate. As examples, do not have a telephone or telegraph in a novel set before they were invented.


When a real event happens, research the actual weather that occurred to make the event more authentic.


You can develop and build your new world for your novel as detailed as you want. After all, it is your novel.

© Stephen Nelson 2020

How Much To Research

By Stephen Nelson

Paraphrasing Shakespeare, “To research or not to research or how much to research?” is the question and it’s up to the authour to decide the answer.

A person isn’t an expert in everything. Therefore, do research to add realism to a story or novel. It doesn’t matter what the genre.

A work in progress set in an historical period, a writer needs to know the language, fashion, transportation, occupations, society, technology and food from that time period.

When writing a novel, whether it’s science fiction or historical, try not to repeat the facts most people know. Mix in new facts which relate to the theme, subject or time period.

Michael Crichton read an article about extracting DNA from an insect in the amber and he wrote “Jurassic Park”.

Even if you don’t use all the information you have researched for the novel you are going to write, you might just have an idea for another novel or a short story buried in your research folder and files.

© Stephen Nelson 2020

Building a Novel

by Stephen Nelson

Some people who read novels might think, “I can do that.” I have always loved to write. I was asked at a retirement course, “What do you want to do when you retire?” My immediate reply was, “Write a novel.” Those in the class who didn’t know me, laughed, but the people who knew me well, smiled in approval. The novel(s) hasn’t/haven’t been completed, but the ideas are written down. I admire friends who are authours, published or unpublished (for now). I applaud them all.

I have been using a house as a symbol for the parts of novel. 


I consider the foundation as the research required before or during the writing process. I research as much as possible about a subject or I try to do that, before I begin writing. If something written will affect the plot, it needs research.


I put each character into a different room. The more characters in the novel means a bigger house. A character sketch for each character belongs in their rooms. The main characters have larger, more detailed rooms and the secondary and minor characters have smaller rooms to live in. If a secondary or minor character develops into a main character, they would move to a better room and that main character moves into a smaller room or a new room is added to accommodate the minor character which becomes a new main character. A character creating conflict can result in permanent or temporary expulsion from the house to live in the proverbial doghouse or move away. Characters that are killed off or die of natural causes leave the house. 


Novels are written with one or multiple points of view. The windows allow the reader to see or listen to a character describing what is happening in the plot. Authours usually write chapters from a character(s)’ point of view.

Everyone, no matter how perfect they consider themselves to be have character flaws. I like to use that as a cracked window. The larger the crack in the window or even if it is a broken window, the more severe is the character flaw. 


In the broad sense of the word, I think world building, whether it’s detailed or sparse can be represented by landscaping. The world as the characters know it needs explanation if the novel is set in an historical period, present, or in the future.


A flower or vegetable garden has many stages before a flower or vegetable is ready to be picked.

I use it to express what tense is used to write the novel.

A sprouting or flowering garden represents the present tense.

Neglected dead flowers and rotting or spoiled vegetables can represent the past tense.

The future tense is garden soil as the garden waits to be planted and the growth of plants and vegetables. 


The smoke coming out of the chimney is the authour’s creativity which includes the novel’s concept, research, writing, revising and editing and promotion of the finished product. 


The sidewalk to the house is the invitation to the reader to pick up the book, buy it and read it based on the book cover, title, author’s name, genre and blurb.


This analogy works for me. I hope it helps others.

© Stephen Nelson 2020

Blog Hopping: Carole Ann Moleti

Carole Ann Moleti

Welcome to author Carole Ann Moleti in this blog hopping post…

Name of publication, short story, etc. 

The Ultimate Test

Where did it appear and when?

It first appeared in the Mocha Memoirs Press Toil, Trouble and Temptation Anthology, and I was thrilled when editor April Grey included it in the Hell’s Heart Anthology.

Genre: Dark Urban Fantasy

Length: about 5000 wordsU

Any additional information you’d like to share? E.g., influences or experiences that shaped your writing this piece, other artists you admire, etc.

Life experiences are the major inspiration for my writing, and I always seem to be working on both fiction and nonfiction with similar themes at the same time. Thus, The Ultimate Test, is based on of real life events. Names and places have been changed to protect the innocent–and the guilty. I’ll leave it up to you to figure out what really happened and what didn’t. 

Author’s Bio:


Books One and Two in the Unfinished Business series, Carole’s Cape Cod paranormal romance novels, Breakwater Beach and The Widow’s Walk, and Storm Watch were published by Soulmate. Urban fantasies set in the world of Carole’s novels have been featured in Rayne Hall’s Haunted: Ten Tales of Ghosts, Seers: Ten Tales of Clairvoyance, Beltane: Ten Tales of Witchcraft, and Bites: Ten Tales of Vampires. She has two, ahem, work related pieces in April Grey’s Hell’s Kitties and Hell’s Heart anthologies.

I love to hear from readers on Twitter, Facebook, my blog or my website. You can also read reviews of my work on Goodreads.

Follow us around the web as we blog hop across various sites and share our experiences and work with readers of other author’s blogs:

Carole Ann Moleti: featuring April Grey

April Grey’s Blog

Amy Grech

Jake TS Wryte

Phillip T. Stephens