.

TIME TRAVEL WORKBOOK

FOR FICTION WRITERS

Time Travel Workbook for Fiction Writers, by Katherine Ploeger, MA, MFA, offers fiction writers a complete approach to developing time travel experiences for fiction stories of all types and media.  Create better stories by making the plots and details plausible and yet unpredictable, having fun in the process.  The workbook includes 12 major guidelines for developing time travel stories, hundreds of questions to focus on individual topics and issues, many possibilities and ideas for developing the combination to open the time doorway, and 19 exercises, many with worksheets for recording ideas and developing the story.

Specs: 129 pages in Times Roman 14 point, 8.5×11 page size, pdf download, $22.95.

Available from this website (on the “For Fiction Writers” page) and at Scribd.com.

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Brief Table of Contents

Part I – Developing the Time Travel Experience

Chapter 1 – Purposes and Issues of Using a Time Travel Experience

Chapter 2 – Characters Involved in the Time Travel Story

Chapter 3 – A Typical Story Structure for a Time Travel Story

Chapter 4 – Creating and Working with the Time Doorway

Chapter 5 – Working with the Destination Time Period

Chapter 6 – Creating and Working with the Combination

Chapter 7 – Return to the Original Time Period

Chapter 8 – Other Issues about Time Travel

Part II – Possibilities for the Combination and its Elements

Chapter 9 – Possibilities for Locations

Chapter 10 – Possibilities for Triggers

Chapter 11 – Possibilities for Events

Conclusion

References

About the Author

More from Quilliful Publications

This report guides writers to take actions concerning the craft of writing and self-understanding as a writer.

The ten tips are presented in four sections:

I. Learn about Writing

II. Practice, Practice, Practice

III. Observe Real Life and Learn from it

IV. Know Your Writing Ways

The report is available on this website under the Special Reports page.  The pdf download prints 19 pages at 8.5 x 11 inches.  It sells for $9.95.

You can also download the report from www.scribd.com.  If you would like to buy an e-reader version, go to www.smashwords.com for purchase.

Challenge yourself to take action to achieve your dreams.  You can become a better writer.

When was the last time you actually studied any grammar issue?  The fourth grade?  Maybe high school? Even if writers don’t realize they are making the errors, their readers often do, which impacts the perceived intelligence, credibility, and education level of the writer.  With publishers looking for any excuse to reject a manuscript, they find grammatical errors often provide that excuse.

To become a better writer, able to have more work published and sell more, you must be competent in the ways of grammar and usage, that is, Standard Written English.  To achieve this competence, you must study through your adult, experienced eyes — through the eyes of a writer.

Common Writing Errors Workbook presents more than 50 issues that cause writing problems for writers, both beginning and sophisticated.  In more than 150 full sized pages (8.5 x 11 inches), this workbook presents explanations and examples, Practice and Skill exercises to help readers:

• Learn more and better ways to express and communicate ideas to readers,
• Learn to make writing easier, more enjoyable, and faster as proficiency improves,
• Increase confidence in writing skills with more practice and more writing,
• Impress friends and relatives with new found knowledge,
• And improve writing skills to become a better writer.

The exercises often offer a playful slant, so learning can also be fun, but the end results of improved skills is the best result.

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In this workbook, you’ll find:

Chapter 2 About Editing

Part I – Connecting Ideas Well (chapters 3 – 6)

Part II – Be Specific About Expressions (chapters 7 – 9)

Part III – Be Consistent (chapters 10 – 13)

Part IV – Reduce Wordiness and Confusion (chapters 14 – 15)

Part V – Punctuate Properly (chapter 16)

Part VI – Skill Exercises (50 sets of skill exercises to practice each issue)

Answer Key to Exercises

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This workbook is an excellent study guide for writing groups, tackling and discussing one chapter per week, working through the exercises, clearing up mistakes and misunderstandings.

It also makes an excellent gift for those fledgling writers or those who complain (usually through a joke) that they need to improve their grammar skills.

© 2010 Katherine Ploeger, 157 pages, pdf download (8.5 x 11 inches), Price: $24.95.

Go to the WTNB Workbooks page to order this workbook.

So in this space, I’ll be posting announcements about new product releases and other stuff about Quilliful Publications, but I won’t be doing the full article each weak as hoped for and promised.

My blog, where all the free content and blog posts will be, is at http://katieploeger.com.  Check it out. Subscribe to the list, and you’ll get the blog posts, announcements, and other fun stuff I’m creating for writers.

Thank you for your patience as my Internet business evolves and flourishes (one only hopes).

Ta ta for now

Katie Ploeger

The following formats are now available (double click on the link):

* Trade paperback on this website.

* Pdf download on this website.

Bonus for website purchase: If you purchase directly from this website, I’ll throw in for free my latest workbook Common Writing Errors Workbook, more than 160 pages of detailed explanations, examples, and skill exercises on each point covered (50 of them).   This workbook is based on Lesson 11 from Write That Nonfiction Book: The Whole Process.

* E-Reader formats at Smashwords.  Check out my book page on Smashwords.  And check out my profile on Smashwords.

* It’s also available at the Kindle Store, though I can’t guarantee how the book will actually look.  Search under “ploeger, write that” to get to the book page.

I think I’ve got all of the possible formats covered at this point except the iPad, which I’m looking into.

Ta ta for now

Katie Ploeger

In this next post, I discuss the results of writing, those end products we all aim to write and publish.

THE RESULTS OF WRITING

19. I love that I can aim at creating and writing a wonderful array of end products, usually books, in my case, but also blog posts, articles, courses and other instructional materials, puzzles, and a bunch of other genres.  The types of writing I can do for my readers range from the simple and short to the complex and long, all of them interesting and fun to do.

20. I love that these end products can help people solve problems and make their lives better.

In my case, I help writers become better writers and fulfill their dreams of publishing their work so they can help others with their problem.  I achieve this love with my blog posts, my freebie articles and products on my website (http://quillifulpublications.com), and my writing coaching services (Ploeger’s Services).

21. I love that as a published writer with a good following, I will be able to speak at conferences about my favorites topic – writing.  And the topic expands with every year, as my experience expands my knowledge base.  And I love to interact with conference attendees, enthusiastic writers looking to have a question answered or a fear quelled.

These conferences also enable me to travel, meet new people, see new places, and get into new situations.  That’s life.

22. Because my purpose in this lifetime is to teach – in all its forms – I love writing nonfiction because I can teach my readers all sorts of stuff.  And I thoroughly enjoy (and am good at) writing instructional materials, so that talent compliments that aspect of writing nonfiction.

CONCLUSION

I love being a writer so much that I would do it for free and have been doing so for years.  And I’m still writing.  That’s the sign of a true calling.

If you want to read my step-by-step process for writing nonfiction books, check out http://quillifulpublications.com for details about my latest book Write that Nonfiction Book: The Whole Process (2010).  I’m also writing workbooks associated with the book, expanding on a few topics that needed more explanations, examples, and exercises and worksheets.  These are also described on the website.

What do you think of the Results of Nonfiction Writing?  What about the whole series?  Leave a comment, please.

This third post in the series concerns the lifestyle of an entrepreneur, working out of the home office, alone with the computer and filing cabinet.  These comments are more general in nature, relevant to any small business person, and not specific to being a writer, though a few writer-comments have snuck in.

LIFESTYLE AS AN ENTREPRENEUR

15. I love that I am my own boss, I make my own schedule, and I decide the tasks I will accomplish each day or week.  I have a well-defined and tested planning system I’ve developed over the years that works well for me, so I can accomplish my goals.

This independence also means that I sometimes have to scramble for some income and may wander about aimlessly at times wondering which project to tackle next.  But I always get back to my purpose and path and begin writing again.  I rarely suffer writer’s block.

16. I love that I can make doctor and dentist appointments whenever I want; I have no one demanding a justification of the time lost.  And I don’t have to schedule the appointments around existing meetings or my “lunch hour.”

17. And speaking of time off, I can take lunch whenever I want, eat my lunch watching a rerun of Hogan’s Heroes or one of those reality shows on BBC America.  And I can take a nap if I feel like it, to rejuvenate my brain cells.

I can start my day whenever I want (it’s usually around 8:30 a.m.), and I can go as long as I want to, as long as the energy lasts (that’s around 6 p.m.).  I can work on weekends (I usually do); and of course, a ‘holiday’ is just another workday for me, unless I decide to take that day off.

This item brings up a few “Reasons That I Hate Being a Writer,” which I’ll post after the lasts in the “Love” series; it’s the final touch to the topic, a way to round out the whole illusion of being a writer.

18. And one last point about working at home and not in a corporate office or other business environment (which used to plague my dreams as nightmares), is that I don’t have to watch over my shoulder when I take a break with a few computer games, or make a personal phone call, or wander in late to the desk because I had a rough night.  My time is my own, so I spend more time working than I ever would at an office, but that’ s my choice as a freelance writer.

If you want to read my step-by-step process for writing nonfiction books, check out http://quillifulpublications.com for details about my latest book Write that Nonfiction Book: The Whole Process (2010).  I’m also writing workbooks associated with the book, expanding on a few topics that needed more explanations, examples, and exercises and worksheets.  These are also described on the website.

Which aspects of the entrepreneurial life do you love or fantasize about if you’re still working at a “real job”?  Leave your comment below.

As an aside to my 4 posts titled “22 Reasons I Love to Write Nonfiction,” which kind of veered off to also include a discussion about being a freelance writer, I present this post as a balance to the other posts.  I write this tongue-in-cheek but with some serious points made, too.

Here are the 9 reasons I dislike being a freelance writer:

1. No steady paycheck.  If I want money coming, I have to take action to produce it.  In the beginning months of building a business, this situation creates some tense moments, but eventually, the business can produce an income stream (or several) that will pay the bills and allow for some large purchases, like furniture.

2. No paid time off. That means, no paid vacation days, no paid sick leave, no paid personal time off or “mental health” days.  It means that while everyone else is enjoying a paid holiday, I’m at my desk working.  “Holidays” are just workdays for me.

3. No group medical insurance – or dental or vision or other nice ‘benefits’ offered by larger companies.  I have to pay my own, which is expensive.

4. No water-cooler activities, no group birthday parties, no fellowship with fellow employees.  Human contact is important – in the flesh, face-to-face stuff.  Freelancing means sitting at the computer doing the work, talking on the phone, emailing, whatever, but little human contact unless you initiate it.  That’s one of the reasons networking is so helpful for freelancers.  It’s a scheduled meeting to make that contact.

5. No sliding or messing around while still getting paid.  In most companies, productivity isn’t 100% all the time.  Well, it isn’t for freelancers either, but since freelancers are working for themselves, they can be more productive, or they see their income drop as a direct result of slacking.  In a company setting, employees can screw around, surf the net or play computer games, chat with other employees at the water cooler or coffee machine or hallway.  And they still get their paychecks.  Of course, if this misbehavior is too obvious, and the contributions to the company are too few, then the paychecks stop, but that takes a bit of messing around to have that happen, at least in my experience.

6. No free coffee, tea, hot chocolate, birthday cakes (I seem to be obsessed with birthday cakes this morning, and they don’t even taste good anymore), and other free-food situations.  No holiday parties with lavish spreads or more fellowship with friends.  If I want that stuff, I have to provide it myself.

7. No company contributions to a retirement fund.  So, for me, I’ll be working until I die, unless I create my own retirement fund.  And I make 100% of the contributions.  So no free money from that source either.

8. No office supplies available.  I have to buy my own pens, staples, file folders, etc.  And that can get expensive, especially paper and cartridges for the printer, since I print out a lot of stuff.  And I can’t sneak any of the company-paid supplies home because they are home.

9. No “being taken care of” by the company or corporation.  The key advantage of working for someone else, besides all the freebies and benefits already discussed, is that the employees are taken care of by the company.  Well, until they get laid off or fired or something else happens.  Then the stranded employee is lost. Who’s going to take care of him now?  (but that’s another rant/post)

Granted, having these items in life would make life easier, less financially stressful, but then I’d have to put up with all the crap of working for someone else.  I worked corporate for ten years and nearly lost my creative spirit.  Luckily, I got out in time.

What do you think about the disadvantages of being a freelance writer?  How have you overcome these disadvantages to make life better?  Please leave a comment below.

In the last post, the first in this brief series, I discussed my love of the writing process.  In today’s post, I’m going to discuss another aspect of my love of writing nonfiction: the lifestyle of a writer.

These loves relate to those writing in the evenings, on holidays and vacations, and other spare moments available, as well as to full time writer earning a living at it.

The next post will discuss the entrepreneurial life, of working at home full time but not specifically as a writer.  I had to divide the two to keep the length of each down to a reasonable size.

THE LIFESTYLE OF A (FREELANCE) WRITER

7. I love that I can write about any topic I choose, that I can juggle several topics at once, and that I can shift focuses as my mood changes.   This freedom to explore and write about topics of my interest keeps my mind alive and young, even as my body ages.

I love that I can write about anything that fascinates me. Writing from my passions has been one of my true joys of being a writer.  For many years, I wrote travel articles, traveling the world with a backpack and rail pass.  Then I grew to become good enough as a writer to actually write about writing, which has been my primary focus ever since.  And it is still my passion.

8. I love that being a writer involves diversity of topics, tasks, projects, and goals, all at the whim and will of the writer.

If you ask any professional writer about their current project, they’ll have several projects going at once, in different genres and topics.  I am often asked by civilians who haven’t seen me for a while, “How’s that book going?”

And I stare at them, trying to remember the project I was working on at the time, then I give up and ask, “Which book?  I work on several at a time.”

That always amazes them, being civilians and not writers.

The vast diversity of topics possible to write about always amazes me.  And as I get older and learn more, I realize how much more I have to learn about any given topic.  That’s lifelong learning at its best.

9. Being a writer means avoiding mind-numbing routines and boredom usually associated with lower level “real job” jobs, often demanded by managers and bosses.

At any moment, I can choose to switch topics, or projects, or writing tasks.  I can write, or do research, or do whatever I need to do at the moment.  Boredom is easily tamed.  A writer’s life means that the word “routine” is not used much, unless the writer chooses that routine.  Some routines are cool, by the way.

I remember my early days of working; I worked as an Accounts Payable clerk in a big corporation.  I did bank reconciliations and other stuff like that.  The routine was brain deadening.  All my creativity snuck off to play with someone else.  That’s the kind of routine I am talking about, the kind I avoid.  Thus, I’m a freelance writer, and the routines I accept in my life are those I put there because I enjoy them, for the most part.

Of course, being a small business person, some routines can’t be avoided, but luckily because I’m working for myself, most of the routines are enjoyable and usually done once a month.

10. I love working with other writers, who are, for the most part, intelligent, reflective, creative, curious, thoughtful people.  I thrive on being around such people because they see life as an exciting adventure rather than a boring 9-to-5 existence.  And I get to work with writers as colleagues and friends, as well as clients with my writing coaching business (Ploeger’s Services).

11. I love that the skills I’ve learned as a writer can serve me well if ever I need (sink to the level of needing) a “real job” as some of my family still call it.  These writing skills are not just about grammar; they are about thinking methods, having an inquiring mind, a curious mind, about a diversity of topics.

12. I love that I can do my writing anywhere.  I don’t even need electricity; I can use pen and paper, especially when I need to do some deep thinking about a topic.  This advantage means that I can sit in a doctor’s waiting room and just think, record my thoughts in my ever-present notebook, and use the notes later.

It also means that I can live anywhere in the world that appeals to me, which again caters to my wanderlust and love of international travel.  For example, one day I hope to live in Southern England.

Now, in reality, I love writing on my Mac and being able to connect to the Internet if a question pops into my mind while writing, so they are on my list of requirements as a writer, if I want to write at a comfortable state of existence.  But I could sit on the deck of a cruise ship, pen and pad in hand, and write.  I can write anywhere.  I do need quiet, but that’s another issue, a personal one.

13. Writing (the lone writer sitting at the home office plunking at the keyboard of the laptop) is a solitary adventure, which satisfies one half of my Gemini nature, that of being a loner.  Of course, my teaching in classrooms and at conferences satisfies the other half, that of being gregarious and with people.

I do have to admit that I’m not that good as a hermit/lone writer.  I find myself leaving the home office a few times a week to go to the post office or grocery store, just to have someone to talk to, if only for a few moments. Phone calls, though wonderful, don’t quite satisfy that need for human company.

14. I have to admit that I get tickled by people’s reactions when I tell them that I’m a writer: their eyes open a bit wider — in awe, in astonishment, or in pity, I’m not sure.  But there is a true status to being a writer, especially when you meet your readers, which has happened at the oddest times in my life (that’s another post).

The status is as good as being a university professor, which I was and had for many years.  So if I were into status and pedestal-standing, which I’m not, that would be another reason for loving to be a writer.  It’s important to some writers.

If you want to read my step-by-step process for writing nonfiction books, check out http://quillifulpublications.com for details about my latest book Write that Nonfiction Book: The Whole Process (2010).  I’m also writing workbooks associated with the book, expanding on a few topics that needed more explanations, examples, and exercises and worksheets.  These are also described on the website.

What do you think of these reasons?  What reasons do you have for loving the freelance life, or of wanting it?  Leave a comment, please.

I love to write nonfiction, especially about writing, and travel, and word games, and, oh heck, I’ve got a lot of interests.  I’m a writer, after all.  I love to write fiction as well (usually in the form of screenplays), but this post is about writing nonfiction.

I am going to break this issue up into a few parts, each part focusing on one major aspect of writing nonfiction.  I’m doing this because if I put them all together, the post would be way too long for any reader to really digest all of the items in one reading.  So I’m breaking it up into parts; the first part concerns the writing process itself.

THE PROCESS OF WRITING

1. I love that a process exists – for the most part, sequential – that I can follow to accomplish my goal for any project, no matter the topic or length anticipated.  If I follow the process, one step or stage at a time, I can (but not always) avoid becoming overwhelmed by the enormity of the project.  These days, I get excited when I tackle a new book idea, but in the beginning of my career, the whole prospect was terrifying.

I was talking to my sister the other evening about a “small e-book” she planned to write about a neglected topic for screenwriters.  She read off her tentative, preliminary outline and asked what I thought.

I said, “Sue, that’s a book.”

Gasp of air.  “What?  No, it’s going to be 15 or 20 page e-book.”  This, from a talented screenwriter.

I replied, “It can be, if you want to do a surface job, but you’ve got a lot to say, you’ve done a lot of research, and have some important insights.  I’m thinking it’s at least 100 pages, probably more like 150.”

Long, silent pause on the other end of the line.  “Okay.”  Now, that’s overwhelm.

So I offered my writing coaching services — to go over her outline when she had it ready — and described the beginning steps of the writing process.  At one point, I laughed.

“Sue, I’m just summarizing the contents of my book.”

But that’s okay, I do it a lot.

2. And yet I love that this process is recursive; that is, you can find new ideas as you’re revising.  Of course, this is also a frustrating aspect, but we live with it.

Sometimes those ideas create major changes, so we have to return to the outline and tweak it, but again, that’s part of the writing process.

Knowing the process allows you to make decisions about these new, sometimes unwanted, realizations that changes need to be made.  Are you willing to completely restructure and reorganize the book when you thought you were nearly done, just because the new structure would be better for the reader?  That’s your decision.  I had to do that once, so I know the quandary that situation represents.  I changed the structure because I always make the writing best for the reader.

3. I love the moment-by-moment tasks involved in that writing process.  I love the mundane moments of simply writing.  And I love those moments of pure happiness and joy – to the point of giggling with delight – when it all comes together or an idea comes that solves a huge problem I’ve struggled with.

Of course, some moments are a bit frustrating, as when I confront my pile of notes, papers, and printouts, but I can’t figure out how to put it all together into the book (or whatever) that I envision.  But those moments pass, and I’m back to the joy of writing.

4. I love that writing is like assembling a huge jigsaw puzzle, fitting pieces of experience in with pieces of research; and I really love the moment of finding that odd mention on an unrelated television program or a podcast that prompts a whole cascade of ideas about the project.

And with most jigsaw puzzles, I can envision the final picture of the project, sometimes even the cover design and interior illustrations, so I can put the pieces together to complete the puzzle, the project.

5. I love that research is often part of the writing process, if only to find pithy quotes to use.  With research, I’m always learning more facts, theories, explanations, and other stuff, which thrills me.

My 80+ year old mother told me recently that if she doesn’t learn something new each day, she feels like she’s going stale.  It’s no wonder I believe in and practice lifelong learning activities, and that I used to be a university professor.  I love to learn, to experience new situations, locations, people, problems, (which are also the reasons for my love of international travel).

6. As a reformed perfectionist (at least, I’m trying), I love that no writing is ever perfect, just due.  And that I can revise as many times as I want to until I am satisfied with the product, whether a blog post or a 1000 page manuscript (both of which I’ve done).  Of course, you can revise too much, making the manuscript worse, or you can spend all your time revising and never get the product out to the world, which is its ultimate aim.  But the fact that do-overs are allowed, even encouraged, allows me to relax and just enjoy the writing process.

If you want to read my step-by-step process for writing nonfiction books, check out http://quillifulpublications.com for details about my latest book Write that Nonfiction Book: The Whole Process (2010).  I’m also writing workbooks associated with the book, expanding on a few topics that needed more explanations, examples, and exercises and worksheets.  These are also described on the website.

What do you think about these loves of mine?  What do you love about the writing process?  Are there specific moments that you look forward to?  Or hope never to experience again.  Leave a comment and tell the world.