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	<title>Rakestraw Book Design</title>
	
	<link>http://rakestrawbookdesign.com</link>
	<description>Editorial Services &amp;  Book Design *  Book Covers  *  The Master Class  *  The Platform Radio Show</description>
	<lastBuildDate>Fri, 24 May 2013 19:22:33 +0000</lastBuildDate>
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		<title>Your Toolbox</title>
		<link>http://rakestrawbookdesign.com/your-toolbox/</link>
		<comments>http://rakestrawbookdesign.com/your-toolbox/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 24 May 2013 19:21:48 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Toni Rakestraw</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Editing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Writing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[writers toolbox]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[writing]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://rakestrawbookdesign.com/?p=2175</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[You&#8217;re a writer. What do you use? Words. Words are your most frequently used tool. Make friends with them. Caress them. Fondle them. Throw them against the wall. Whatever you do, use them. Get a dictionary. Make sure you&#8217;re using the right one. I recommend Merriam-Webster&#8217;s Collegiate Dictionary. Would you build a brick wall and mistakenly use one brick made of styrofoam? Of course not! So don&#8217;t do it with your writing. Make sure each word is solid and well placed. By the time I see a manuscript, this should be a no-brainer. Sure, mistakes happen occasionally, a word slips through revisions and past beta readers. But if you&#8217;re paying an editor to replace your malapropisms, you need to go back to square one and work on your writing skills. If you&#8217;re submitting your manuscripts to small presses full of these, work on your skills. If they&#8217;re paying their editors to replace your malapropisms, they&#8217;re wasting their editing dollars. You owe it to yourself as a writer to learn your craft. Repeat after me: Every story you write should be crafted better than the last. What did you learn from the last story you wrote? Did you eliminate your bad [...]]]></description>
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		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Cut the Clutter</title>
		<link>http://rakestrawbookdesign.com/clutter/</link>
		<comments>http://rakestrawbookdesign.com/clutter/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 22 May 2013 17:22:35 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Toni Rakestraw</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Writing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[condense]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[summarizing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[writing]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://rakestrawbookdesign.com/?p=2170</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Part of being a writer is knowing what to dramatize and what to leave out. Wait. Did I say to leave something out? Why, yes I did. I&#8217;ve touched on it before, but I see it time and again in the pages I edit. You don&#8217;t need to mention every detail, only the important ones. Do you consciously remember every detail of everything you do every day? Of course not! Not everything is memorable, nor should it be. In fact, even some things that are memorable can be glossed over in a story for the sake of brevity if it&#8217;s all pretty much the same. Perhaps one of your characters has started a new relationship and a week later, they&#8217;re still spending every moment together staring into each other&#8217;s eyes. Instead of spending pages detailing all that, it can all be summed up in a nice little sentence or two. For the next week, Joey and I were inseparable. We ate, slept, and breathed as one, separated only by the necessities of work. The story can then pick up where it left off with something important happening. This not only helps by condensing all those similar details, but it condenses [...]]]></description>
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		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Milestones</title>
		<link>http://rakestrawbookdesign.com/milestones/</link>
		<comments>http://rakestrawbookdesign.com/milestones/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 20 May 2013 18:40:26 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Toni Rakestraw</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Writing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[milestone scenes]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[story plotting]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[story structure]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://rakestrawbookdesign.com/?p=2166</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Does your story have milestone scenes or does it wander all over the place? Milestone scenes serve a specific function in a story and support the structure. These are the points in your story where new information  comes in and changes things up. Maybe the tension grows, or the stakes are higher or the direction takes and about face. You can think of a milestone as a plot twist if you like, though not every plot twist is a milestone. Think of the milestone scenes as the support poles that hold your story up. For each milestone scene, there are several scenes that lead up to it, and several more that lead away from it. If you have your milestone scenes planned, most of your story is laid out before you. So, just what are the milestone scenes? The opening scene The hook (in the first 20 pages or so) The inciting incident (which in some stories is also the first plot point) First plot point (approximately 20-25% into the story) First pinch point (approximately in the middle of part 2) Midpoint (a shift in the middle of the story) Second pinch point (in the middle of part 3) Second [...]]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Growth and Improvement</title>
		<link>http://rakestrawbookdesign.com/growth-and-improvement/</link>
		<comments>http://rakestrawbookdesign.com/growth-and-improvement/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 15 May 2013 17:58:15 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Toni Rakestraw</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Writing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[improving writing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[writing]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://rakestrawbookdesign.com/?p=2160</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Do you still grow and improve with each book you write? You should. Each book should improve your storytelling skills. Every time you stretch those plot muscles, they should get stronger. Every time you get edits back marking the same things over and over, you should learn and adapt so you don&#8217;t make those same mistakes in the next book. Why? Because that&#8217;s part of learning your craft. Athletes at professional levels still work out to stay at the peak of their game. Writers should too. This is common sense. You don&#8217;t lie back and rest on your laurels because you published a book. You push through and see where your weaknesses are and strengthen them. Push through the pain. Grow stronger. Why? Because if you want to really make a career for yourself as a writer, this is what you do. Look at Stephen King. Carrie was good, yes, but his later work was better. Why? Because he kept at it. He grew. I love to listen to his talks on writing because he&#8217;s not only entertaining, he gives good advice. He&#8217;s honest about what it takes. Now his character development is second nature. It just happens because he [...]]]></description>
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		</item>
		<item>
		<title>The Senses</title>
		<link>http://rakestrawbookdesign.com/the-senses/</link>
		<comments>http://rakestrawbookdesign.com/the-senses/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 13 May 2013 17:31:38 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Toni Rakestraw</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Writing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[senses]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[sight]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[smell]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[sound]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[taste]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[touch]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[writing with senses]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://rakestrawbookdesign.com/?p=2155</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[When writing your scenes, don&#8217;t forget to use all five senses. It&#8217;s so easy to just use the visual. She saw the wind whipping through the trees. Bill saw the car flip and land on its roof, spinning gradually to a stop against the hydrant. But what about the other senses? She saw the wind whipping through the trees, the leaves rustling madly. It tore at her clothing, pulling her skirt against her legs. She reluctantly took a step forward in response. The air smelled odd as the storm&#8217; intensity built. She tried to remember when last she&#8217;d smelled something like it, but the drama in front of her occupied her completely. &#8220;Mama!&#8221; she cried. &#8220;Where are you?&#8221; Now we&#8217;ve got sight, sound, touch, and smell involved. Not bad, and the storm feels a little more real. Bill saw the car flip and land on its roof, spinning gradually to a stop against the hydrant. The grating crash of the metal against the concrete still rang in his ears. He ran to the vehicle and pulled at the doors, one after the other. They wouldn&#8217;t open. He pounded on the driver&#8217;s window. The man was unconscious. Blood smeared his face. [...]]]></description>
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		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Devaluation of Copyrights</title>
		<link>http://rakestrawbookdesign.com/devaluation-of-copyrights/</link>
		<comments>http://rakestrawbookdesign.com/devaluation-of-copyrights/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 12 May 2013 17:50:55 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>John Rakestraw</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Copyright]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Creativity]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Hangouts On Air]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Social Media]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Tutorials]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[#booksales]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[#copyright]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[#devaluationofcopyrights]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[#ebooks]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[#foreignbooks]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[#independentpublishing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[#intellectualproperty]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[#Internet]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[#Opinion]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[#professionalwriting]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[#Publishing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[#resaleofebooks]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[#selfpromotion]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[#SelfPublishing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[#SupremeCourt]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[#usedbooks]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[#Writing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Amazon]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[authors]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[books]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Google+]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://rakestrawbookdesign.com/?p=2148</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I see the huge reason why self-publishing is trendy today… I have even done it myself! There is a huge digital land grab in the making… we have seen many governments and companies backing the idea of protecting copyrights and our security. It looks like what they truly want is control of our minds and thoughts, which can never really happen. But, they do have the possibility of controlling our intellectual properties. The old and vanishing road to book success has always had major flaws, there was the damn risk of the work being returned to the publisher or going out of print. Plus, the 1001 other damnable truths. In order to save the author’s life and have an archive of the greatest books for the 21st century, we must start a revival of the old way of literary success… where talented authors have copyrights to their intellectual property and a profitable living income. Join me and my merry band of wonderful minds as we look at our long term valuation of copyrights and the right to own our works! John and Toni Rakestraw are the owners of Rakestraw Book Design. Toni is the editor; she keeps all those words [...]]]></description>
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		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Setting the Scene</title>
		<link>http://rakestrawbookdesign.com/settings/</link>
		<comments>http://rakestrawbookdesign.com/settings/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 10 May 2013 15:03:32 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Toni Rakestraw</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Writing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[setting the scene]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[settings]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[writing a setting]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://rakestrawbookdesign.com/?p=2142</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Where your scene takes place is, in many ways, as important as the scene itself. It sets the mood, the tone. The environment your characters are in can contrast sharply with what&#8217;s going on or add to the emotion. Perhaps Penny&#8217;s boyfriend is breaking her heart at the carnival, contrasting with the gaiety all around her as happy people and bright lights make her feel more isolated in her pain. In another story, the dusty relics surrounding Justin in an antique store can make his discovery of an old photograph he recognizes all the more exciting as he feels like Indiana Jones. The setting can influence a lot more than location. It provides information to both you and eventually the reader. Setting can dictate things like politics, dialect, climate, and local flora and fauna. Houses can be luxurious, homey, cold, or derelict. While you don&#8217;t need to launch into a long dissertation describing the setting, a few well-placed details can inform the reader of the setting and add to the scene, making it come alive. If you&#8217;re writing historical fiction, setting becomes even more important. Making that time period realistic to the reader can be challenging. You want to be [...]]]></description>
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		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Show and Tell</title>
		<link>http://rakestrawbookdesign.com/show-and-tell/</link>
		<comments>http://rakestrawbookdesign.com/show-and-tell/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 08 May 2013 17:26:42 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Toni Rakestraw</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Writing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[show vs tell]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[writing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[writing tips]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://rakestrawbookdesign.com/?p=2127</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Remember in kindergarten when you got to bring an item for show and tell? You got to show your possession and tell your classmates all about it. Well, in writing, it&#8217;s a bit different. When we show something to the reader, we&#8217;re trusting them to fill in some of the blanks. We&#8217;re letting them use their imagination. We don&#8217;t have to say George walked across the room to the front door, reached for the door knob, turned it, pulled the door open, and peeked outside. We can say George opened the door slightly and peeked outside. Our brain fills in the rest. We only need to put in the important, interesting details. When we&#8217;re telling something (and it is necessary sometimes), we&#8217;re explaining. Use this only when needed. For instance, if the scene takes place in a shipyard, it may be necessary to explain what the main character is seeing to a certain extent to understand what&#8217;s going on. Most people today don&#8217;t understand that rivets were put into the steel while they were red hot and that young boys were there to catch them. How would you like your son doing that job today? Sure, times were different then, [...]]]></description>
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		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Timing</title>
		<link>http://rakestrawbookdesign.com/timing/</link>
		<comments>http://rakestrawbookdesign.com/timing/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 06 May 2013 18:02:20 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Toni Rakestraw</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[working with editors]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[scheduling your project]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://rakestrawbookdesign.com/?p=2122</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Timing is everything. When you&#8217;re planning the publication date of your book, make sure you leave enough time for revision, editing, proofing, cover design, and formatting. None of these things should be rushed. In fact, it&#8217;s better to have scheduled extra time and be ready ahead of your date than to find yourself crunched for time at your deadline and getting errors when you&#8217;re uploading your book. What a headache that can be! So prepare yourself by scheduling plenty of time for each of these steps. Beta readers need time to read and give feedback. You may decide to revise something after receiving their feedback. This takes time to do it right. You hand the manuscript off to an editor. They go through it carefully and find some issues you need to tackle. You do so and hand it back. The editor goes through it again and gives it back. You both agree it&#8217;s ready to be formatted. It goes through formatting and then gets proofed to catch any last errors that may have slipped by. It happens. Any errors that are found are corrected. You upload the book. Sometimes formatting errors arise that need to be corrected, so back [...]]]></description>
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		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Mark David Gerson Talks… Writers Block Unblocked &amp; Beyond Writers Block</title>
		<link>http://rakestrawbookdesign.com/mark-david-gerson-talks-writers-block-unblocked-beyond-writers-block/</link>
		<comments>http://rakestrawbookdesign.com/mark-david-gerson-talks-writers-block-unblocked-beyond-writers-block/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 05 May 2013 17:41:33 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>John Rakestraw</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Creativity]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Education]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Hangouts On Air]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Social Media]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Tutorials]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Video]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Writing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Author Mark David Gerson]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Creative Energy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Writers Block]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[writing]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://rakestrawbookdesign.com/?p=2110</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[When we block creativity… where does it go? As +R. Harlan Smith wrote&#8230; An interesting assortment of views on writing, writer&#8217;s block, the rules of writing, and dialog tags. We had a lively and fun conversation with writer, teacher and soon to be film director +Mark David Gerson. We touched on creativity, the muses, the energy blocks that stops the flow of writing and the consent to allow us to be that which we truly should be&#8230; CREATIVE! My band of wonderful minds had fantastic words to add to all of this&#8230; many thanks to Harlan, +Sergey Andrianov, +David Amerland and +Simon Grew. John and Toni Rakestraw are the owners of Rakestraw Book Design. Toni is the editor; she keeps all those words in line. John is the voice of the company. He can often be found hosting Google+ Hangouts on writing and issues writers face online. Archives for his shows can be found on YouTube.]]></description>
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