TWIC: formatting and publishing, carving tool, ninjas, atmosphere, scientific writing, editing,

A tutorial on formatting and publishing your e-book. THe tutorial uses screenshots and open and free software.

Resources:
Word Processor (MS Word, Open Office, Libre Office, etc...)
Google Docs
Calibre E-Book ManagerAn Epub Validator (There are many of these out there, but this one is free and was recommended by my original distributor)
Your Novel.

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My friend the Big Ho also offers some suggestions on e-publishing.
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Plotting, planning and cooking up, 24 ways. I tend to do something like the 'tentpole moments'

TENTPOLE MOMENTS
A story in your head may require certain keystone events to be part of the plot. “Betty-Sue must get sucked into the time portal outside Schenectady, because that’s why her ex-boyfriend Booboo begins to build a time machine in earnest which will accidentally unravel space-and-time.” You might have five, maybe ten of these. Write them down. These are the elements that, were they not included, the plot would fall down (like a tent without its poles). The narrative space between the tentpoles is uncharted territory.
BEGINNING, MIDDLE, END
Write three paragraphs, each detailing the rough three acts found in every story: the inciting incident and outcome of the beginning (Act I), the escalation and conflict in the middle (Act II), the climactic culmination of events and the ease-down denoument of the end (Act III). You can, if you want, choose the elemental changes-in-state you might find at the end of each act, too — the pivot point on which the story shifts. This document probably isn’t more than a page’s worth of wordsmithy. Simple and elegant.
A SERIES OF SEQUENCES
The saying goes that an average screenplay usually offers up eight or nine sequences (a sequence being a series of scenes that add together to form common narrative purpose, like, say, the Attack On The Death Star sequence from Star Wars or the Kevin James Makes Love To All The Animals In Order To Make The Audience Feel Shame sequence from Paul Blart, Zoo Abortion). So, chart the sequences that will go into your screenplay. If you’re writing prose, I don’t know how many sequences a novel should have — more than a film, probably (or alternately, each sequence is granted a greater conglomeration of scenes).

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Need a job? Have some unsavory skills that are somehow spectacular but discrete? Japan needs ninjas!
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Atmospheric Background Music. Many options: Vampire's Castle, Lonesome West, Weirder Things? They got it.
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I think I need a curved carving tool like this one.

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A few from Quora:
Scientific writing is hard, here are some guidelines. James Emmerson had great suggestions and explanations.
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Marketing or finding an audience for a storytelling blog.
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A confused question about editing and drafts, I think.
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Joe Rogan. I think he was on New Radio. Nowadays, I mostly know him as a moon-landing denier. Some people love his podcast. I am trying it out, listening to his interview with Dr Jordan Peterson.The same interview is on Youtube. Peterson is a U of T professor of psychology who also runs an online writing program where students write about their past, present and future. I haven't dug into any of this yet, but it looks interesting.
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Before you outline. Huh?

Home Town Author and other writing news

A local newspaper interviewed Midland, Ontario author, Wade Shatford.

Shatford writes in the genre of “dark fantasy,” in which grim and adult themes are incorporated into the traditionally child-oriented school of fantasy.
“I read fantasy a lot as a kid,” he said. “Dark fantasy is a platform for people who have grown up with this genre and take a literary twist on it.”
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Self-publishing through Amazon has become popular for aspiring writers. Shatford said it is a simple process of uploading a manuscript to the site.
“There’s a million books up there and it’s up to you to generate interest,” he said. “And some people have really hit home runs with it.”
Shatford said he hopes his books will be among the home runs. He recently sold a copy in England.
“Go, Internet, go,” he said. “With the press of a button, worldwide exposure.

His Amazon page.  From the Goodreads page for one of his books:

I set out to write `Heart of Darkness' with a dragon and an anti-hero set on revenge. Metaphorically, the book is about weapon proliferation in both society and internationally.

I have downloaded the Amazon sample for the book and will update this post after I have read it.
Added Later: I finished the sample. I went in expecting poor formatting or spelling but the book feels professionally edited and I have no complaints.  The story, too, was clear and I read the sample quickly. In the part I read - no spoilers because it was only the sample - the man who eventually became a monstrous king started as a boy who went through terrible privations and hardship, losing more and more of his family and learning to kill before he was ten.  It felt a lot like Con Iggulden's series about the rise of Ghengis Khan, although the hardships that worthy faced were somewhat based in reality.
It was all well-done but not my type.  If you like Iggulden's books for more than the historical aspects, this book might be for you.  I wish I could get over the sub-genre or whatever my problem is because I think it is well-written, again, just not my type.
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It is time to apply for the M Literacy residencies in China and India in 2017 if you are interested.
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Apparently, People of Colour destroy Science Fiction - new kids with their hip lingo; it seem this is positive.
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Darwin Day was a few days ago.  Scientific American has a book out describing the minds of histories great personalities and describes Darwin as a worrier.  On this blog, I have looked at the uncertain link between mental illness and creativity and also at studies which show the early loss of a parent is a common factor among histories geniuses. An excerpt from the book:

Studies have shown that the loss of a parent in early childhood can significantly increase the risk of both depression and anxiety later in life. And Darwin was profoundly affected by the way his mother died—quickly and inexplicably—according to Janet Browne, author of a highly acclaimed two-volume biography of Darwin. Darwin worried incessantly that he or his children had inherited a weak constitution from his mother’s side of the family, and he knew from her experience that sickness could quickly turn deadly.