So, you wrote a book, whoo hoo! But now you’re staring at a your finished work wondering what in the world formatting even means. Don’t worry, friend. You’re not alone, and you don’t need to be a wizard to get your book looking polished and professional.

Here’s a super basic, step-by-step guide to help you format your book, even if you’ve never done it before.

How to Format Your Book

First, we're going to choose your trim size.  This is the size your book will be when it's printed. The most common for fiction is 6”x9”. If you’re using a platform like Amazon KDP, they’ll give you size options. Pick one before you begin formatting, because changing it later is a headache.

• Indent the first line of each paragraph (except for the first paragraph in each chapter).  To indent: Highlight your text, right-click > Paragraph > First Line Indent (0.3–0.5 inches is typical).  Make sure it's 0.50, and not 0.05...which is what I did one time and it looked terrible.  

• Do not add extra spaces between paragraphs unless you're switching scenes (then I like to do 3, but you can do between 1-3).  

• Use left alignment, not justified—it’s easier to read.

Remember to save your work correctly.  If you're making an eBook, save your file as a .docx or convert it to .epub using free tools like Calibre.  If you’re going to print your book (like through Amazon KDP), save it as a PDF to keep all your formatting intact.

So many years ago, I read this book about writing called (I actually cannot find the title of this book, if you know what the name is or who the author is, please let me know!--I will edit this when I find out what it is!!!).  And in this little book, I found one of the best pieces of writing advice I've ever seen on character development.  Many years later, I could not, for the life of me, remember the title of the book.  I was in a writing group and was trying to remember this piece of advice and what book it was from (all I could remember was the title of the exercise), and of course there was this know-it-all who assured me that what I was talking about was this thing she heard about in a writing class.  She knew for a fact that her explanation was right, something she repeated herself many times on. 

Later, I found where I had written it down and  as turns out, she was very wrong, and not only that, when I wrote back a month later to say "Omg, I found it, it's actually this!" and posted the advice, she was not happy and acted like what I was talking about was stupid.  

God, I hate narcissistic behavior.  Especially in writer's groups (which you see a lot of, so beware!).  

Well, anyways, here is the piece of advice, which I will never lose again (and I still have the book--even though I can't find it right now!!): 

Fire and Ice Characters

FIRE: 

Does the reader:

• Fear for the character?
• Identify with them?
• Root for them?
• Empathize with them?

ICE: 

Create a character with: 

• Intensity
• Conflict
• Emotions

Give them a goal they desperately have to reach. Then spend the rest of the story having them trying to achieve that goal. The more desperate, the more intense they are. The more obstacles, the more conflict. The more desire, the more emotional.

And that's it!  The book is filled with tons more amazing writing advice and you should totally buy it if you're a writer yourself, which you can do right here (I will post a link when I can find the book!!): 

In my current story, my character's goal is the most important thing she's ever wanted or needed.  She is beyond desperate.  And she works relentlessly to get to her goal.  Even though she actually has zero control over it, that doesn't stop her.  I really hope readers will be able to identify with her, with her connection to her loss.  And I really hope readers will root for her to get there, even though, again, it's out of her control.  And if the reader is an actual human being, I am sure they'll be able to empathize with her feelings of loss and grief and love.  Because stories are about being human, at their core, and even if you're writing fantasy or horror or science fiction, you should still be able to see the characters at their core for who they really are.  Well, if the writer conveyed that well enough to you, which I hope I have in my stories.  

So, what do you think?  Do your readers fear for your characters?  Identify with them?  Root for them?  Empathize with them?  If not, get the book and find out how to make that happen!!  

When I find the book, I will put a link to it below!  

Here is a great link about character creation that I absolutely adore: 

33 Ways to Write Stronger Characters — Well-Storied.

I am so in love with my tarot cards!  I've been a reader for over 30 years, getting my first deck at 12 years old from an auction in my neighborhood as a kid.

I will say, in that time, I've really changed the way I've read them.  When I started reading them in middle school, I thought they would predict my future, to tell me things in life would get better or how something amazing could happen.  It was exciting and fun!  But even though I used the "predictive" style to read the cards, my underlying way to use them was to see them for what they truly were: which is a tool of introspection and deep personal connection.  This means that every single card can be applied to every single person.  This why they work so well.   As I've aged, this has become the only way I use them, for both myself and my clients.  They aren't magical, they aren't supernatural, they are cards with archetypal images on them so you can see what you need to see in them in order to access your deep desires and feelings.  Answers always lie within you.  The tarot are just tools to help you see those answers.

But, if you want to gain story ideas from them, you have to work them a little different and pretend you're a little more like Miss Cleo (she was a great storyteller! LOL).

There are so many ways to generate random story ideas, but the tarot can give you so much more than just a online generator would (or other ways to get story ideas).  They give you pictures that you can draw from for your stories so you can details that you may haven't thought of.  Which make them the ultimate tool when creating the perfect story idea 💗

Here's how:

1. Pick a layout (see below).  You can just deal your cards and come up with a story idea, or pick a detailed layout to give you a very detailed idea. 
2. Grab a tarot deck (or use a free app on your phone or tablet if you don't own a deck yourself). 
3. Shuffle the deck any way you wish. 
4. Lay out your cards (either in a layout, or just deal as many cards as you like).
5. Read the cards either based upon the positions in the layout, or just read the cards and get a story idea from the reading.  You can use a book to read the cards, with the traditional meanings or you can just "read the card", which means to look at the card and let it tell you a story.  I like doing both. 
6. Record your reading (on paper, audio, or video).
7. That's it!

 

Liam nudged her with his elbow. “Cass, wake up.” It seemed it was their nightly routine anymore.

Cass groaned as she picked her head up off her desk. “I'm just resting my eyes,” though her groggy voice gave her away.

“Boring assignment again?” Liam asked as he plunked down a chocolate doughnut and a coffee in front of her.

She grabbed them and shoved the baked confection into her mouth. “They're not even home, Li. Why do I always get these assignments when people aren't home?”

“People take their phones with them. Being at home doesn't matter anymore, you know that.”

She sipped her coffee and closed her eyes as the caffeine hit her bloodstream. “Yes, but I always get the people who leave home and then leave their phones at home. Who even does that?”

Her coworker smiled as he bit into his own doughnut. “You. Me. Everyone that works here.”

Cass rolled her eyes. “Yes. Duh. We work here. We know how this all works. And those that can't leave their phones have old flip phones. But these people,” she gestured to her screen, “don't work here. They have no idea. So why are they all leaving their phones laying around? It's 'dangerous',” she put air quotes on the last word.

Liam sighed and put his feet up on the chair next to her and shrugged. “Maybe they're elderly?”

Cass sighed again. “Maybe. Still boring as fuck.” But just as she said it, some voices came into her earpiece. “Yes!”

“Oh, they're back?”

She nodded as she pulled her headset onto her head and started popping the words she heard into her computer system. Finally, she thought. She'd been sitting with radio silence for at least a couple hours, with the past four before that with only muffled sounds. She figured someone must have dropped their phone in the couch cushions or put it in a drawer somewhere. But now the voices were clear and she was hearing all about the movie they had just went to see.

Joker, she mouthed to Liam. First of all, the title of the movie. Then the main character. Then the supporting characters. Then she cross referenced different questions people were asking online about the movie or the stars, and put those in, too. Most of the time people talked about stupid things, so it was literally only one thing at a time she'd enter into the program, but movies were full of all sorts of stuff she could use. It was like hitting her job's jackpot.

Liam always watched her work, as his seat was two seats away from hers. He never seemed to get bored like Cass did, but then again, Cass was complex and full of energy, where Liam was content to just be. He didn't enjoy the job as much as she did, but at the same time, he also didn't hate it as much as she did when there was too much downtime. Cass loved the snooping aspect of it all. Just not the boring parts.

“The next time they open their phone, they're gonna be bombarded with Joker material,” she giggled.

Liam sighed and put his hands behind his head as he leaned back in his chair. “And the next time they'll ask the same questions they always do.”

“Yup,” she grinned and started speaking in a old man masculine voice. “These confangled contraptions are listening to our every move, Martha! Those wiretap memes are actually right!”

He looked wistfully at his screen. “But, also as usual, they will put their phone back down and forget all about it until the next time we plug some info in there for them. Doesn't this bother you, Cass? That we're doing something that's not so on the up and up?”

She sipped her coffee and smiled. “Like what do you even mean? We're not doing anything illegal. And most people realize their phones are listening to them, but they love them so much that they don't care. Today, with the way the world works, they can't live without them, so what are you and I supposed to do about it?”

He shrugged again. “I dunno, tell the world?”

“Oh shush. What will that even do? A) nobody would believe us and B) we'd get fined up the ass. We signed confidentiality agreements. We can't do that even if we wanted to.”

Liam looked down at his feet and mumbled.

“What was that?”

He quickly sat and shot over to her and yanked her chair close to him and moved close to her ear. “I am not stupid enough to say things in a place where we eavesdrop on people, but what if I told you my name isn't even Liam and the name I gave this company doesn't even exist? What if I told you I was an investigative reporter who's prepared to blow this entire thing wide open?”

The feeling of his hot breath in her ear gave her goosebumps. Sure, she had a crush on him, but not really. Not one she wanted to act on in real life. At least not yet. She reached her arms out and shoved his chair away. “I'd say you're fucking with me because you know I'm bored.”

For a moment, she thought she saw something flicker across Liam's eyes. Something that looked akin to regret. But it was only for a moment, because in the next moment, a huge grin took over his entire face. “You know me too well, Cassidy Hollis. I'm just trying to keep you from falling asleep and getting fired. Again.”

Yep. He was fucking with her. Thank goodness. “I wasn't fired last time. I was...let go for a day. But then they said if I didn't sleep on the job anymore I could come back. So technically I just got an unpaid day off,” she winked.

More voices came through her earpiece, so she threw her headset back on. Her job was wonderful. Liam was a perfect coworker, as he kept her in line. Eventually, she'll ask him out. But for now, he's exactly what she needs in her life, someone to keep her company in the dull moments.

“Be right back,” he whispered to her as he trotted off to the bathroom.

Liam checked all the stalls, even though he knew that he and Cass were alone on the night shift, and opened up his phone. He clicked the center arrows until he got to the contact screen. He scrolled to a number labeled “Jack” and clicked OK and hit the send button on his phone. It rang once and a man's voice picked up.

“So, did you get her?”

Liam's let out a sigh. “Nope, just as I thought. She loves it here. She enjoys her work too much. She doesn't see it as illegal.”

“She will be collateral damage, you know this, right?”

He traced his finger on the bolt around the swinging door to the stall, his mind drifting to the idea of a now abandoned future. “I know.”

“If you're prepared for that, I will run the story in tomorrow's edition. And Liam?”

“Yes?”

“You didn't lose anything. If she loves what she does, you two were not meant for each other. She's not who you wanted her to be.”

He was right. Cass was nothing like him. And if she were anyone else, he'd almost hate her. “I know. And yes, run the story. I am completely done here.”

“Okay man. Hey, don't forget I'm proud of you. One year in that place and you've gathered enough evidence to bring the entire operation to its knees. Good work, Li.”

This brought a smile to his face. His boss was right. He spent an entire year working in a place just to expose it's juicy innards. It was good work. And it will go down in history as the biggest story of pf the year. He peered out the door to take a peek at Cass who was happily typing away and laughing like a wild hyena, loving every minute of invading someone else's privacy. It turned his stomach to watch her be so gleeful about it all. “Thanks, Jack. Let's do this.”

“Okay man, get back here and we'll get to work.”

He flipped his phone shut, slipped out of the bathroom as quiet as he could, crept down the hall to grab his jacket, and walked out the front door into the night. His job there was done. Yes, he would come to regret not warning Cass of what was going to happen next, even though she was part of the problem. But it was small in comparison to what was coming to the large corporations who developed smartphones. Once the news broke, he was sure that every single person in the world would chuck theirs in the garbage. Or maybe they wouldn't. People were forgiving. Too forgiving of those who fed their addictions. So maybe nothing would happen at all. But Liam would at least be able to sleep at night knowing he was doing the right thing.

And now it was time to go see a man about a news story.

These are not all literary quotes, though some are.  They are from books or movies or just people that I really like.  Here they are: 

"To see the world, things dangerous to come to, to see behind walls, draw closer, to find each other, and to feel. That is the purpose of life."  
~Walter Mitty

"In a world in which demographic growth and progress in communications have put us in very close contact with our neighbors, the very survival of humanity depends on our working together. That is why more than ever, we must look upon humanity as one entity. The problems that we face go beyond individuals and nations. We can only resolve them through an effort of shared responsibility."
~Dalai Lama

"I hope I can be the autumn leaf, who looked at the sky and lived. And when it was time to leave, gracefully it knew life was a gift."
~Dodinsky

"If every trace of any single religion were wiped out and nothing were passed on, it would never be created exactly that way again. There might be some other nonsense in its place, but not that exact nonsense. If all of science were wiped out, it would still be true, and someone would find a way to figure it all out again."
~Penn Jillette 

“It’s like when you want to jump into a pool, and you’re worried that the water’s going to be cold. But you know moments after you jump in that it’ll be fine. It’s the fear of the shock that holds you back. Ultimately, the only thing you’re worried about is the transition from one state to another, and that can’t hurt you because it’s just a state change.”
~Harry, Black Mirror (Season 2, Episode 4)  
(Also, there is a song about exactly this: So Incredibly Loud by Glass Animals)

"With or without religion, good people can behave well, and bad people can do evil; but for good people to do evil - that takes religion."
~Steven Weinberg

"I'd like to share a revelation that I've had during my time here. It came to me when I tried to classify your species and I realized that you're not actually mammals. Every mammal on this planet instinctively develops a natural equilibrium with the surrounding environment but you humans do not. You move to an area, and you multiply and multiply until every natural resource is consumed and the only way you can survive is to spread to another area. There is another organism on this planet that follows the same pattern. Do you know what it is? A virus. Human beings are a disease, a cancer of this planet. You're a plague and we are the cure."
~Agent Smith from The Matrix

"The business of life is the acquisition of memories, because in the end, it's all you have."
~Carson, from Downton Abbey

My name is Olivia Hartwell and I want to welcome you to my site!  I'm a writer and I hope you're here because you like my stories.  If you haven't read any yet, then head on over to my Amazon page (which will be linked soon) and find something you want to check out.  I do offer some free stories online, one being my fan fiction for Harry Potter (it's a continuation of what happened after the last book in the series) which you can find here.  

I started writing in my late twenties, after meeting my husband Alex Hartwell, who is also a writer who you can find here.  He challenged me to write something, so I did, and then I never stopped.  You can find that story here (link not available yet) (and it only took me seventeen years to finish it!).  I did write a single story in the fourth grade, but I never wrote anything again until I was twenty-seven.  It's so weird.  But I have ADHD, so I guess that kind of makes sense (as well as taking seventeen years to finish a story).  

Other fun ailments I have are reoccurring migraines, anxiety, OCD, agoraphobia, and POTS.  I also am on the spectrum, so that makes for a fun combo.  But then again, how many writers aren't?  But mix all of that with my ADHD, and do you know how hard it is for me to finish a story?  Let me tell you, it's not easy in the least.  But sometimes I just have to buckle down and get it done.  

So, that's what this website is for.  To force me to finish my stories.  Because obviously I need something to kick my butt into gear.  Even if it's an arbitrary made-up deadline, it's still something that speaks to my brain and makes it work better.  That's an ADHD tip for you guys.  

Another thing is that I am a unplanner.  I don't usually plot out stories before writing them.  But I am learning that some of my stories need planning, so I am working on that.  We'll see what happens.  Usually writing outlines drains all my creativity and I can't write.  But now I am finding that I can't write without planning something.  Is this a a new me?  Or is this just this one story I am working on?  I don't know.  We'll see.  Let me tell you though, I'd be SO much faster and get more done if I could just outline.  So, I'm going to try to force myself to do it.  Fingers crossed that it works.  

I live with my family in the north with our five-hundred (give or take) cats and two dogs and two kids, and one husband.  Our house is too small at the moment, and we're looking to move somewhere with more land and a bigger house.  But we'll see what happens.  

I spend my days hanging out on our rural property with my awesome family and taking care of all those animals and people and cleaning our small little house and cooking food for myself and everyone else and working on my store and writing.  Let's just say I keep pretty busy, when I am not stuck in bed due to POTS or anxiety (although then I am creating art, reading, writing, or watching my favorite shows on streaming services).  It's always a party at the Hartwell house.  Even if sometimes it's a just a Netflix party from the comfort of our couch or king-sized bed (I honestly have no room in my bed, even with it being that big, as four of our dogs share it with us, plus an odd cat or two).  

I am also very interested in minimalism and slow living and meditation.  Though, while I am interested in minimalism, know that I am not a minimalist.  I am very much a maximalist who is on her way to tiny amounts of minimalism in certain spaces of my life and home, one itsy-bitsy step at a time.  I also try to do everything with mindfulness of Buddhist style living and living with intention.  Some of my favorite slow living creators to watch on Youtube are Darling Desi, The Cottage Fairy, and Malama Life.  Also, I am a nemophilist and feel more at home in the woods than anywhere else (as I have for my entire life).  And being hygge is just a natural extension of slow living and Buddhism.  

Reality Break: I installed two chimes right by my bedroom window and the wind is blowing so slightly tonight that the chimes are just barely making a sound.  It's quite beautiful.  

I really should be talking about my stories here.  But that will come later.  I have an entire site to fill up with that.  For now, I will leave you with the idea that you should stop, slow down, and just exist for a bit.  Stop rushing and just live in the moment.  Become aware of the world around you.  The way the air feels on your skin.  The way trees are rustling as the leaves are falling (it's autumn here now).  The sounds of the traffic or maybe the birds.  Just everything.  Take time to find yourself and who you are.  Fall in love with the life you have, even if everything sucks.  I think that's the key.  The key to everything.  To true happiness.  To peace.  To loving yourself.  To understanding the world.  To really living.  We place so much value on rushing around through life that we don't ever stop to experience it as it really is.  I think a wise man said it best: 

And my stories reflect this view.  At least I try to make them reflect this view.  It's my goal, anyways.  

That is all.  For now.