Author: Stephen Hise

Stephen Hise is the Evil Mastermind and founder of Indies Unlimited. Hise is an independent author and an avid supporter of the indie author movement. Learn more about Stephen at his website or his Amazon author page.

Name Droppers

I was talking the other day with E.L. James and Hugh Howey about what a bunch of name-droppers we writers are.

Okay, maybe that part didn’t happen, and I don’t mean name-dropper in the conventional sense. I mean that as writers, we have actually dropped certain names from literature.

When we choose our characters’ names, we use the opportunity to enhance the reader’s mental image of the character. Certain names just don’t seem to do that as well, so we drop them from the lexicon. They may not be totally gone, but to the extent they are used at all, they are given to minor characters. Continue reading “Name Droppers”

ScrollWerx

[Indies Unlimited is brought to you in part by the fine people at ScrollWerx.]

Hear ye! Hear ye!

The day of the side-bound print book is finally over. We can’t deny that Gutenberg had a good run, but didn’t we all know in our hearts that people would come back to scrolls?

Sure, it may seem a bit early, and a lot of people are talking about this digital print thing, but come on—how long could that last?

Authors, writers, novelists, scribes and scriveners, this is the time to return to scrolls. If you’re looking for a way to make your next book stand out from the crowd, THIS IS IT!

Why not get in on the ground floor of a sure wave? Whether you’re looking for the convenience of our portable pocket scrolls, or the majestic presence of our regal Opus model, we have a scroll to meet your needs. We can print for vertical or horizontal scrolling and our high-quality rods come in brass or ornate teak-wood. Choose from parchment, papyrus, sheepskin, or paper.

In today’s trying economy, why risk your best effort on an uncertain medium? Scrolls were here before books and will be here after books. Contact us today via pigeon or telegraph for a free consultation!

How to Write a Blog Post

[This is a satiric look at writing a blog article. Though the principles are generally true, if you’d like a more serious look at the subject, please see my tutorial How to Write a Blog Article.]

Lately, the minion brain trust has been grumbling and whining about coming up with topics for blog posts. I don’t really get that, as I am a never-ending fount of ideas. But that gave me an idea. Maybe a lot of people have trouble writing blog posts. As usual, I am here to help with a handy guide on the subject.*

First, get an idea. It can be anything, really. For example, maybe you want to write an article on how to write blog posts. Introduce the concept by stating the issue: Coming up with blog posts can be a challenge. Continue reading “How to Write a Blog Post”

Exploiting the Subcognitive Brain

In my last post, I discussed the concepts of unconscious or subcognitive influence on the decisions people make. The hard-wired brain appears to be involved in a much wider array of skills and decision-making than science had previously thought.

People can catch a ball without consciously doing the complex trigonometry required to calculate angle, arc, and rate of speed. When the person fails to make the catch, it is more likely a result of the conscious mind intruding on the process—i.e., fear of being hit by the ball. If we don’t get in our own way, our brains work all that out lightning-fast without any fancy book-learnin’. Continue reading “Exploiting the Subcognitive Brain”