Before I begin, let it be noted that I am by no means an expert in building websites, not even in WordPress. Since beginning this website in February, I am entirely self-taught. But I’ve had a lot of fun building and maintaining this site. That being said, I feel that …
I’m working on a list of my top self-editing tips to send to people who sign up for my email list. So those of you who are on the list already will have that coming to you in the future! But I’ve decided to go ahead and expand on some …
Since I went Medieval in my post two weeks ago, I’m now going to jump way forward in time and talk about author websites. If you’re an author and you want people to read and buy your books, you need a website. Having an author website is actually one of …
I’ve alluded in previous posts to the idea that editors don’t expect authors to accept all of their suggestions, particularly in my posts on the editing process. I talked about the logistics of accepting or rejecting changes in Microsoft Word Track Changes. I’ve talked about how writing doesn’t really have …
The time has come to make a bit of a change in my blog posting. While I really enjoy crafting my long posts about various aspects of writing, I worry that I will burn myself out if I continue at this same weekly pace. So I’m going to try a …
Writing may be a solitary endeavor, but it is definitely not a solitary art. That probably doesn’t make sense. Let me explain. Writing is between you and the paper (or screen). Unless you’re writing with a co-author, you will be the one putting together the words. But the art of …
I’ve been thinking a lot about satisfying endings lately. In the last few weeks, I read two recent YA books. Both post-apocalyptic, both science fiction, both basically about superheroes. Both by female authors, if that matters. Upon finishing The Interrogation of Ashala Wolf by Ambelin Kwaymullina, I thought, “This is one of …
Writing and editing advice are full of pithy phrases like Show Don’t Tell, Said Bookisms, or White Room Dialogue. Unfortunately, I have yet to come across a popular saying to describe the best piece of writing advice I’ve ever heard: Every sentence should serve multiple purposes. Frankly, you could probably …
“Show, don’t tell” is a phrase that gets flung around a lot in writing and editing circles. I’ve seen people complain about it and even come to hate the phrase. Perhaps in part because it is used a lot. But I think a fair portion of the dislike of the …
I wrote a series of articles on the editing process for a publisher I’ve worked for, Crystal Publishing, and they were kind enough to let me re-post the articles here on my blog. Last time, we talked about the basics of the editing process. Today we’ll delve into my favorite …
