The last-week countdown to Father's Day begins today! And if you have a dad who loves (or even just "likes") reading, then I have a book list for you. Dad doesn't want another tie or photo frame this year; he wants a book! At least, I think he might. And since I listen to a [...]
For more than 20 years, the Accelerated Reader (AR) program has been helping kids read children's books they enjoy, at their own pace. Readers of all levels can choose an AR book, read their way through it, then take a computerized quiz to assess their understanding and sometimes earn class credit. Educators across the US [...]
MS Keyboard Shortcuts Are Gold If you use MS Word on a regular basis to write and edit, you probably already know about the most common keyboard shortcuts. (If you're not familiar with the long list of Windows keyboard shortcuts out there, check them out now!) In particular, there are several wonderful, useful keyboard shortcuts [...]
Sometimes, you just want to watch a movie for the fun of it. Sometimes, you want to watch a movie and learn from it. Specifically, if you want to spend some time enhancing your own creative writing skills by watching movies, I think there are a few ways that can be done. Now of course, movies aren't [...]
There's a mental shift for writers when they start calling themselves an author of a book. Many writers seem to find some magic in the term, some kind of promise in the word. If you are among the group of authors with only one published book, there's good news. That's all it takes to call [...]
The SRD Editor List of Favorite Books Read in 2022 As an avid reader, I've been on Goodreads for years. I love being able to track what books I read and share with others the ones I feel most strongly about. In 2022, I began listening to audiobooks that I borrow from my local library [...]
Semicolons: Who Needs 'Em? Oh! Semicolons. I, like many other editors, love them. But if you're a writer who finds the semicolon *the worst, * you have options available to you. One of those options is that you don't have to use any semicolons at all if you don't want to. I won't pressure you. But if [...]
Everyone comes to writing with a different background. Different instructors. Different books we've read over the years that influence us. Different advice we've been given and rules we've been told. But when it comes to writing for yourself as a self-published author or prepping a manuscript for traditional publication, you may need to go against [...]
In my years as a developmental editor, ghostwriter, and book reviewer, I've come across a few tricks to breaking down a good story, and a few tips for assembling one. In the discussion about different types of writers -- "planners" vs. "pantsers" -- I tend to come down closer on the side of "planner." I [...]
Writing advice for making your fiction or nonfiction clear and concise. Editing advice to help you.