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 [...]
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 [...]
Congratulations! You've finished the initial drafts of your manuscript. Maybe you even went through developmental edits or critique partners already. Now, you think you're ready for content editing or line editing. Not so fast. You want everything to be as clean as possible—you want to save yourself the time and money of making editors do extra [...]
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. Maybe you've been told before how to outline your novel or nonfiction book, but hopefully this blog will have some new information for you. In [...]
Ad copy and poetry are about emotion. What's the result? The old tricks work for both.
There's a problem with doing something well: Once is rarely enough. When you do something (like producing quality writing) well, two things can happen: Other people begin to expect more of you, and You begin to expect more of yourself For a writer, this can be great. A well-done piece deserves the admiration it receives, and [...]
Writing emotions is complicated. Do all your characters' emotions make sense? Tips for writing fiction and nonfiction.
Writing advice for making your fiction or nonfiction clear and concise. Editing advice to help you.
Use chance and luck to explore subtle nuances of a character's choices and fufill their destiny.