March, 2018 - The Editor's Blog
Gerunds look like verbs but act like nouns. Explore the variety of uses for gerunds.| The Editor's Blog
Readers care about story details and they care about characters. Both last night and this afternoon I had conversations with readers upset about the way authors had portrayed a character. The first conversation was with a grocery clerk, a stranger to me, and the second was with a family member. Both mentioned that a character […] The post Readers Notice and They Care first appeared on The Editor's Blog.| The Editor's Blog
This is the first article in a series exploring the elements of story structure. Part 1 looks beyond the topics of three-act and mythic structure to a review of the story goal (concern of the protagonist), the story question (concern of the reader), and the protagonist's inner need. The post Story Goal, Story Question, and the Protagonist’s Inner Need (Story Structure Part 1) first appeared on The Editor's Blog.| The Editor's Blog
Celebrating because my web host finally got the blog back up and running! My apologies to those who couldn’t access the blog for the past few days. Apparently there was trouble migrating the domain to a new server, but there should be no more problems with access now. Enjoy the blog! The post The Blog is Back first appeared on The Editor's Blog.| The Editor's Blog
You’ll find a lot of articles at this blog that encourage the new writer. Writers come to writing for many reasons, and not all will have a background in writing, fiction, or literature. And while I will forever encourage writers to begin writing at any time and for whatever reason, I do want to further […] The post Get Skilled first appeared on The Editor's Blog.| The Editor's Blog
I challenge you--writer or editor--to strengthen one of your writing skills this next year. The post The Calendar Year Changes Again first appeared on The Editor's Blog.| The Editor's Blog
English is a forgiving and accommodating language. And that means that writers have a whole lot of leeway when it comes to deciding how to word phrases and structure sentences. A sentence can consist of a single independent clause (simple sentence), multiple independent clauses (compound sentence), or at least one dependent clause and at least […] The post Word Choice, Word Order, and Word Placement Can Matter first appeared on The Editor's Blog.| The Editor's Blog
Don't bother trying to polish a first or second draft. Because of the changes you'll make to subsequent drafts, a polish before its time is a waste of time. The post Hold Off on Polishing first appeared on The Editor's Blog.| The Editor's Blog
Fact-checking is critical so that readers trust what you tell them and so they aren't pulled out of your stories by inaccurate details. Fact-check your fiction. The post When the Familiar is Too Familiar first appeared on The Editor's Blog.| The Editor's Blog
Punctuating interrupted dialogue is a confusing topic for both writers and editors, but there is a definitive answer to the question, "how do you punctuate interrupted dialogue?" Use dashes. The post When a Comma Isn’t Enough first appeared on The Editor's Blog.| The Editor's Blog
Gerunds look like verbs but act like nouns. Explore the variety of uses for gerunds.| The Editor's Blog
