One day a few years ago I started a blog post intending to answer for you the four questions I get asked most frequently: 1. Wordcount, genre, ‘dumbling down’: do I really have to? As well as 2. Identifying the best independent editors, 3. What is this Line Editing thing… Read more“Wordcount, genre, ‘dumbing down’<br>—Freelance Independent Editor FAQ”
Category: A Number of Things You Should Know
Wordcount, genre, ‘dumbing down’
5 Pickles to Write Yourself Into
As we all know, there are more ways to make a mess of your manuscript than angels on the head of a pin. So I’m not going to try to hit them all here, just some of the main ones I see crop up repeatedly in the work of fresh,… Read more“5 Pickles to Write Yourself Into”
Top 10 Blog for Writers
Remember when I asked you guys whom you’d like to see in the Top 10 Blogs for Writers of 2010/2011 at Write to Done? And some of you said, “Justin Bieber”? Just kidding. I don’t even know who Justin Bieber is (only that his name crops up everywhere). No—many of… Read more“Top 10 Blog for Writers”
4 Reasons Best Sellers Get to Suck & You Don’t
According to Publishers Weekly, the top 50 million books sold in the U.S. in 2009 were all written by the same 26 people. How does that happen? Think about it. Readers know their names. You can test this one. Are you famous? Absolutely no facility with the written word, no… Read more“4 Reasons Best Sellers Get to Suck & You Don’t”
6 Ways to Shoot Yourself in the Foot
We’ve all done it. We write what feels like the most heart-wrenching, glorious, meaningful story ever put into words, and we polish it until it’s as beautiful as a rare seashell. Then we hand it around, to our writing workshop or critique circle or peer group or dedicated readers, and… Read more“6 Ways to Shoot Yourself in the Foot”
4 Post-Its to Stick Up Over Your Writing Desk
When you sit down to write today, take a moment to scribble these 4 things on 4 post-its. Then stick ’em up over your writing desk. “What if. . .” Write down the “what if?” PREMISE of your novel. Then every time you look up, pondering where to go after… Read more“4 Post-Its to Stick Up Over Your Writing Desk”
3 Reasons to Quit Writing, 3 Reasons Not to Quit Writing
3 REASONS TO QUIT It’s hard as hell. Boy, nobody warned you, did they? You were going to have fun. You had this incredible idea about a wonderful fictional world peopled by amazing characters, with internal and external conflict like the Fall of the Roman Empire. You had words and… Read more“3 Reasons to Quit Writing, 3 Reasons <em>Not</em> to Quit Writing”
6 Golden Rules of NaNoWriMo
It’s that time of year again! Gird your loins, and pick up your pens. You’re about to embark on the ride of your lives. You’re not supposed to take it too seriously If you only learn one thing about NaNoWriMo, ever from anyone, learn this: it’s meant to be fun…. Read more“6 Golden Rules of NaNoWriMo”
5 Ways to Make Your Novel Inescapable
Never doubt that thoughtful committed citizens can change the world; indeed it is the only thing that ever has.—Margaret Mead We’ve backed up through your novel ala E.L. Doctorow’s taillights in the past few weeks, starting with the key to the best possible CLIMAX, followed by the key to the… Read more“5 Ways to Make Your Novel Inescapable”
8 Lessons To Learn from Screwing Up Your Manuscript
How many times have you screwed up your writing? Once? Twice? A hundred times? A thousand times? Counting all the times you’re screwing up this very instant and the times you intend to screw up in the future. . .infinity? EVERYONE SCREWS UP. This should be printed in big, bold… Read more“8 Lessons To Learn from Screwing Up Your Manuscript”