Tag: editing

4 Uncomfortable Truths All Writers Must Eventually Accept

4 Uncomfortable Truths All Writers Must Eventually Accept

If there’s one thing writers lament it’s people not understanding that writing is hard work. Some people seem to have the impression that writers spend the majority of their day sitting by the pool sipping martinis and maybe an hour on weekends making the magic happen. And since many writers also work day jobs, I …

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Freebie Mondays: the Phases of Dreamers Do Lie

Freebie Mondays: the Phases of Dreamers Do Lie

I decided to do something interesting (and a tiny bit dangerous). I opened an old draft of one of my novels and used Word’s comparison feature to examine how much it changed. For those that aren’t familiar with this particular feature, it essentially highlights in red every change made between the different versions of the …

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How to Perfect Your Novel’s Pacing – A Powerful Guide

How to Perfect Your Novel’s Pacing – A Powerful Guide

Pacing is one of the most discussed story structure elements. Everyone knows about it. (We learn about it in high school English class along with tone and atmosphere.) But even if we didn’t study it, it’s an intrinsic piece of storytelling we subconsciously recognize. How many times have you walked out of a movie and …

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Comma, Comma, Comma Clarification

Comma, Comma, Comma Clarification

Writers have an interesting relationship with their old work. Some writers talk about novels shoved in boxes and pushed under the bed, or locked in desk drawers never to see the light of day again. That’s because writers don’t like to look back at where they came from. It allows them to see all the …

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What Makes a Good Story?

What Makes a Good Story?

What makes a good story? Ask twenty different readers and you might get twenty different answers. Patterns usually start to emerge, though. Certain elements tend to draw people to stories, though the most important element will vary among individuals. Readers like stories with interesting characters they can connect to and identify with. They like exciting …

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