Tag Archives: editing

The Value of Critiquing Partners

Posted on December 4, 2018 by

Today I want to talk about the advantages of having a critiquing partner. When you are professionally published, you have an editor who reviews your content and tells you what works and what doesn’t and what should be removed or … Continue reading →

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Grammar Still Matters

Posted on April 3, 2017 by

In this age of social media, when people post everything from what they ate at their most recent meal to political and social commentary, often in haste and with little regard to spelling and grammar, we may well conclude that … Continue reading →

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On Self-Publishing

Posted on March 7, 2016 by

I am a perfectionist. I know anyone who has seen my messy house would take issue with that statement. I’d better qualify it. I am only a perfectionist when it comes to writing. In all other areas I have too … Continue reading →

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PERSISTENCE PAYS

Posted on September 17, 2015 by

Yes, yes, I know. I haven’t blogged in a good long while despite my avowals of keeping to a more regular schedule. I do have good excuses reasons for my negligence. I wrote in an earlier blog that I had … Continue reading →

Posted in Creativity, Learning, Promotion, Publication, Writing | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

BUSY, BUSY, BUSY–TOO BUSY!

Posted on April 2, 2015 by

First an apology. I know I haven’t blogged in a couple of months—at least. Time just slid by me. I’ve been doing too many other things. One is that I’ve been working on the fourth book in the tetralogy that … Continue reading →

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Watch Those Participles!

Posted on March 10, 2014 by

I’m blogging today about a grammatical pet peeve of mine: the misuse of participial phrases. Participles are tricky little devils. They are verb forms used as adjectives. They come in three forms: past, present, and perfect. Past participles most often … Continue reading →

Posted in Spelling and Grammar, Writing | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

Navigating Between Scylla and Charybdis

Posted on October 28, 2013 by

#SFWApro I have a problem. I’m an inveterate editor. I want my manuscripts to be as perfect as possible before I send them out. I fret when I discover a problem, even a minor punctuation error, after the manuscript goes … Continue reading →

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The Writer As Reader

Posted on September 1, 2013 by

#SFWApro A question I’m sure most authors get asked from time to time is, “Does being a writer affect the way you read?” The easy answer is that of course it does, in good ways and in bad ways. It … Continue reading →

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Helping the Reader Suspend Disbelief

Posted on August 24, 2013 by

#SFWApro In last week’s blog I discussed ten “Don’ts”—things a fantasy writer must take care not to do to break the reader’s willingness to believe. As I promised then, this week I’ll discuss some “Dos.” 1. If your novel is … Continue reading →

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What to Do When the Spellchecker Can’t Help You

Posted on July 9, 2013 by

The Spellchecker is the writer’s friend. It catches silly errors and major misspellings. It keeps us from making mistakes that would make us look like rank amateurs. But there are things it can’t do for us. There are times when … Continue reading →

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