Category: proofreading
-
No Filter Words: An Easy Way to Improve Your Writing
I am always looking for quick and easy ways to improve my writing. I know there are plenty of long and hard ways: years of practice; studying writing of established authors; hours of self-editing and so much more. So, let’s talk about a relatively quick way to give your writing more punch: Get rid of…
-
Friday’s Findings: Red and Black
When I recently reviewed the final draft of my novella, Traption, I used this trick to keep track of where I leave off when I am done for the day. I start with my whole manuscript in red. As I go through each paragraph, I turn it black when I’m done. This let’s me know…
-
Writing Style Outcasts: Exclamation Marks
“An exclamation point is like laughing at your own jokes.” F. Scott Fitzgerald As the author of classics such as The Great Gatsby and This Side of Paradise has said in the above quote, the exclamation point is like that guy who utters stupid jokes and laughs at himself. Followed by that awkward silence. In…
-
Writing Style Outcasts: Adverbs
High school cliques appear in most young adult fiction. And in real life. Yes, they are tropes found in 13 Reasons Why, The Hate You Give and The Perks of Being a Wallflower, but that’s only because cliques actually do exist in high schools. Yes, the popular kids roam around like royalty because they’ve managed…
-
Friday’s Findings
Semicolons. I think of them as the yellow on a traffic stoplight. But I admit it. I love using the semicolon. When I write a rough draft, I indulge my semicolon addiction, but when I self-edit, I have to rewrite most of the sentences where I use them. They are like spice; I use them…
-
What is the most important aspect of revision?
NOTE: I dusted off some notes I took for a webinar, How to Revise Your NaNo Novel, from January 2016. Grant Faulkner hosted the segment on writing advice with guest speakers KM Weiland, James Scott Bell and Kami Garcia. The following was one of the questions asked. What is the most important aspect of revision?…
-
Epiphanies in Writing, Part 2: Editing your Novel
I don’t want to rehash what you’ve heard and discovered for yourself as a writer: “Most of writing is rewriting”; “Show don’t Tell”; “Use spell check”; “Let it cool off before you start to edit.” All good stuff. Personally, I love editing. It’s a chance to play with words, accessorize my paragraphs and paint word…
-
Keeping the Distance
Scott Nicholson says in Seven Bad Habits of Unsuccessful Writers: Newer writers tend to rely on “He saw,” “He felt,” “He smelled,” “He tasted,” or “He heard” instead of just letting the actions or sensations occur. It shows a lack of confidence. If you have done a good job of securing your character viewpoint, then…
-
Writing Blog Roundup: avoid clichés, sabotaging gift, forget theme, booklover sterotypes, setting scene
Some recent articles on writing that I have read: What’s A Cliché? Overused Words To Avoid In Your Writing. Pay attention to words that habitually end up on your editing room floor. How You May Be Sabotaging Your Gift to Write Words That Matter. As writers, we are by our very nature, critical thinkers, but…
Andrew M. Friday 