In a previous article we talked about strategies, advantages, and pitfalls in critiquing. We all need the eyes of others to look over our work, but once the critiquing process is complete, the manuscript isn’t yet ready. It is my opinion that every manuscript should be read by non-writers. We as writers have a different [...]
Read the rest of this entry »Adverbs – Halt! Friend or foe?
Adverbs are good when used with discretion. Just have another writer critique your work and the first thing that will be brought before the verbal firing squad is adverbs. Adverbs are looked upon as the enemy, but are they all bad? Halt for a moment and put them to the test. Even for experienced writers, [...]
Read the rest of this entry »Getting the Most out of Critiques
Critiques with purpose Peer critiques are a valuable tool in polishing up your writing, but it has to be done correctly to be effective. Writing is a lonely business, but publishing is a social world. You cannot go at it alone. Even the best writer can’t critique his/her way to perfection. You may know what [...]
Read the rest of this entry »Story Structure – should writers go as the crow flies, or hop down the bunny trail?
Story structure in your manuscript. When it comes to the story structure of a novel, the journey is just as important as the destination. Stop for a moment and think about plots of successful books. For example, what is the plot of A Christmas Carol? It’s about a greedy old miser who loves nothing but [...]
Read the rest of this entry »The emotional stages of writing a novel–Video.
Now you know what I probably looked like while writing. Blog this! Bookmark on Delicious Digg this post Recommend on Facebook Share on Google Plus Share on Linkedin Share via MySpace Share with Stumblers Tumblr it Tweet about it Subscribe to the comments on this post Bookmark in Browser Tell a friend
Read the rest of this entry »Self Editing 101 – Weeding out Redundancies in Writing
Redundancies in writing is a problem easily overlooked. Whether you’re a blogger, freelance writer, or book author, being proficient at self editing is required if you expect your work to be taken seriously. In this article, we’ll look at one of the most common challenges – searching and destroying redundancies in writing. Self editing to [...]
Read the rest of this entry »Polishing your gems – 5 editing strategies (Part 3 of 3)
Using discernment in critique groups Critiques are often filled with both good and bad advice. For a writer, this can be confusing. Fellow writers sometimes attempt to impose their voice onto your work. Critiquing is not intended to cause writers to adopt a specific style of writing, but to identify problems that keep their voice [...]
Read the rest of this entry »Polishing your gems – 5 editing strategies (Part 2 of 3)
3. Helpful Tools There are a few helpful tools that assist writers in catching a large portion of mistakes. These tools will help you catch many errors, but the work is far from complete from our self-editing. Keep in mind, this is course grit polishing. These help smooth out the rough edges and find obvious [...]
Read the rest of this entry »Polishing your gems – 5 editing strategies (Part 1 of 3)
Once you finish writing your manuscript, the work of self-editing begins. Self-editing is the process of catching the obvious mistakes so you don’t waste critiquing time with the little stuff. A critique partner or an editor should only see your work after it’s polished as far as you can take it. With very few exceptions, [...]
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Christian Fiction - I Called Him Dancer officially launched April 12th.
