In a word? Do it cautiously! The fact is that almost no one, not a single one of us, speaks perfectly when we’re speaking. “People don’t always talk good.” So when you’re editing dialogue, resist the urge to edit it to perfection! Make sure this isn’t a natural way of speaking or a character-specific style. […]
Category: Writing Tips
Beware the Of
Beware! Beware of the word “of.” The fact is, you don’t need to use it as often as most people think they do. And using it when you don’t need to can hamper the flow of your sentence. For example, “She walked down the steps of the porch.” Doesn’t this sound better when written as, […]
Beware the Onomatopoeia
onomatopoeianoun. the formation of a word from a sound associated with what is named Aside from being remarkably hard to spell, this is one of those writing acts that can be very useful but very easy to overuse. When something BAM! crashes into something else, or air HISS escapes through an airlock, or SQUELCH someone […]
Be Bold!
Something that I commonly change in the prose of stories is that a character will start to do something or begin to do something, rather than just doing it. In many cases, “beginning” to do the thing isn’t relevant. They end up doing it without interruption. So why specify that? Over-qualifying is a pretty common […]
The Last Word (Advice from an Editor)
When all is said and done, it’s your book. You are the last word on how your book turns out when the whole process is finished, which includes the editing. This editor recommends going over your book and checking all the edits made once you get it back, to decide which ones to keep and […]
The Cost of Editing
Being an editor isn’t the easiest of jobs, and part of the problem is that a lot of authors don’t see the “need” for us. (At least until bad reviews because of editing start coming in.) Many do, and I’m grateful for them–as are their readers, I’m sure–but many see what we do as a […]
Redundancy, Part 2
Even if you’re not writing an action-packed, fast-paced book, a smooth and quick flow to your words is very important. You want your book to “carry” your reader along, which means minimizing places where the reader might get bogged down or tripped up. This is why editing is important, but not just in terms of […]
Department of Redundancy Department
(As both author and editor, this post is part of the writing tips and helpful thoughts from an editor that you might find useful in your own writing!) Being redundant or repetitive in your writing can really bog down your readers’ ease-of-reading, and it can also make your story downright boring. The repetition itself becomes […]