He said, she screamed, they laughed, we cried, everyone gasped… These are some of the more useful dialogue tags available. The staple, of course, will always be: he/she said. Generally speaking (pun intended), new and inexperienced writers tend to overdo… Read More ›
self-editing
Editing Tip #82: Honing Character Pt. 4 – Inference vs. Directness
Giving your reader some space to interpret character intentions is a good thing but sometimes it can be overdone. Using inference or inferring through action or sarcasm the character’s intention(s) needs to be done in the right way. Consider this… Read More ›
Editing Tip #81: Honing Character Pt. 3 – Diversity & Truth
Not all writers develop a full FBI background-check on their main and supporting characters and that’s okay. But when it comes time to edit your work and take a critical look at just how believable those characters really are, looking… Read More ›
Editing Tip #80 – Honing Character Pt. 2: Flaws and Quirks
Last week I touched on adding the humanity spice to your characters be they good, bad or otherwise. Today I’d like to expand on that notion by adding a few more ingredients to your cooking character. The key element you’ll… Read More ›
Editing Tip #79 – Honing Character Pt. 1: Remembering their Humanity
We’d all like to think that our characters, especially our main character(s), are perfect just the way we wrote them. It’s starts with a vision (or a full-blown background write-up) and then you let them loose on the page to… Read More ›
Editing Tip #78 – Ditch the Self-Restraint
As writers there will come a time when you’ve amassed as much knowledge as your brain can (currently) handle regarding composition and editing. You’ll find you just need to focus on what it is you love – writing. Something else… Read More ›
Editing Tip #77 – Structuring Your Book
You place the words “The End” on your manuscript and you’re ready to begin self-editing. Besides setting your work aside for a while to gain some distance from it (and hopefully a fresh perspective), it’s time to analyze the bones… Read More ›
Editing Tip #76 – Knowing What You’re Doing
Knowing your limitations and being honest with yourself about them is often hard to do – especially for Indie Authors who often push themselves to the limits because the budget is so tight or non-existent. The best way to find… Read More ›
Editing Tip #75 – Voice Shifts
There are basically three ways to write a story: One narrator (only see the world through their eyes) More than one narrator (different perspectives on the same situation) On narrator (omniscient – all seeing through some god-like point of view)… Read More ›
Editing Tip #74 – How Cliche is Cliche
I find it immensely interesting to note just how many new and emerging writers fall back on the use of cliche in their descriptions (although, let’s be honest here – some multi-book indie authors who publish for the love of… Read More ›