The Motivational Editor

Helping Writers Go from Unpublished to Published

Writing Skills

Using text stats to help with SEO

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Search engine optimization. Otherwise known as SEO. If you’ve been writing for the web, more than likely you’ve heard this term even if you don’t understand it.

I recently had my admin assistant do a Google search for several keywords, among them were editor and freelance editor.

Ahhh!

My website didn’t turn up anywhere in the first 6 pages of the search results—we stopped looking at that point. Not a good thing for a person who runs a freelance editing business. To fix this I need to ensure editor or freelance editor appear more often on my services page.

Why do I need search engine optimization?

[Read more…] about Using text stats to help with SEO

The Major Plot Events of a Novel and When They Occur

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building blocks, an analogy of plot eventsThis month’s last post on plotting concerns the major plot events, or building blocks, of your story.

Most writers understand all fiction has a climatic scene, aka the climax. They also know it occurs very near the end of the story.

However, many writers miss several other plot events essential to their story. [Read more…] about The Major Plot Events of a Novel and When They Occur

Story Premise: What it is and how to develop it

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In last week’s “To Plot a Story,” guest Deborah Lyn Stanley stated, “A one-sentence premise is essential to a strong story.”

Many writers may not understand what a premise is or how to arrive at that one-sentence, so let’s take a look at it today.

Premise. Little boy meets alien.In almost all of the books I have on the craft of writing, discussion of premise is missing, or perhaps they use different terminology. So is it any wonder when I ask writers what is the premise of their book, they answer with a blank stare. [Read more…] about Story Premise: What it is and how to develop it

To Plot a Story – Guest Post by Deborah Lyn Stanley

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Deborah Lyn Stanley author artist editorToday’s guest post is from writer, artist, and editor Deborah Lyn Stanley. She is a retired project manager who now devotes her time to writing, art and care-giving mentally impaired seniors. She has published a collection of 24 artists’ interviews titled the Artists Interview Series. The series published as monthly articles for an online news network, can also be found on her web-blog: Deborah Lyn Stanley – Writers Blog. Her “How-To” articles have appeared in magazines. [Read more…] about To Plot a Story – Guest Post by Deborah Lyn Stanley

Plotting: Finding a system that works for you

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Plotting know where you're headedIn recent months I’ve been stymied by my work in progress (WIP). Would I call it writer’s block? No. I was struggling to write because I simply didn’t know where the story was going.

You see, I decided to take a short story I wrote for a college class a few years back and develop it into a novella. That meant I had to expand on the plot of the story, and I hadn’t taken the time to do that before I started writing.

If you have no plot, you have no story.

For that reason, I’ve decided [Read more…] about Plotting: Finding a system that works for you

Ask the Editor: I’ve written a book, how do I get it published?

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I question I get at least once or twice a month by email is “I’ve written book, how do I get it published?” or similar variations.

It’s a question I covered on my Facebook page live “Ask the Editor.” For those of you who don’t follow my FB page, I thought I’d offer it here.

If you have a question you’d like to have answered via live FB video, leave it in the comments.

Backstory in Your Novel: Getting It Right

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nuclear explosion, the problem with backstoryTwo mistakes writers make when it comes to backstory are:

  1. Putting it in chapter one
  2. Using too much at a time

What is backstory?

Tim Tomlinson, in The Portable MFA in Creative Writing, tells us backstory is: [Read more…] about Backstory in Your Novel: Getting It Right

Show don’t tell: Dissecting what it looks like

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woman with megaphone, show don't tellShow don’t tell.

Does this piece of advice kink you up in knots? Writers hear it all the time from various angles—other writers, editors, and conference workshop instructors.

When I first starting writing, I struggled with it, too. Too many of the blog posts I read only talked about it and never showed any examples. Sample sentences go a long way in helping me recognize mistakes in my writing.

In a recent webinar Q&A, attendees expressed their difficulties with show don’t tell. So today, I’m offering several examples and some explanations that I hope will help you get untied.

Kudos to my client Donna Wittlif who has allowed me to use 2 excerpts from her WIP as illustrations. [Read more…] about Show don’t tell: Dissecting what it looks like