The Motivational Editor

Helping Writers Go from Unpublished to Published

Writing Skills

Those Pesky Dialogue Tags

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dialog 2Oh those pesky dialogue tags.

Said.

Asked.

Replied.

Responded.

There’s a lot of conflicting information out there on what to use.

What’s a writer to do?

In the multitude of manuscripts I read, I see writers employ such things as “Sally smiled” or “Gerald laughed.” In and of itself, there is nothing wrong with that. The problem arises when the writer uses it as a substitute for “she said” and suddenly the character is constantly smiling or laughing.

Generally, a reader needs to have an identifier every 4-5 lines of dialogue in order to stay on track with who is speaking. So a tag isn’t required every time someone speaks (but I’ve seen writers do just that).

Let’s look at an alternative to the dialogue tag. [Read more…] about Those Pesky Dialogue Tags

Why Write for Periodicals?

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Last week I posted the submission guidelines to 6 magazines. I do this on a regular basis. Why? Because writing for periodicals is one of the best ways to hone your writing skills.

Today’s guest, multi-published author Ava Pennington, has a great deal of expertise in this area and is here today to discuss 6 reasons why you should write for periodicals.

Why Write for Periodicals?

By Ava Pennington [Read more…] about Why Write for Periodicals?

When Effect Comes Before Cause

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two men fightingWhile reading a book, have you ever found yourself saying There’s something wrong with that sentence, but I can’t quite figure out what?

Do you stop to figure out what’s wrong or just keep reading? I’m guilty of doing both, depending on the circumstances of the moment. Of course, if I’m editing a manuscript, I stop to figure it out.

Today, let’s take a look at what might be the problem. [Read more…] about When Effect Comes Before Cause

5 Upcoming Writers Conferences

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Debra L. Butterfield
Photo courtesy of Carol J. Sharp

Writers conferences are not only great places to learn, but they are a lot of fun to attend!

I enjoy teaching at conferences as much as I enjoy attending them. That’s me in the pic above, teaching at the Called to Write Conference in Pittsburg, Kansas, this past April.

At conferences, you’ll learn about writing and the world of publishing as well as be able to present your work to agents and editors. You’ll also be able to network with other writers and make new friendships.

Upcoming writers conferences [Read more…] about 5 Upcoming Writers Conferences

8 Books on Writing I Recommend

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My 8 recommended books on writingWhat book on the craft of writing has been the most helpful to you?

I recently asked that question on my Facebook author page, but no one left an answer.

So I have to wonder if I’m wasting my time with today’s post.

But maybe it was a question that required too much thought.

Or they weren’t trolling Facebook that day (after all I posted that on a Monday).

Or maybe they didn’t find any book particularly helpful. And if that’s the case, [Read more…] about 8 Books on Writing I Recommend

What Is Clean Writing?

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On Writing Well by William ZinsserDo you think best-selling authors like James Patterson, J.K. Rowling, and Jerry Jenkins sit down and produce that best seller with their first draft?

For some reason, many people believe this is how it happens. But that’s a myth.

“Submitting a novel without rewriting is like playing ice hockey naked.” ~Best selling author James Scott Bell in Revision and Self-Editing for Publication

Whether you are a seat-of-the-pants writer or one who plots first, the prevailing advice in writing your first draft is [Read more…] about What Is Clean Writing?

Discover what’s so great about Scrivener!

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Scrivener, Scrivener, Scrivener.

You’ve been hearing about it from a lot of writers, including me. In fact, I recently taught a workshop on using Scrivener at the Called to Write conference in Pittsburg, Kansas.

You may be wondering what’s so terrific about this software and why you should consider using it.

So let’s take a look at it. [Read more…] about Discover what’s so great about Scrivener!

The Top 3 Mistakes Writers Make When Submitting and How to Fix Them

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rejected book proposalDo you dream of getting published? What writer doesn’t?

But in their excitement and exuberance of completing a manuscript writers often make these 3 crippling mistakes when submitting their manuscripts to publishers.

The No. 1 Mistake

They don’t include a book proposal.

The book proposal is [Read more…] about The Top 3 Mistakes Writers Make When Submitting and How to Fix Them