Helping Writers Go from Unpublished to Published
It’s National Ice Cream Month. Now there’s an idea I can sink my teeth into…brain freeze!
I like ice cream. My favorite flavor is Bordeaux cherry chocolate. Mmmm, heaven on earth.
But what does that have to do with writing?
I thought I’d give you some story ideas to play around with while you enjoy your ice cream and watch the fireworks (Happy 240th Birthday, USA!).
Focusing on the idea of ice cream, here are some scenarios to have fun with.
Flashbacks.
You know what I’m talking about. When a writer rips us from the present moment of the story and catapults us into the past.
And that’s the problem. It stops the forward momentum of your story. Like a driver slamming on the brakes and you go flying through the windshield.
First, realize a flashback is not equal to backstory. In The Portable MFA in Creative Writing, Tim Tomlinson tells us backstory is: [Read more…] about The Problem with Flashbacks
Today’s post is by Ben Wolf, Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Splickety Publishing Group. I had the privilege of meeting Ben last month at PenCon (a conference for editors). He gave an inspiring keynote speech on day 2 of the conference.
I enjoyed his keynote so much, I decided to ask if he’d be willing to guest post on my blog—and yes, I had to encourage myself to be brave enough to ask. He graciously said yes.
3 Things You Need to Know About Flash Fiction
by Ben Wolf
Founder and Editor-In-Chief of Splickety Publishing Group
Instant gratification reigns supreme in today’s fast-paced society. I could go into a spiel here about Twitter, DVR, multi-tasking, and Big Macs, but we all live it (and, in most cases, love it) every day. [Read more…] about 3 Things You Need to Know About Flash Fiction
There are those of you who prefer to let editors or proofreaders worry about commas, but if you’re hiring a freelance editor or proofreader, learning some punctuation basics will save you money because he/she will spend less time fixing your manuscript.
I’ll be the first to say the rules governing the English language are confusing. I’ve often wondered why there seems to be an exception to every rule—sometimes 2 or 3.
I reference my Chicago Manual of Style regularly. I also spend time in my Grammar Desk Reference, learning the whys and wherefores of grammar so I can correctly punctuate a sentence.
Today, I’d like to give some guidelines for commas I see most misused. [Read more…] about 3 Rules on Using Commas
I’ve been reading an excellent blog series by Erin Buterbaugh found in the archives of Chip MacGregor’s blog. It’s about voice—something that seems to elude writers, beginning writers especially.
To quote Erin, voice is
“the personality of the author as revealed through the writing.”
When I first started writing with the intention of earning money for it, I read Finding Your Voice by Les Edgerton (btw Ane Mulligan recommends this book on a guest post she did for MacGregor’s blog). [Read more…] about Has fear sabotaged your voice?
We all know hiring a professional editor can be an expensive proposition. So finding ways to help your editor save time in editing your book is a good thing.
I can’t take credit for today’s idea. I learned this tool from author and publisher Mark Gilroy at a Heart of America Writers Conference I attended several years ago.
It’s a tool every writer should consider using because it’s tremendously useful for your editor and can save the editor a lot of time and work.
What is that tool? [Read more…] about How You Can Save Money in the Editing Process
Today continues my 4-part series on principles I learned as a Marine that can be applied to our lives and to our work as writers. Click Teamwork to read part 1.
Marines have the well-earned the reputation of being the toughest fighting force of the US. Hard work, not laziness, laid the foundation.
Boot camp was grueling. Day after day we drilled, ran, and marched for hours under the unforgiving summer heat of Parris Island, South Carolina. Would my muscles ever stop aching?
I realized the full extent of the physical change I had undergone at boot camp only after I came home on leave (that’s military speak for vacation) after boot camp graduation. The daily physical demands of training had [Read more…] about 4 Life Principles I Learned as a Marine – Part 2
As writers, we all know how important it is to make our story as strong as possible. We also know that we each have our specific weaknesses in writing.
Maybe for you that weakness is grammar, or spelling, or passive voice.
Maybe you are too wordy.
Today, I’m going to show you how to use MS Word’s readability statistics to help clean up those kinds of errors. [Read more…] about How to Use Readability Statistics to Improve Your Manuscript