You’ve probably heard the expression that it’s all about the writing. It’s true. You could have the most fantastic premise, fabulous plot twists, and a great line-up of characters, but if your writing is full of grammatical mistakes, POV slips, and telling instead of showing, the rejection letters are still going to pile up. I’ve […]
What to do with Backstory
You worked hard polishing your manuscript, but you want it to be the best it can be, so you joined a critique group. After what seems like the longest week ever, the critiques finally come back. But instead of the praise and minor mistakes you expected to see pointed out, your pages are flooded with […]
Watch out for Weasel Words
They may be different for each author, but we all have our weasel words. Like the animal they’re named after, they pop up in unexpected places. They often slip past our awareness when reviewing our work. We are so used to using them that they often don’t even register in our brain as a problem. […]
Revision Prompt – Replace Generic Verbs 1
You’ve heard of writing prompts, now we have revision prompts! Each prompt will give you a specific writing issue to check for in your WIP, along with tips on how to fix each. Going through this process one issue at a time will not only help polish your current novel but will also teach you specific ways […]
Revision Prompt – The Extraneous Word “Just”
You’ve heard of writing prompts; now we have revision prompts! Each prompt will give you a specific writing issue to check for in your WIP, along with tips on how to fix each. Going through this process one issue at a time will not only help polish your current novel but will also teach you specific ways to […]