advice – LZ Edits | Editing Services

Setting is a matter of point of view

One of the top reasons for why someone reads, according to most reader surveys is, to escape. Escapism is not only found in the fantastical, the things that wouldn’t happen in the reader’s every day life. Escapism is also found in the places stories take their readers. I’ve talked before about “talking heads” dialogue, notContinueContinue reading “Setting is a matter of point of view”

When showing becomes too much

Yes, you really can go too far with “show, don’t tell.” When the narrative is too dense, readers will stop reading. Mostly because too much show causes reader overwhelm and they often lose the plot or point of what you are trying to show. Too much showing Hyperdetailing: Excessive descriptions that don’t advance the plotContinueContinue reading “When showing becomes too much”

Writing through noise

It’s noisy out there. I don’t mean noise in the literal sense. Though there is a lot of that, too. The noise I’m referring to is our own brains spiraling thoughts of concern about our world, natural and man-made disasters, injustice and so much else. As a creative, you’re probably very sensitive to the thingsContinueContinue reading “Writing through noise”

Adding Layers

“Ogres have layers.” ~ Shrek Story characters should have layers. Some details are revealed only in gut-wrenching moments with another character as they let their walls down, and others are never revealed to other characters, but drive motivation throughout the story. You will probably not get all layers into your first/zero draft. Here’s how toContinueContinue reading “Adding Layers”

Self-Editing Part 2

Last month, I began to discuss how you can approach editing your own story with four tasks. Today’s discuss will pick up where that left off. You addressed what you saw as issues with the story’s structure. You now have to start turning your manuscript into something that readers expect when they read in thisContinueContinue reading “Self-Editing Part 2”

4 Self-Editing Tasks

You have completed the first draft of your story. If you’re working toward publication, you probably know this was just step 1. (My post on From Draft to Done can help you understand the process.) Today’s topic comes to you courtesy of writer-me, who finished the first draft of her novel last week during writingContinueContinue reading “4 Self-Editing Tasks”

tone and ‘tude

(sorry so late; this will also be the only newsletter this month. ~LZ) Flaubert is absolutely correct about the writer. Now, consider this axiom: What your characters do and say will show readers what they believe. Carefully choosing your descriptive words will create the tone and ‘tude (attitude) of your story. We’ve all read aContinueContinue reading “tone and ‘tude”

Plotting Subplots

(apologies for my tardiness) Life is rarely, if ever, lived in a straight line from setting a goal to achieving it. First, the plan itself can suffer setbacks, a shift to another path to the same goal, or even retrenching and starting over with an entirely new goal in mind. But even on a longContinueContinue reading “Plotting Subplots”