advice – Page 8 – LZ Edits

Going Serial

Some writers start at the beginning of their writing plans and know that they want to write a series. Others have a vague idea. Still others, however, may not realize they are writing a series until either, they near the end of the draft of the first book, or they get feedback and reviews fromContinueContinue reading “Going Serial”

More thoughts on character building

Characters are so crucial to storytelling that there is a lot of advice about how to build them. There’s D&D style charts, and there’s Meyers-Briggs personalities. Some writers use zodiacs, and some use tropes. When you have a trait, or a trope, what can often happen when you get down to the actual writing isContinueContinue reading “More thoughts on character building”

Building Writers’ Resources

Photo by Julia M Cameron on Pexels.com You may have noticed a new menu item at the top of the page titled “Resources.” I’m going to populate this area of the site with resources to help writers with some phase of the writing (such as beginnings, middles, and ends), crafting plots, subplots, scenes, and editing,ContinueContinue reading “Building Writers’ Resources”

When to type “The End”

(by the way, it’s not actually good manuscript formatting to type “The End” at the end of your manuscript. Yeah. Really.) Photo by Julia M Cameron on Pexels.com “How do I end my book?” “Is this a good ending?” “Should I use an epilogue?” I’ve heard these in my writing group numerous times. I’ve heardContinueContinue reading “When to type “The End””

Proofreading

Today is National Proofreading Day. I thought I’d talk a bit about what proofreading actually is and where it fits in the process of getting your manuscript ready for readers. Prepublication’s final step The first thing to begin to understand about proofreading is that it is the last editing step before publication. Proofreading is doneContinueContinue reading “Proofreading”

more about story goals

When discussing how long a scene should be, I mentioned a concept called a scene goal. The scene goal is a step toward achieving the overall story goal. The story goal is the main character’s goal. It’s a situation or outcome they want and are convinced they need in order to be happy. There canContinueContinue reading “more about story goals”

Loose ends

In the same vein as several previous articles, this week I’m going to discuss getting your draft manuscript (possibly the one you worked on for NaNoWriMo just past) ready for other eyes. This might be when you are self-editing, or getting the work ready for beta readers or a professional editor. Stories are driven byContinueContinue reading “Loose ends”

Editing Prep

Authors have many choices these days to get their words published. I’ve discussed the process from draft to done. In this week’s article, I’m going to focus on what authors should do to prepare their files for sending to editors or agents who will make changes to the manuscript. This is going to be oneContinueContinue reading “Editing Prep”

Writing with Others

Reference: This is a post about writers workshops and writing groups, and is my take (and expansion) on ideas presented by academicwritingsuccess.com. Disclosure: I am an editor. I also definitely have a teaching approaching when working with clients. It’s a new year and, if you are like many writers, some of your resolutions revolve aroundContinueContinue reading “Writing with Others”

Attributions in Dialogue

Reference: Managing Attributions in Dialogue Scenes: Who Said That? (Florida Writers Association) One of the toughest things to explain, IMHO, is when attribution is necessary, when it’s not, and whether it goes in front or behind the dialogue. This blog linked above from the FWA is very bare bones and I don’t think goes quiteContinueContinue reading “Attributions in Dialogue”