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”

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”

The first turn

Note, while I discuss this as the inciting incident and not the beginning page of your story, several genres do begin their storytelling here, in medias res (in the midst of things). Trouble has found the main character. The normalcy of the character that you established in the beginning page is disrupted. The cop whoContinueContinue reading “The first turn”

December 2024

Heads up! For 2025, I will be shifting to twice monthly posting. Hopefully this will mean I will be able to tag only one or two key ideas instead of half a dozen, making the posts easier to search for specific advice. I’ve been told I should write my stories with a theme. How doContinueContinue reading “December 2024”

Newsletter Relaunch

Navigating to a new newsletter plan. My quarter 1 business analysis found that paying for my newsletter wasn’t as cost effective as it could be. So I’ve migrated my few subscribers (thanks to all of you!) to my website. I still won’t deluge you with content, only sending out a newsletter/post once a month. ~ContinueContinue reading “Newsletter Relaunch”

Why should you hire a professional proofreader?

Check out this popular meme: Did you catch the error? Between the image and the text font, you might have missed the fact that the word overlaying the lemon is actually “melons”, a transposition of the “l” and the “m”. Happens to all of us. But your brain can trick you into missing errors likeContinueContinue reading “Why should you hire a professional proofreader?”