advice – Page 5 – LZ Edits

Throw away the crutches

Photo by Dom J on Pexels.com Copy editing (and line editing – I do both together) are organized around making sure your story is streamlined and contains the best word choices to suit the characters, the tone or tension of the situations, and the setting or time period. The application of grammar rules is balancedContinueContinue reading “Throw away the crutches”

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”

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””

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”

Editing Yourself

You don’t have to edit on paper, but you do need to be able to gain distance from your writing process to edit yourself. I generally recommend only that you edit yourself after a very long break – and stick to broad concepts. Unless you have already internalized the grammar rules – or are willingContinueContinue reading “Editing Yourself”

What’s word (count) go to do with it?

Stacey Carroll has a great post about word counts and where they fit in short stories, novellas, novels, and even the different genres. Go read it. I won’t repeat it here. What I want to talk about is answers to the questions “how many words make a scene?” This question about word counts really shouldContinueContinue reading “What’s word (count) go to do with it?”