Have you ever been really into a book, engrossed in the story, waiting to see how it all ends … … only for the ending to disappoint you? I’ve read a few books like that. And the sad thing is, I wouldn’t re-read them, or recommend them to friends. Because if the ending...
I think it’s a safe bet that you’ve come across the apostrophe before. (If not … there are two in the previous sentence.) However, quite a few writers struggle with using apostrophes correctly. And that can really damage your credibility…
When do you stop drafting and start editing? There are lots of different ways you might approach rewriting and editing your novel … and I’m not going to tell you that there’s one “perfect” method you need to follow. Broadly speaking, though, there are several...
One common issue that standard writing advice covers is how to cut down your first draft. And this advice comes up time and time again for a good reason. It’s easy to over-write, perhaps telling the reader things that you’ve already shown them, or using five words where…
![Ten Sentence-Level Mistakes to Watch Out for When Editing Your Fiction [With Examples]](https://www.aliventures.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/sentence-level-mistakes.jpg)
When you’re editing fiction, whether it’s a short story or an epic novel, you need to edit on several different levels. There’s the full-scale revision stage: where you go from first draft to second draft, and probably lose or gain some characters, cut or add a bunch of material, and make…
When you get feedback from your beta reader(s) or from your editor, chances are, you’ll have some mixed emotions. Before you even open their email, you might be feeling excited, but also daunted; intensely curious about…
Are you thinking about sending your story or novel to a beta reader? It can feel really daunting to share your work with someone else to get their thoughts – but direct, specific feedback on your writing is the best way I know of to improve…
Whether you love editing or hate it, if you’re a writer, there’s no way to avoid it. You may well have support – from beta readers, your spouse, your writing group or a professional editor – but a fair amount of editing needs to take place as part of your own writing process…
This post was originally published in October 2017 and updated in August 2020. A lot of writers will say that you should never, ever edit when you’re writing. You can even get software that disables the backspace key or that starts eating your words if you don’t type...
We’ve been looking at the importance of editing over the past few weeks and, so far, we’ve only been considering editing your work before publication. It’s also possible – increasingly so in the age of self-publishing and digital publishing – to edit your work after...
Editing is a really important part of the writing process – and that’s why we’re in the middle of a four-week series on it. ;-)However ... it’s possible to over-edit. And, if you’re at the editing stage of a project right now, you might be wondering when to stop...
This is the first post in a new four-week series on editing your writing: make sure you're signed up for my (free!) weekly email newsletter so you don't miss the next installment. Whatever you’re writing, you’re going to need to spend some time editing. (Even a quick...
You’ve got a finished draft of your novel – hurrah! Of course, you know the hard work isn’t over. You’ll want to edit your novel (and quite possibly run it past some beta-readers). Like many authors, I prefer not to dive straight into an edit on-screen. I...
Swearing. Cussing. Strong / bad / foul language. Whatever you want to call it ... can you use it in your writing? Yes. It’s your writing, and you can do whatever you want! Of course, there are reasons you might decide against swearing, or reasons why you might...
![Ten Book-Level Mistakes to Watch Out for When Redrafting Your Fiction [With Examples]](https://www.aliventures.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/book-level-mistakes.jpg)
A few weeks ago, I posted about sentence-level mistakes: ones that are easy to spot from a page or a paragraph of writing. Even if you write flawless prose, though, it’s possible to make bigger-picture mistakes over the course of a novel or novella ... and these can...
At some point in your writing life, you’re going to be invited to workshop, beta read or even edit someone else’s work. Maybe your friend has written a novel, and wants feedback. Or you’ve joined a local writers’ group and swapped short story manuscripts...
Image from Flickr by Images_of_Money. Should you pay for help with your writing? And when in your career should you do so? These can be really tough questions to face. After all, you probably want to make money rather than spend it. Unless you’re already...
Last week, I tackled shorter paragraphs. Today, I want to take a look at sentences. Whether you’re writing fiction or non-fiction, sentence length matters. Short, snappy sentences (or even sentence fragments) create a very different effect from long, complex,...
There’s so much to think about when you’re writing – and the exact place you break your paragraphs might seem pretty insignificant. After all, the words are what matters, right? Well ... mostly. But the way you use paragraphs gives your work meaning and effect. In...
(Image from Flickr by Unhindered by Talent) Have you ever read a book that was way too wordy? (For me, Stephen Covey’s otherwise excellent 7 Habits of Highly Effective People comes to mind...) The content itself might have been good – but the substance ended up buried...
Image from Flickr by pheaber Last week's post on The Four Essential Stages of Writing got some great comments, including this one from Ainslie: I must admit that I am beginning to enjoy the redrafting and editing phase of my work a whole lot more since working with...