I promise this is the last post on my query letter woes—that’s because I have no more woe. I have relief. I have joy. And I owe that to one three-letter word. Wednesday, after I ordered myself to suck it up and write the danged query, I panicked. It was all well and good to… Continue reading What a difference a word makes
Tag: revision
When a book is done, and done, and done …
The focus of this blog has always been my writing life. Sometimes my posts have an iffy connection to that subject, but I try. Since, I have nothing deep or spectacular to share with you today, I’ll just tell you where I am in my writing life. (Leave now, if you have better things to… Continue reading When a book is done, and done, and done …
Words you don’t need
Since I finished a round of editing two days ago, I’m going to mention something I looked for in the final polish—overused words. Eliminating unnecessary words strengthens your writing. I’ll mention the two main ones I had a problem with. They may or may not be a problem in your writing. I expect you all… Continue reading Words you don’t need
Go ahead, laugh if you want to
Today, I’m giving you valuable writing advice. It’s not original. I’d read it more than once online and off. I also ignored it. The tip was this: When you think you’ve cleaned up your manuscript as best you can—think again. Put it away, preferably for months, then read it through one more time. As I… Continue reading Go ahead, laugh if you want to
Spaghetti Gone Wild
Yesterday, in a Tweet to Kayla Olson, I described the state of my chapter-in-revision as spaghetti gone wild. Switching the order of the scenes had seemed a simple task. I had four scenes to deal with: one moves down, two move up, one stays in last place. No big deal. Next step: write/revise the narrative… Continue reading Spaghetti Gone Wild
Linda Cassidy Lewis 