So We Understand Each Other First and foremost, I hope this post finds you and yours both healthy and safe. I wish you all the best of luck as we navigate through these unprecedented times. If you’re one who is fortunate enough to be healthy and able to work from home, I am glad for
I talk all the time about how certain words should be cut… words like “really”, “just”, “very”, etc. They don’t tend to add anything to the piece and usually cause the reader to slow and the meaning of the sentence to get muddied. But, as is the curse with all suggestions/rules/whatever in writing, there are
Maybe it’s just me, but I doubt it. I find that the opening of anything… be it the book itself, the first few lines of any chapter, the first line of each paragraph… they’re all freaking annoying. But the worst, I think, is the opening paragraphs of each chapter. I think this is partly because
Tragically, I think this varies a lot for everyone, but I seem to have gotten what works for me fairly well worked out. If you don’t have any particular process or you are still searching for one, I recommend giving this a try. I’ll explain why in a bit more detail at the end. Draft
Almost all writer’s work can be strengthened by cutting bits out. Sometimes by hacking off massive pieces, some of which you desperately loved. And it’s hard, and it’s painful, but… as we’re repeatedly told… it’s necessary. Now I was just re-reading a bit of my blog… a piece I did a while ago called “Rules
I was just editing a 1st person re-write of a 3rd person chapter in a book with a ridiculously sarcastic and bitter main character who is frequently funny, without actually making any jokes. So, you can imagine the shit-show that I’m starting with. It amuses me that I once thought this would be a simpler
If you’re just stumbling across this article now, I advise reading the updated version. It serves two purposes… to discuss this topic, and demonstrate the power of cutting to strengthen your work. I have left the old version up here only so people can see both. Yesterday I was serving as a mentor for a