Books and writing are the core of my life. I edit books, write books, and teach writing. I love this work, and will be happy to provide any editorial or writing service you need.
This is my chance to indulge in some of my favorite topics: books I’m reading; writing advice, my own and that of accomplished writers; what I learn from my students in my classes; and, oh yes, my soapbox, where I rant—mildly—about anything related to writing and publishing that makes me say “What?”
I also get to showcase amazing photographs taken by some of my favorite people. (In my next life, I want to be a photographer.)
I’m going to start there: Create in Solitude. I doubt there is a successful artist who wouldn’t agree that solitude is essential if you are going to paint or sculpt or compose or write. If your immediate space is filled with distractions—other people, e-mails and texts and phone calls, unrelenting noise—how can you connect with the muse that dwells inside? (I don’t normally reach for euphemisms … [Read more...]
Humans are endlessly fallible. We are never going to be error-free, all the time, no matter how careful we are. Some mistakes in stories, essays, books, etc. are because a writer (and editor and proofreader, if they’re involved in the process) doesn’t know any better. For instance, all the times I’ve read “The data is …”, I know the writer simply doesn’t know that data is a plural noun and that it … [Read more...]
In the August 30, 2015, issue of the New York Times, an essay in the Magazine section caught my attention. Called “Standstill,” by Sam Anderson, it is an essay about “the political world’s obsession with the moment.” Acknowledging that modern humans weren’t the first to consider “the moment,” Anderson looks back to the Greeks to explain two different kinds of time: … chronus (the vast, inhuman, … [Read more...]
In a conversation the other day with a friend who is a new writer, I bemoaned the fact that I am responsible for more work, editorially speaking, than I should be. Since I work with self-publishers and with clients who tend to self-publish, I am often the sole line editor, copy editor, and proofreader for a manuscript. “That’s not how it’s normally done?” my friend asked. “Oh, no,” I said, … [Read more...]
No, I’m not talking about kindergarten class. I’m talking about that most common piece of writing advice: Show, don’t tell. I have found some writers, however, take that too literally and believe everything must be shown, to the detriment of their stories. So, I prefer to call it show and tell. I am going to rely in part on an essay by Anna Keesey titled “Making a Scene,” which I found in The … [Read more...]
