In the distant future, gender-associated words may no longer exist, but until then, wordsmiths should be keenly aware of common gender connotations and terminology that could be offensive.
How to Minimize Gender Bias in Your Writing
Dreyer’s English: A Book Review
Several years ago, I made a resolution: I would not buy any more books. That might seem an odd resolution for someone who has been editing books for fifty-five years. Practicality and kindness motivated me as I considered the task of our daughter, who after our deaths, would have to deal with all the possessions […]
How to Continue Writing While in Quarantine and Other Periods of Isolation
With stay-at-home and safer-at-home orders still in varying degrees of effect, our lives continue to be suspended in uncertainty. Most people are now working from home, and many people have watched helplessly as their jobs went away. Suddenly, we find ourselves sequestered with our households while everyone is in a state of high anxiety. Mix […]
What Are Hybrid Publishers?
You may feel that you know what a traditional publisher is, and what a self-publisher is, but what is a hybrid publisher? How do you know a good one from a rip-off vanity press? The publishing model makes the difference A “traditional” publishing model works like this: A publishing house derives all its income from […]
How to Write Fiction for Children in 10 Steps
I guess I’m an extreme version of what I’ve heard called a “pantser.” Not only do I plot by the seat of my pants, I do everything that way. I’ve read the usual books on writing (Writing Down the Bones by Natalie Goldberg, On Writing by Stephen King, Plotting and Writing Suspense by Patricia Highsmith) […]
POV 2: How to Choose Point of View
As an author, one of the most important decisions you must make is what point of view you choose to use to tell your story. Point of view influences everything from how close readers feel to your characters to your word choice and sentence structure. It is the lens through which you tell your story. […]
POV 1: What Is Point of View?
When someone refers to point of view in writing, they are referring to the lens through which the story is told. This encompasses everything from who is telling the story to who the villain is to how close the reader feels to the characters and events. By choosing the right lens, an author can effectively […]
How Can a Ghostwriter Help Me Write My Book?
Mystery tends to swirl around ghostwriters and what they do, but it needn’t. I’m pleased to lift the veil . . . First, there isn’t one singular job description for a ghostwriter. Nor is there one uniform way a ghostwriter can help you. There are many possibilities, and the relationship can be explored and developed […]
On Emails and Emoticons
A while back, I received a grammar tip sheet and learned it’s now deemed proper to style the word e-mail sans hyphen. Not long after, I read that the venerable Oxford English Dictionary has added OMG, BFF, LOL, and more to its pages—who would have thought this of the OED? All of which, in a […]
On Dream Jobs and the Freelancing Life
“What a dream job you have!” I’ve lost track of all the times I’ve been told that by nonwriting folks who’ve just learned a bit about my life as a freelance writer and editor. And invariably, their response has surprised me, for I generally consider my job to be plain and simple work—a way to […]