Editing & Writing Tips
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How to Choose Your Editor(s)
Experience is a key aspect of finding the right editor to work with, but it’s not the only thing to consider. I like to break down my list of things to ask/information to gather into two levels: the vibe check and the details.
Writing Horror: How it Differs by Age Group
I may not be one for horror, but in honor of Halloween, let’s talk about this dark genre. Horror invites readers to confront their own fears and, often, what in (or about) the world makes them...
Understanding Hyphens, En Dashes, and Em Dashes
A lot of folks struggle with the difference between the hyphen (-), the slightly longer en dash (–), and the even longer em dash (—). And they can be confusing! Here’s a very quick overview: Hyphen...
Finding Comps
When looking for comps, stop seeking exact matches and look instead for books that relate to your audience, themes, plot, style and voice, characters, and the general structure of the journey or...
What NOT to Expect from a Developmental Edit
Understanding the different levels of editing can be confusing—sometimes they come with different names, sometimes things can get mushed together. But at it’s core, developmental editing is a type...
Interview with the Editor
Get to know more about Kayleigh, owner and editor of In the Margins.
Build Your World—In Detail
When world-building, writers should have detailed notes about the world created. You need to be able to see it, hear it, smell it, taste it, feel it. You also need to be able to pull readers in...
Playing with Punctuation
Playing around with punctuation can not only change the meaning of a sentence, it can also allow you to shape the pacing and emotional buildup within a scene. Clarity Punctuation’s impact on clarity...
The Importance of Senses in Setting & World-Building
Many writers get caught up in the visual details when world-building and forget the other senses. Telling me about what a character is seeing is great, but what does the world smell like? Sound...
What to Do When You Lose Interest in Your Story
It happens to all of us at some point. Our motivation seems to flicker, maybe we lose it entirely. For some it may stem from writer’s block (frustration), maybe burnout (exhaustion), or for some...
How to Stand Up Against Book Bans
There are several things you can do to defend our communities against book bans and celebrate our right to ideas and stories that represent everyone.
Ways You Can Help Your Library
Next week is National Library Week in the United States. If you’ve been paying attention, you know that now more than ever, our libraries need us to stand with them against defunding and book bans....
Omniscience vs. Head-Hopping
What many don’t realize is that omniscient points of view are like a storyteller who can see your entire story from start to finish and is relaying it to your reader. They may tell everything, they may withhold for suspense, but however they (the omniscient narrator) chooses to tell the story, they are in essence a singular narrative voice who is delivering the tale to us.
Writing Multiple Points of View
Utilizing the multiple point of view structure in a novel can allow for greater perspective and a slow reveal of the full picture, but this structure needs to be used with intention, and each...
Understanding the Different Types of Third-Person Point of View
Most writers (and readers) could explain the difference between first, second, and third-person point of view in a general sense: first is from the “I” perspective, second is the more controlling...
Second-Person Point of View (POV)
The second-person point of view (“You”) is rarely used in fiction. This intimate technique breaks the “fourth wall” to make the reader part of the story. It’s difficult to get right and can be...
Writing Unreliable Narrators
Unreliable narration is a literary device that can create a deeper sense of suspense or mystery, engaging your reader on a fresh level. An unreliable narrator can also be a lot of fun to write. What...
What D&D Teaches Us About Writing Better Fiction
Dungeons & Dragons is collaborative storytelling with direct parallels to fiction writing. Learn how a little D&D can improve your personal storytelling.
Word Counts Aren’t Everything
In fact, if word counts are all we measure a writing session by, then it can be easy to feel down on days when the count isn’t so high. Consider also reflecting on a writing session in other ways....
5 Things to Consider When Assessing Feedback
Assessing feedback is a skill, and while most writers tend to develop a gut instinct for it, that takes time. I recently worked with a client who had received...
Where to Find a Book Editor
It’s a question that I see a lot online: where do I find a book editor? We can be so focused on getting our words down (as we should be!) that we forget to look into those next steps. If you find...
Standard Manuscript Formatting
While it may look boring to some, standard formatting is familiar and comfortable, keeping the professionals reading your manuscript from being distracted by fancy or cluttered visuals.
Improving Reading Comprehension Skills
Improving your reading comprehension skills can allow you to better connect with the stories you love.
5 Things Your Editor Wants You to Know
There can be a lot of anxiety around having someone else read through your manuscript—especially when that someone is reading it to provide constructive criticism. This is completely normal. Here...
Writing Real People into Your Novel
Writers are influenced by people and situations from our real lives. But hitting too close to home can get you in hot water with real-life inspirations.
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