Zoe M. McCarthy's Blog
March 17, 2023
25 Tips for Becoming a Writer 
These twenty-five tips address general, story, character, and writing concerns that writers hear over and over.
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February 16, 2023
7 Tips for Using Personal Anecdotes in Your Stories
Image by yogesh more from Pixabay
Zoe McCarthy’s book, Tailor Your Fiction Manuscript in 30 Days, is a fresh and innovative refocusing of your novel or novella. Through a few simple—and fun—steps, Zoe helps writers take their not-ready-for-publication and/or rejected manuscripts to a spit-polish finish. Writing is hard work, yes, but it doesn’t have to be difficult.—Eva Marie Everson, best-selling and multiple award-winning author, ...
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January 19, 2023
Write the Word Your Character Would Say
Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay
A concise, detailed, step by step resource for all writers. — Jamie West, editor coordinator, Pelican Book Group
More about Tailor Your Fiction Manuscript in 30 Days after today’s post.
Choose words your characters would actually say. Also, check the meaning of words you use. Sometimes it takes an editor to spot these word problems, ...
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December 15, 2022
Consider Status in Dealings Between Characters
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Zoe McCarthy’s book, Tailor Your Fiction Manuscript in 30 Days, is a fresh and innovative refocusing of your novel or novella. Through a few simple—and fun—steps, Zoe helps writers take their not-ready-for-publication and/or rejected manuscripts to a spit-polish finish. Writing is hard work, yes, but it doesn’t have to be difficult.—Eva Marie Everson, best-selling and award-winning author, ...
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November 18, 2022
When to Use a Hyphen in a Compound Adjective
When to hyphenate and when not to hyphenate a compound adjective. Come find out where to put that hyphen.
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October 20, 2022
Your Story Isn’t About You Even Though It’s a Story About You
Image by Mircea – See my collections from Pixabay
Zoe McCarthy’s book, Tailor Your Fiction Manuscript in 30 Days, is a fresh and innovative refocusing of your novel or novella. Through a few simple—and fun—steps, Zoe helps writers take their not-ready-for-publication and/or rejected manuscripts to a spit-polish finish. Writing is hard work, yes, but it doesn’t have to be difficult.—Eva Marie Everson, ...
The post Your Story Isn’t About You Even Though It’s a Story About You appeared first on Zoe M. McCarthy.
September 15, 2022
Should I Pay to Attend a Writers Conference?
Image by David Mark from Pixabay
Zoe McCarthy’s book, Tailor Your Fiction Manuscript in 30 Days, is a fresh and innovative refocusing of your novel or novella. Through a few simple—and fun—steps, Zoe helps writers take their not-ready-for-publication and/or rejected manuscripts to a spit-polish finish. Writing is hard work, yes, but it doesn’t have to be difficult.—Eva Marie Everson, best-selling and award-winning author, ...
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August 18, 2022
Poll Results: What About a Story Creates a Great Read?
Image by Tumisu
Tailor Your Fiction Manuscript in 30 Days is chock-full of practical techniques. Numerous examples clarify problem areas and provide workable solutions. The action steps and blah busters McCarthy suggests will help you improve every sentence, every paragraph of your novel. If you follow her advice and implement her strategies, a publisher will be much more likely to issue you a contract.—Denise K. ...
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July 14, 2022
2022 Christmas in July Reader Blog Tour & Giveaway
Happy Christmas in July! Welcome to the 2022 Christmas in July Reader Blog Tour & Giveaway,which runs July 15-22, 2022 (contest closes at 8 p.m. Eastern on 7/22). At the bottom of each author’s blog post, you will find the name of a Christmas song. Write them all down and provide all song titles (26 in total) on this Google form. Click here for a list ofall participating authors and their links! ...
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June 16, 2022
Improve Story Paragraphs by Addressing Echoes and Overused Words
Freshen your paragraphs by replacing overused words and words and phrases echoed in the paragraphs and in nearby paragraphs
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