Lessons learned in a writing journey
I have finished editing (yeah!!!), and now am about to go on to the next thing on the list, which is to write up some questions for the betas on a spreadsheet to help me get a better understanding of their comments. As I said last time, I’m intimidated by the thought other people will get to read it. Fingers crossed, I should have the questionnaire ready within the week, and from there on, I’ll take 2 days off, then I’ll start sending some of my short stories to magazines, and start outlining the next novel.
In lieu of this last round of edits (at least for this stage), I thought the following article by Jacqui Murray may be useful to some of you. Some of the words mentioned there are in my list as well. Some, I never thought of as problematic (yikes!).
Originally posted on WordDreams...:
Author Michael Smart (see my chat with Michael here) has a pet peeve about using too many words when fewer would do. If you haven’t read his riveting Bequia Mysteries, set in the unusual locale of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, you’re missing out. All three are tightly-woven, action-packed, and sprinkled with the authentic island culture of their Caribbean setting.
Michael published “Kill These Words! 10 Easy Rules to Enliven Your Writing” about a month ago on his blog and has given me permission to republish it here:
Lessons learned in a writing journey…
The use of weak verbs, plentiful adverbs, and unimaginative words, is a malady I encounter with increasing frequency among many indie-published authors. This weakness contributes to tepid sentences, dull narratives, and tedious unable-to-get-past-chapter 1 reading.
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