Non-fiction copyeditor, developmental editor and back cover copywriter. Helping writers transform their book from good to gleaming
Picture the scene. You’ve taken the admiral step of writing a book. Now here you are, staring at ‘that’ passage, wondering for the umpteenth time, “Should it stay, or should it go?”
The prose sings. The research is impeccable. Yet someone — a trusted friend, colleague, beta reader, editor — has ‘suggested’ you delete it because apparently, they think “it has nothing to do with the main argument.”
Sound familiar?
As a writer, you can transform bland, ordinary sentences into tantalizing, spicy prose using adverbs.
But just like spices, if you use adverbs skillfully, you’ll add depth and flavor to your writing to delight your reader. But if you scatter them carelessly, you’ll create an overwhelming, unpalatable mess.
Continue reading “Season With Care: A MasterChef Guide to Writing With Adverbs”
Can you trust everything you read on the internet? The answer is no, of course. But is it becoming harder to detect the authentic from the fabricated?
Have you ever found yourself double/triple/quadruple-checking your usage of affect vs. effect or principle vs. principal?
Continue reading “Perplexing Pairs: Principal vs. Principle (and Other Tricky Twins)”
You know the one I mean. The one that’s stretched beyond recognition, but you won’t throw it away because it makes you feel snug and warm whenever you wear it.
Continue reading “The War on Words: Outdated Expressions vs. Modern Clarity”