Don’t Be in Error of Circumlocution
Here’s a simple way to tighten up your writing: look for phrases using be in your passages. Verb phrases using…
Keeping It Real—Avoiding Weak Construction in Dialog
This month we’ve been tackling Fatal Flaw #3: Weak Construction. Our editors have so far shown many ways our writing can…
An Inside Look at Law and Lawyers: 5 Tips for Authors
Today’s post is part of a series on professionals sharing tips and expertise in order to help novelists convey accuracy in…
Avenge and Revenge
When you want payback, are you after revenge or do you mean to avenge someone? Avenge and vengeance have to…
Avoiding the Vague Swamp
This month we’re taking a hard look at Fatal Flaw # 3: Weak Construction. Last week editor Rachel Starr Thomson showed…
Infusing Medical Details into Your Fiction
For a number of weeks, we’re running a series featuring professionals sharing tips and expertise in order to help novelists convey accuracy in…
All Is Well When All Are Accounted For
The word all, as a subject, may take either a singular or plural verb. It depends on the context. Just…
Building Blocks: Avoiding Weak Sentence Construction
This month our editors are tackling Fatal Flaw #3: Weak Construction. Often fiction sags and wilts due to lackluster word choice,…
10 Tips on How to Write Believable Crime and Murder Scenes
We’re starting a fun series covering a number of weeks featuring guest posts from professionals who work in medical, police…