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Be Your Own Editor
Articles that have had this time-consuming treatment, sometimes more than once, are much easier for an editor to accept and for a language supervisor to make sound English without changing the meaning.
The Beat Goes On
My first published short story. If memory serves, I wrote it when I was 15, and it was published in the 1979-1980 edition of Sequoia Magazine, published by Chamberlain High School, Tampa Florida. I resisted the urge to change a single word because, yep, the old editor in me saw lots of places where I could.
Blame It On Michael
The boss assigns you to write something. You write it. You publish it. Congratulations! And then...
Common Writing Mistakes
I've been editing novels since early 2000. Looking back at my experiences, I feel like sharing the most common mistakes I've seen.
Dead Men Don't Take Selfies
I wrote this little spoof of hard-boiled detective novels for a novel over 10 years ago. It was so much fun that I felt like sharing it here.
The Difference Between Editing and Proofreading
I don't really care since I provide both, but here's a quick simple explanation.
Every Author Needs A Proofreader
When you read your own writing, you don't see what's on the paper or computer screen. You see what's in your head. That's why it's so easy to find the mistakes of others but so hard to find your own.
Get Rich Writing Fiction
Some of us write simply because we can't not write. Ideas grab us, move us, and demand to be written. Then we learn that doesn't sell.
The History of the Siege of Lisbon, by Jose Saramago
The Wikipedia entry on Proofreading includes four works of fiction in which one of the characters is a proofreader. Of the four, this is the only novel in which the main character is a proofreader.
How To Write Any Paper
What is writing? I have some thoughts in my head. When you read what I've written down, you should understand those thoughts. It sounds so simple when I say it like that. In practice, well, maybe it is and maybe it isn't. Let's find out.
The Myth of the Solopreneur
Time you spend doing [crap] is time you don’t spend doing [core], time you spend stressing, time you spend away from stuff other than your business that you also enjoy doing. Why do that to yourself?
The Passive Voice
Writing should be mostly in the active voice, for ease of writing and ease of understanding. A paper written entirely in the passive voice would be difficult to read and remember, and it'd probably put a reader to sleep. However, there are times when the passive voice is appropriate. I'll move away from my fiction-writing background and compromise with you a little bit on that.
Proofs and Three Parables by George Steiner
Now the burn seemed to smart behind his eyes.
Published Writing That Sucks
I refer to long-winded passive-voice writing that leaves readers wondering What does that mean? as speed bumps. You're cruising along at a nice steady pace, reading something, and BAM you've got to stop or slow down. Double back. Sort out the meaning that the author hid because of laziness, incompetence, or unclear thinking.
Purpose Driven Leadership
Managers can get compliance, but only leaders can get buy-in.
Watson and Crick Show How It’s Done
Whenever someone in the classroom or at a lecture asked me how many words they needed to write, I always answered "as many as it takes."
What's Easier Than Destroying The Evidence?
She went to all the employees and took the memo away. Then she typed it herself, free of errors, and distributed that to the employees. All the employees who were laughing about the bloopers forgot they ever existed.
Where Does Bad Writing Come From?
A Christmas Special by Ebeneezer Grinch
Why Is My Life So Boring?
Chapter One - Who Can I Blame?
Chapter Two - When Does Life Begin?
Chapter Three - Learning
Chapter Four - Programming
Chapter Five - Why Is My Life So Boring?
Chapter Six - Why Am I Here?
Professional Proofreading Service
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