Author: Michelle

A to Z Blogging Challenge: K is for Knots, crinkles and plot holes

A to Z Blogging Challenge: K is for Knots, crinkles and plot holes

Posted by | Apr 14, 2018 | ,

K is for Knots, crinkles and plot holes I had to get a little creative choosing my subject for today, K is such a difficult letter to find a topic to write about, so I thought it would be a good idea to look at some of what I do as a developmental editor and offer suggestions on how to avoid some common pitfalls surrounding plots and inconsistencies. What does a developmental editor do? Developmental editing is one of the earliest stages that a writer might wish to engage a professional editor. Some authors will hire a developmental editor with...

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A to Z Blogging Challenge: J is for Journals and notebooks

A to Z Blogging Challenge: J is for Journals and notebooks

Posted by | Apr 13, 2018 | ,

J is for Journals and notebooks Sometimes it is hard to find inspiration to write a story or know how to tackle a particular scene, which is where journals and notebooks come into play. Every writer should have (at least) one. It doesn’t need to be a paper notebook, you might like to capture your thoughts on your phone’s camera or notepad function, or in a blog of your own, perhaps even Pinterest if images are part of your creative process. Your writer’s notebook(s) comes in many forms. Whichever yours takes, it will be a continual work-in-progress – a one-stop...

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A to Z Blogging Challenge: I is for Imagery

A to Z Blogging Challenge: I is for Imagery

Posted by | Apr 13, 2018 | ,

I is for Imagery I don’t know about you, but when I’m reading a book, I love to ‘see’ the world I’m being immersed into. My genres of choice are – surprise, surprise – science fiction or fantasy. Both of these genres require a substantial amount of worldbuilding, but it isn’t just the landscapes or spaceships I want to see. I want to see, hear, taste, touch, and smell what the characters do, and I want to feel their pain and share their joy. I may only be a casual observer to a story, but the books I enjoy...

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A to Z Blogging Challenge: H is for Head-hopping

A to Z Blogging Challenge: H is for Head-hopping

Posted by | Apr 12, 2018 | ,

H is for Head-hopping Head-hopping is the ‘art’ of jumping out of one character’s head (perspective) and into another, usually under the guise of allowing the reader the ‘full-on’ experience. I’ve heard many a writer say they want their reader to know what’s going through a secondary character’s head (if only for a moment). ‘How will they [reader] understand what’s going on?’ is the common argument. The problem with head-hopping is that it is seriously… seriously irritating, and jarring. Imagine writing a wonderful, tension-filled scene. The reader is deep in your main character’s pov (point of view) and then suddenly...

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A-Z Blogging Challenge: G is for GDPR

A-Z Blogging Challenge: G is for GDPR

Posted by | Apr 11, 2018 | ,

G is for GDPR While this is a break from the subject of creative writing, the General Data Protection Regulation is coming into effect next month and will affect how I conduct my business. It’s been spoken about for the last couple of years – I found out about it last week (so cue a bit of panicking from me). It does affect anyone within the EU who holds another person’s personal data – editors and authors included – so I see no harm in including this as part of the A to Z challenge. I spent most of yesterday...

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