Hello, writers! Have you ever been self editing and wondered what you can do to make your prose stronger? Or, have you ever received a draft back from an editor–a draft you’ve already gone over multiple times yourself–and noticed lots of deletions? You’re not alone. We all use crutch words when we speak, and those words…
While every writer should invest in hiring a professional editor, sometimes you don’t have the time or budget, or sometimes it’s not something an editor needs to look at. I’ve created this quick guide for self-editing to help you whether you’re doing the first round of edits on your next novel, editing a paper for…
“Your, you’re.” “There, their, they’re.” “To, too, two.” These homonyms, or words that are pronounced the same but have different meanings, are crucial to good, clear writing. I see plenty of people using them correctly, but I also see plenty of writers misusing these words occasionally. Below is a super short, super quick guide to the…
1. You can’t end sentences with a preposition. You’ve probably been told by a teacher or professor to never end a sentence with a preposition. Wrong! You can totally end a sentence with a preposition. This rule was devised as part of a misguided attempt to align English grammar with Latin grammar back in the day.…
As an editor, I see nearly everyone using passive voice in their writing. While passive voice isn’t always wrong, it’s wordy and ineffective. It’s weak and doesn’t show any conviction or strength in your language. Quite frankly, it’s annoying – I don’t like trying to figure out the actor in a sentence and as an editor,…
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