We all go through those times when the writer in us yearns to come out, but our brains just won’t cooperate. It’s frustrating, to say the least. At those times, you can help break through the creative Wall of Silence by letting someone else’s art inspire your art. No,...
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Be Careful How You Flash Those Descriptives…
I was reading a take-out restaurant menu when I came across this description - look at the orange word on the first line: "Homely" vegetarian food? In America, that would insinuate "plain, unattractive" food. I'm sure that's not what they were inferring! But in...
National Day Of… (Go Ahead, Fill In The Blank)
As a writer, it’s fun to include some unusual facts in your books or short stories – things that make your readers say “I didn’t know that!”, “That’s SO cool!”, or just make them smile with new knowledge. And if you’re writing a series, they’ll come to expect – dare I...
Wall Street Journal Gaffe
Believe it or not, this typo appeared in the May 20, 2013 Wall Street Journal article, "Considering an Underground Park in New York". Spell check doesn't pick things like this up. Yet another glaring example of why everyone who writes needs a proofreader!
Two To Too Many Misteaks Mistakes Spoil the Story
I wrote a guest blog post about why it’s so important for authors to have at least one “outsider” proofread their work, whether they’re indie or mainstream writers. I started the article with a simple illustrative statement: “Errers can be distracting.” I can’t tell...
In Defense of Genres
Have you ever met a genre snob? That’s a term that popped into my head as I was talking to someone at a dinner party recently. It was a very literary group of people, so I opened a conversation with the person next to me by asking one of the first questions any book...
Seinfeld DVD Proofreading Mistake
Check out this Seinfeld DVD cover which has a major proofreading mistake: Do you see the extra "s" on the word "Season"? How could they miss that? Many people may have checked this cover before it was published, but it takes a trained eye to catch tiny but crucial...