Remember the song “Tighten Up” by the R&B group Archie Bell & the Drells, a 1968 #1 hit? Those of us “of a certain age” do. Fast forward to a recent day when I woke up thinking about that song and its connection to writing. What connection? A major challenge to our imaginations referred to as cutting out lazy writing. What can we tighten up and cut? Let’s start with clichés. Cut Clichés Tighten up writing by banishing clichés—those overused … Read More »

You’ve reread that first draft and are confronted with the reality that most writers have at this point: your paragraphs are bulky. What can you do to shape up your work? Here are seven tips to help you trim down at the paragraph level: 1. Essential Information When drafting, there is a tendency to overwrite. You are thinking through your story and figuring things out, often including extras you don’t need in the final story. How can you tell if … Read More »

You have just finished the first draft of a novel.  While fictional, the setting and some events are historical and you want to get your details correct.  During the planning stage you did all your research. You outlined, read, checked sources, googled, and double checked.  Now it is time to call in the big guns! You need some expert readers to read for historical accuracy.  This is not the same as other types of readers and critiquing.  The revising, proofreading, … Read More »

“Revision is one of the exquisite pleasures of writing.” Perhaps Bernard Malamud’s quote is overstating it, but revision is certainly where the hard work of writing takes place. And it can be overwhelming. Everything from the flow of the story arc to the grammar and spelling checks are done during this stage of the process. While trying to do a revision for every aspect of the story at once can be overwhelming, focusing on one small area can be a … Read More »

What is the first thing an agent, editor, or reader sees when they start your story? Your sentences. Cluttered prose makes for laborious reading. It’s a distraction from the plot—one that will make people put your book down. Thomas Jefferson said, “Never use two words when one will do.” You don’t want your sentences to be overly simplistic, but you do want them to be crisp. So, what specifically can writers do to cut down words? Get out the scissors … Read More »