Deciding where to start a new paragraph is important. Readers can get confused or lost if everything’s all in one. So, I made a list of the top three reasons to start a new one. Who’s speaking changes If a different character talks, start a new paragraph. Having two characters speak in the same paragraph … More CWM: #18 — When to start new paragraphs
Dialogue tags can be tricky. But they’re easy to understand after knowing the difference between them and action beats. Dialogue tags show who’s speaking and how they’re speaking. These can include but are not limited to: Dialogue tags are formatted with a comma before the ending quotation, and a period goes after the tag. For … More CWM: #13 — Dialogue tags vs. action beats
Dialogue is critical. It’s not necessary, but in stories where it’s present, it needs to flow and keep the story going. That can be hard though. Small talk keeps the story still. Sometimes dialogue can feel like an info dump. So, how do we keep it interesting? GOALS Give every character a goal—usually a different … More 3 tips to spice up your dialogue
No matter what POV you write in, you’re going to come across the words feel or felt at some point. When I edit novels or when I edit my own work, I find a lot of feels and felts. These words are sometimes glossed over without realizing the potential that could be brought to your story if you write without them. Let … More CWM: #8 — The words feel and felt
In some cases, repeating words helps. “Please, Elie,” I begged. “You have to do this. You know how much it means to me. Please.” Notice how please repeats? It doesn’t overdo the dialogue since they’re separated out. It feels smooth. On the other hand, I’ve seen writers use the word please about five times in one … More CWM: #3 — Repeating words for emphasis
All the different editing stages can get confusing. So, here’s a breakdown: Developmental Editing This focuses on your book’s big picture, including: Since this stage helps bigger items, it doesn’t usually do much sentence-level wise. Instead, it helps develop your story, making sure it’s solid and coherent. The editor will mark every page, whether it’s … More What’s the difference between the levels of editing?
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