Category: Editing

3 MORE Books on Writing no Writer Can Live Without

3Books

You Can never Get enough Books on Writing

My mother collected cookbooks. From the Better Homes and Gardens classic to The Joy of Cooking to Southern Living, she loved browsing recipes. Me, I love poring over books about writing. Every title offers new tidbits that improve my craft (“The road to hell is paved with adverbs.”–King), motivate me (“Bird by bird, Buddy. Just take it bird by bird.”–Lamott), or just let me revel in the deliciousness of words (“The reader will usually find in the sentence some compensating merit, attained at the cost of the violation.”–White).

In a previous post, I recommended three must-have books on writing: The Elements of Style, by William Strunk, Jr. and E. B. White; On Writing, by Stephen King; and Bird by Bird, by Anne Lamott. Today I’m adding three more treasures to your chest that will make your writing kick ass!

Continue reading 3 MORE Books on Writing no Writer Can Live Without

Capitalization: The Only Rule You Need

16 Rules? Ack!

GrammarBook.com lists 16 specific rules for capitalization. Who memorizes 16 rules? For formal papers or important communications, refer to the website. For everything else, there’s only one rule:

capitalize names.

Continue reading Capitalization: The Only Rule You Need

Step 2: Editing–Refining Your Masterpiece (Post 3 of 4 on Writing Revision)

My Masterpiece
My Masterpiece

So now you’re a pro at revision (step 1 in the revision process, that is). From my June 22 post, Revising Writing is Like Home Renovation, you know there are three steps in the writing revision process: Revise, Edit, Proofread. On July 20, we examined Step 1: Revise. This week, we tackle Step 2: Editing.

Home Renovation
Writing Revision is Like Home Renovation

I’ve been using the house renovation analogy to illustrate the revision process. Step 1 in the house reno process meant making major structural changes. Step 2 involves doing the interior finishing work. In writing, Step 1: Revise meant assessing content and meaning—making sure you said what you meant to say. Step 2: Edit involves language issues in sentences and paragraphs—making sure you said what you meant to say the way you intended to (and should) say it.

When I edit, I begin by examining individual sentences and then look at how those sentences work together in their paragraphs. Continue reading Step 2: Editing–Refining Your Masterpiece (Post 3 of 4 on Writing Revision)

Revising Writing is Like Home Renovation: Structure, Finish Work, Cleaning

Home Renovation
Writing Revision is Like Home Renovation

Caveat: Writers Must Revise

Let’s assume you accept my position from last week’s post that writers must revise their work. Exactly how do you make your shitty first draft better?

Many writers wish for a magic wand Screen Shot 2015-06-22 at 1.10.56 AMto wave over the pages or the keyboard. Sorry, but Harry Potter has moved on to bigger and better projects. I can’t even give you a single, quick-’n’-dirty operation that will do the trick. Because revision isn’t something you do when you finish writing. Revision is really another stage of writing, itself, and can’t be rushed or superseded—or as we saw last week, skipped.

Writing is Revision

Writing isn’t simply the act of spewing ideas from your brain and printing them onto paper. It is the art of choosing just the right words and arranging them into the most appropriate syntaxes and rhythms, and then organizing those ideas into just the right structure to accomplish your purpose and connect with and move your reader. Writing is revision.

So I can’t offer you a quick fix. What I can tender is the time-tested revision process loved by writing instructors everywhere: Revise, Edit, Proofread. Continue reading Revising Writing is Like Home Renovation: Structure, Finish Work, Cleaning