Is welk a word? It’s an archaic one. But, if you’re after the sea snail, that’s whelk.

πŸ’‘ Microsoft Word does not recognise ‘welk’ as a typo. πŸ”Ž But I spotted it. 🐌 The author meant ‘whelk’ as in the seafood, sea snail thing. ❌ “Tall ships rocked on their moorings as a woman selling cockles and welks wended between sailors.” βœ… “Tall ships rocked on their moorings as a woman sellingContinue reading “Is welk a word? It’s an archaic one. But, if you’re after the sea snail, that’s whelk.”

What is the daily word count for NaNoWriMo? (1667. You’ve got this.)

Hello November. πŸŽ‡ And happy NaNoWriMo to all the indie authors out there. Hopefully this month will be transformational for you. Remember once the month is over to look back and say to yourself: — In November, I didn’t wait for the Muse. I just got on with it. — This is the start ofContinue reading “What is the daily word count for NaNoWriMo? (1667. You’ve got this.)”

Is it Hallowe’en or Halloween?

πŸŽƒ Happy Halloween. Or should that be Happy Hallowe’en? πŸŽƒ happy halloween? Or happy hallowe’en? Or some other rendering? It looks to me like the apostrophe is becoming rarer. πŸ”Ž ‘The Chicago Manual of Style’ goes with Halloween. (CMOS 8.89) πŸ”Ž ‘New Oxford Dictionary for Writers and Editors’ accepts either Hallowe’en or Halloween. πŸ”Ž ‘Collins DictionaryContinue reading “Is it Hallowe’en or Halloween?”

Q+A interview feature with me by author, AHM Beattie

πŸ“° NEWS: I did a thing! Q+A with the author AHM Beattie for her Focus on Friday feature. Text from the interview below: ⬇️ Time to get focused everyone. Please welcome Claire Cronshaw. I hope you enjoy. I know I did! Thank you for being our Focus today. It’s great to have you on board.Continue reading “Q+A interview feature with me by author, AHM Beattie”

It’s half term but I’m managing to get some work done. Are you?

Ah, it’s actually much easier to get on with editing jobs during half term while my son has his mates over to play. They’ve been entertaining themselves all day. It’s given me some welcome space so I have: – completed a sample edit of a medieval fantasy romance for a client in America. The manuscriptContinue reading “It’s half term but I’m managing to get some work done. Are you?”

Understanding emphatic third person omniscience through the lens of ‘A Christmas Carol’.

I’ve been drilling down into narrative point of view further than I have before – it’s for a course I’m doing with the CIEP. It’s not that I haven’t thought about narrative viewpoint before. Of course I have: I’ve been a student and teacher of English for all of my adult life. But, I don’tContinue reading “Understanding emphatic third person omniscience through the lens of ‘A Christmas Carol’.”

What is an accountability group? Start one. You won’t regret it.

😁 I’m meeting my accountability buddy, Alison, tomorrow. I’ve been talking to Alison for a couple of years now. We are both members of the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading and have followed fairly similar paths in our career journeys. 🎯 Alison and I are in an accountability group together. The purpose of theContinue reading “What is an accountability group? Start one. You won’t regret it.”

Why POV matters in fiction. And what resources can you recommend for the study of narrative point of view?

πŸ‘©β€πŸŽ“ Narrative point of view is a fascinating area of study. I don’t (yet) offer developmental edits but it’s important that I understand the stages above/before copyediting so that any flaws which remain in the text (such as head hopping or broken binding) can be flagged for the author’s consideration. As I study this stuff,Continue reading “Why POV matters in fiction. And what resources can you recommend for the study of narrative point of view?”

Want to be sure you’re getting a professional editor? Don’t go with one who claims to be good at everything.

This ⬇️ I’ve been getting some advice from this marketing/copywriting fella and he’s really making me think differently. This is really empowering. When you’ve changed professions as I have, no matter how much training you’ve done (and I’ve done lots now), you still get imposter syndrome rearing its ugly head. BUT… this sentence shows imposterContinue reading “Want to be sure you’re getting a professional editor? Don’t go with one who claims to be good at everything.”

Macros for increasing efficiency and accuracy in editing – not to mention staving off RSI.

I reckon the hour or so I spent today being Paul Beverley’s guineapig (installing macros ‘by the tourist route’) might be the best hour I’ve spent on CPD. These are macros which are going to increase my efficiency and accuracy as an editor and they will reduce the number of clicks/keystrokes needed to perform certainContinue reading “Macros for increasing efficiency and accuracy in editing – not to mention staving off RSI.”