Tag Archives: forauthors

What are metonyms? What are anaphoric references? And (why) do they matter in fantasy writing?

❓ Do you know your metonyms from your anaphoric references? This week, some terminology that was relevant when I was teaching A level English language has popped into my head. It doesn’t really matter what these things are called, but what does matter is that these things are *things. One term was metonymy. The otherContinue reading “What are metonyms? What are anaphoric references? And (why) do they matter in fantasy writing?”

Has the cat got your tongue? Find it with self-publishing.

Stuart’s non-fiction book Felicette has been in my orbit for a while. I’ve been meaning to read it and this week it made its way to the top of my TBR pile. It tells the story of the first cat in space. This is not a children’s story. It’s not twee or sentimental. And StuartContinue reading “Has the cat got your tongue? Find it with self-publishing.”

Creative writing groups can help you find your voice.

I went out to a writers’ cafe last night and did some blackout poetry. (Also called redacted/erasure poetry.) It was super fun! I worked on maybe six or seven pieces. When I started, I was looking at what each piece of prose was telling me, but once I got going, I felt like I wasContinue reading “Creative writing groups can help you find your voice.”

Sending your book to an editor is like sending your kid on a school residential.

🚸 Am I talking about sending your kid on a school residential? 📚 Or might this be an analogy…? And when they get back…? This analogy can run much further. But I reckon that’ll do. 😃 Handing over your manuscript to an editor might be like sending your kid on their school residential. Be brave.Continue reading “Sending your book to an editor is like sending your kid on a school residential.”

‘Looking up, his heart sank.’ Did it? How bothered are you about dangling modifiers?

Can your heart look up? 💓⬆️ ▫️Looking up, his heart sank. I know what the author means. They mean that whatever the character has seen has made their heart sink. 🎣 But the way it’s written causes something called a ‘dangling modifier’. The subject of the sentence is ‘heart’ and the heart is said toContinue reading “‘Looking up, his heart sank.’ Did it? How bothered are you about dangling modifiers?”

Is an editor with a website a more attractive proposition to an author than an editor without one?

🎉 It’s my website’s second birthday. And it’s got me thinking … While my professional platform on LinkedIn pre-dates cherryedits.com by three years, it wasn’t until I got my website that I felt legitimate. 🌐 Two years ago, I reached the this-is-not-a-dress-rehearsal phase of my professional life. Buying the domain name, building the site, puttingContinue reading “Is an editor with a website a more attractive proposition to an author than an editor without one?”

POV: Improve your writing by doing more of it.

☺️☺️ Just to be sappy a moment… I love seeing writers improve over time. I am lucky enough to work with some authors whose creative wells seem bottomless. They are always writing. There are always more stories to tell. And I get to read them. And when you’ve seen someone’s early stories, then later ones,Continue reading “POV: Improve your writing by doing more of it.”

Will an editor judge me for my poor grammar?

When an author is worried an editor will consider their writing to be poor due to grammatical mistakes, my message is: don’t stress. We are not here to judge.  In England, when 15/16-year-olds do their English exam and are asked to write a story, a whopping 40% of their mark for that story comes fromContinue reading “Will an editor judge me for my poor grammar?”

POV: You do your best proofreading when you’ve committed your work to its most permanent form. Confessions.

🎻 What’s that music you’d hear on those Radio 2 confessions? Bring it to mind to accompany this post. 💭 A memory popped into my head this morning. And that memory involves an occasion where an error I introduced into a text went to print. ❗ Before you all scratch me from your proofreading Rolodex, know this: I wasContinue reading “POV: You do your best proofreading when you’ve committed your work to its most permanent form. Confessions.”