by mike | Aug 25, 2014 | Books, Editing, Publishing, Uncategorized, Writing |
In my centuries of evaluating and editing manuscripts I’ve probably been through five million of ’em. (Wait, I’m not supposed to exaggerate; it’s only one million.) With that large a sample size it’s clear that many of the same mistakes plague writers, whether they’re...
by mike | Jul 28, 2014 | Books, Editing, Read & Critique, Uncategorized, Writing |
In facilitating read & critique workshops in my home for over a dozen years I’ve encountered more than my share of drama queens—and kings. The subject in this post is a compilation of them all. First off, what do I mean by a drama queen? Well, just like actors...
by mike | Jul 14, 2014 | Books, Editing, Movies, Publishing, Uncategorized, Writing |
We writers don’t usually find cause to save the country, or the planet, or the galaxy (except in our own stories), so making us the heroes up on the silver screen is not something that gets box office-driven Hollywood all atwitter. That said, there are more movies...
by mike | Jul 1, 2014 | Books, Editing, Publishing, Research, Uncategorized, Writing |
We writers tend to fall in love with our words—sometimes too much. As a writing coach and editor for decades I have been personally responsible for millions of words of unnecessary exposition being excised from my writers’ manuscripts—usually with those writers...
by mike | Jun 23, 2014 | Books, Editing, Life, Publishing, Thrillers, Uncategorized, Writing |
Okay, I think I’m allowed one “Brag Post” a year, so here goes. After I came back from a dark place and started publishing again in 2011, I’ve had three of my novels nominated for best in their category by the San Diego Book Awards Association. My ghost stories, Fire...
by mike | Jun 16, 2014 | Books, Editing, Ghosts, Publishing, Uncategorized, Writing |
In my decades as a writing coach and editor I have worked with first-time writers whose talents and abilities ranged from “I think you should take up needlepoint or jet skiing instead” to “How in heck are you not published yet!” The latter, to be sure, is the rare...
