From Rick: As readers of this blog know, periodically I like to step up on my soapbox. Before I do, I’d like to categorize the manuscripts I am called upon to read in my various capacities. As editors of an
Read moreFrom Rick: Back in May of 2019, I did a post called “Tips from the experts” wherein I pulled out what I considered the best advice and provided a link to the full article I quoted from. Here’s the link
Read moreFrom Rick: In this age when it’s easier than ever to sample the writing online (and with so many choices available to readers), it’s more important than ever to ensure you don’t lose a sale simply because your opening lacks
Read moreFrom Rick: This week, given that it’s Thanksgiving week, I’m going to give myself a little breathing room here while still giving you a couple of useful articles to read. One of the most challenging aspects of fiction writing to
Read moreFrom Rick: I apologize for not having posted here for two weeks. Last Monday my computer blew out its power supply. No files were lost, but I wasn’t able to access the post for last week in time. All is
Read moreFrom Rick: In PART-1, I talked about three major flaws a story can have: (1) The story fails to engage the reader (2) The characters fail to engage the reader (3) The story takes too long to become interesting (or
Read moreFrom Rick: What’s wrong with your story? Why are magazine editors rejecting your short stories? Are your novels getting mixed reviews (or no reviews)? In a series of two posts I’m going to offer some suggestions for things you can
Read more(from the Chicago Manual of Style) From Rick: I decided to continue from last time with more of those sticky punctuation questions I found in the Chicago Manual of Style’s online Q&A. To avoid confusion, I’m going to pick up
Read more(from the Chicago Manual of Style) From Rick: This past Saturday I gave a presentation to my local writers group on “Sticky and Tricky Points of Punctuation.” As a result of that presentation, one of the members sent me an
Read moreFrom Rick: Most of us recognize that the comma is perhaps the most difficult piece of punctuation to get right because it has so many rules that apply to it. I prefer to call them conventions instead of rules because
Read more