Garrison Keillor’s advice struck a chord the first time I heard it, and I often come back to it: My advice to writers is very simple. It is to get out. Get out more, don’t sit in the house. Go for walks, it’s good for you. Writing is an obsessive activity and it’s too…
A proofreading tip that tells you not to proofread? I know it sounds counter-intuitive but stay with me; there’s method in my madness. What I mean is don’t proofread your text… … at first. In other words, just read it. Like, for pleasure. Not only will this make the job easier in the long run,…
Even if your text is destined for paper, the chances are that at the proofreading stage you’re looking at it on a screen. Because if you’re like me, you started out with a notebook and pen and wrote your ideas out longhand, then went to a computer to type up your ideas. Computers are definitely great for…
I mean the old-fashioned kind, the papery thing. It may seem a tad old-school these days, when most writing is done on a computer or an electronic notebook. Why would you need a notebook and pen? Well, one way in to the proofreading task is to make a to-do list of things you know you’ll…
It’s rare to meet someone you feel shares your creative and spiritual DNA. It’s even more rare to get to work with them. But that is what I’ve been doing recently. It feels like I’ve come home. We spent a long time talking; I got to know where she was coming from, and fell in…
When you’re proofreading your own text there’s nowhere to hide. If there are any typos – SPAG, syntax, factual errors – you can’t blame your proofreader. Your proofreader is you. What’s more, if your writing is going to appear online, you will have additional proofreaders: your readers. You can’t blame these people either. While in…
I recently read something I wrote more than a year ago and had forgotten about. It was like reading something written by another person. Coming to it fresh I was able to appreciate it in a completely different way from if I had just written it. Not only can revisiting old pieces of work do wonders for your…
“It’s not you, it’s me.” That moment in a relationship where one of you has to get away. In this case the one who has to get away is you – from your words. Writing is a relationship between you and your words. And as with any relationship, writing is always a step into the…
I love this tweet, which I saw the other day and just had to share: Actually, I love editing my own stuff. I find it soothing and rather cathartic…said no writer ever. #editing#writing#writerslife#blerg — Monica Cable (@monicacable) 15 July 2016 Not only will every writer relate to this but although it’s about editing, the same…
Write first, proofread later. Sounds obvious, right? It is, but it’s surprising how tempting it is to keep going back to auto-correct even when still on the first draft. It’s a hangover from our school days, perhaps, when we’re taught to be risk averse. Don’t make mistakes, learn the rules, pass the tests, get good…
