I love to write in a variety of formats, but one of my favorites is songwriting. I love the process, and I get really excited about the way people respond to songs. The addition of music strengthens the connection people feel to the words, so you can really get to a pe...

You’ve written a book and can’t wait to share it with readers. But you realize the importance of having another set of eyes on it, so you hire an editor. When the editing is done, you are upset to find that there are still errors remaining. How did this happen? Did you...

When you write a novel, there is a lot of information you have to give your readers. They need to learn about your characters, your setting and, if you’re writing sci-fi or fantasy, maybe even a completely new world. It would be reasonable to think that giving readers...

One of the first things you have to decide when you sit down to write a book is what point of view you’re going to use. The first choice you have to make is whether to write from a first-person point of view (using the pronouns I and me) or a third-person point of view...

Let’s start with the obvious question: What in the world is stationary swimming? It is just swimming while using a contraption—basically a belt attached to a bungee cord—that allows you to swim in one place so that people with tiny pools, like me, can still swim “laps”...

Writing is hard. Building a career out of writing is even harder. That’s why people are always telling writers not to give up. You don’t have to tell someone not to give up when they’re doing something easy. When’s the last time you heard someone say “Don’t give up” to...

You’re writing your first novel and dreaming of publishing success. It’s hard work and you’ll take encouragement wherever you can get it. You go online and see an article about the great success of a new author’s debut novel. “Yes!” you think. “It IS possible for a new...

There was a time when I would force myself to finish every book I started. (Though, I have to admit, even in those days, I quit Moby Dick three times. You can’t say I didn’t try!) But there isn’t enough time to read all the books I want to read, so now I refuse to wast...

Most writers agree that hiring an editor to find the errors in their book before they publish is a good idea. But when you start talking about story-level editing (sometimes called developmental editing or content editing), some writers balk. They feel that the plot an...

 It’s been a while since I’ve written a blog post about the most common grammar errors I find while editing. In this post, I’m going to talk about a couple of errors specific to authors writing in past tense.

• Not distinguishing different “levels” of the past when writ...