Ink Deep Editing | Blog

Getting Someplace while Going Nowhere: Two lessons about writing that I learned from stationary swim

Let’s start with the obvious question: What in the world is stationary swimming? It is just swimming while using a contraption—basically...

Go Ahead. Give Up: Why letting go of a goal is sometimes the right choice

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...

Write On!: Why “debut novel” isn’t synonymous with “first novel”

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....

Quitting Time: The top four things that will make me put down the book I'm reading

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...

You're Not the Boss of Me: Why a developmental editor won't tell you what's "wrong" with your book

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...

Time After Time: Common grammar errors when writing in past tense

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...

The Full Monty?: How to make the most of your editing budget

When people talk about book editing, they often seem to think “an edit” is a one-step process, as if you send your manuscript to an...

Goodbye, Darling!: What to cut from your novel so that every word counts

I’m sure you’ve all heard the advice: kill your darlings, cut ruthlessly, make every word count. We all know that we’re supposed to...

Blah, Blah, Blah: How to reveal your characters’ emotions without naming them

When you write a novel, you hope that it will make your future readers feel something. Whether you want them to feel terrified or...

Keep Talking: A primer on punctuating dialogue

I edit a lot of fiction, which means I edit a lot of dialogue. I’ve written several blog posts about writing good dialogue over the years...

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Seeing the Forest for the Trees: How to Approach an Editorial Letter

Back to the ... Present: The potential pitfalls of using flashbacks

It's Not (Only) about You: Writing a memoir that unites the universal and the particular

Inside Out: Using internal and external conflict to create a compelling story

Write What You Know: You Don't Need to Be An Alien to Write Science Fiction

A Hot Mess: Why you shouldn’t expect your first draft to be a work of art

Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da: Writing Lessons from Songwriting

Perfection versus Excellence: Why there might still be errors in your book after an edit

Information Overload: Where to look for (and remove) info dumping in your novel

You’re Such a Know-It-All: Things to consider when writing in third-person omniscient point of view

Erica Ellis