Some writers start every sentence with “there are,” others can’t stop italicizing, and still others write sentences that never end. We’ve all got bad habits in our writing, and this week Ariel returns to discuss them with Chris and Wes. Our hosts are all editors, so you can believe we’ve seen more than our fair share. Plus, as a special bonus, you’ll get to hear us divulge our own bad habits, so scandalous!
Show Notes
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An interesting episode. I was having trouble following some of the different writing issues you were talking about. In the future, I would suggest more extensive use of examples even for the things that seem obvious, because without examples everything is much more abstract and hard to follow.
Thanks for the feedback. I see what you mean. I’ll try to watch out for that in future wordcraft episodes we record.
The list of bad habits seems never ending sometimes. Still, you guys pointed out a couple that I hadn’t even noticed I was doing.
Do you have any resources (books, blogs, or courses) for improving my personal editing skill?
Yeah. Most of them just get you familiar with common bad habits and good practices, and let you work on applying it to your writing.
First, we have a list of blog posts and podcasts on wordcraft here: https://mythcreants.com/blog/tag/wordcraft/ – people have mentioned the Lessons from Bad Writing series as particularly useful.
There are a couple books I recommend. Self-Editing for Fiction Writers by Browne and King is great. I also recommend Jodie Renner’s Style That Sizzles and Pacing for Power.
Last, if you want a personalized assessment with a list of things to look out for in your work, we have some services that will do that. You can either order a consultation with me, or get a copy edit with the feedback option turned on. If you submit a sample or shorter piece, it shouldn’t cost too much.
Sweet! Thanks for the suggestions. It’s a never-ending process of learning and improvement.