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Where There’s a Will, There’s a Way

NewsJanuary 2, 2017545Views 0Likes 0Comments

Where There’s a Will, There’s a Way. Brenda Krygowski is proof of that adage. I first met Brenda last year at a Florida Writers Association mini-conference in Tampa. We talked after the workshop, and she told me how much she wanted to improve her writing skills. That day, she purchased two of my Edit Like an Expert…

The Mindset Lists

NewsJanuary 2, 2017774Views 0Likes 0Comments

Have you heard of The Mindset Lists? I find them fascinating and useful and wanted to share them with you. The Mindset Lists, created at Beloit College in 1998, record what has always or never been true for entering college students. They put historical and cultural touchstones into generational perspective. For example, the class of 2002 (born in…

January Book Review

NewsJanuary 2, 2017502Views 0Likes 0Comments

I keep a running list of memoirs that look interesting to me. Writer, producer, and showrunner Shonda Rhime’s book, Year of Yes: How to Dance it Out, Stand in the Sun and Be Your Own Person, has been on that list for a while now. I haven’t read it yet, but when I looked up…

Editing Tip – January 2017

NewsDecember 31, 2016524Views 0Likes 0Comments

Grammarly is a software program that claims to be “the world’s best online grammar checker.” While I do use Grammarly regularly in my business—in fact, they emailed me today and said I checked 1,698,451 words this year—and benefit from it, I wouldn’t go so far as to say it’s the best in the world. I’m…

Writing Prompt – January 2017

NewsDecember 31, 20161KViews 0Likes 0Comments

We could write this month about your favorite holiday gift, what surprised you the most about this holiday, or the best food you experienced at the holiday table, but let’s not. I’m about holidayed out. Let’s write about skating. Yeah, that’s right, skating. Did you like to skate as a child? Roller or ice skating? What…

Women’s National Book Association Writing Contest

NewsNovember 29, 2016373Views 0Likes 0Comments

Attention, all you talented women writers out there. I have an opportunity for you. The Women's National Book Association is currently accepting entries in fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. The winning entry will be announced May 1, 2017 and published in Bookwoman, the official publication of the Women's National Book Association. To find out more, including submission guidelines, head…

Book Review for November 2016

NewsNovember 29, 2016552Views 0Likes 0Comments

Speaking of traditions and family, I know many families who love to watch The Sound of Music every holiday season. Many of you are trying to write your own memoirs and family histories. That's why this month’s book review is for Julie Andrews’ memoir, Home: A Memoir of My Early Years. In this memoir, Andrews recounts…

Editing Tip for November 2016

NewsNovember 29, 2016436Views 0Likes 3Comments

We have many punctuation marks in the English language, but we use a handful most every day. Quick, name them—period, comma, question mark, exclamation mark, colon, semicolon, single and double quotation marks, apostrophe, hyphen. We also have the less often needed ellipsis, brackets, parentheses, dash, slash, and braces. Let’s look at the exclamation mark, which appears…

They did it; they finished!

NewsNovember 29, 20162KViews 0Likes 13Comments

Congratulations to two of my clients—Lucille Ellson and Barbara Powell—for finishing their writing projects and having great books to show for their efforts. * * * Floyd & Lucille Ellson Lucille Ellson and her husband Floyd began writing the story of his 104 years of life as a farm boy, sailor, educator, school administrator, husband, father, and…

Meeting a writing rock star

NewsNovember 29, 2016632Views 0Likes 0Comments

I follow writers like other people trail musicians. When I like a writer, I read everything he/she writes. Many times, I’ve emailed a favored author for guidance on writing for my classes and been thrilled with a response to pass on to them. I’ve searched out where the writer speaks so I might have a…

Where There’s a Will, There’s a Way

The Mindset Lists

January Book Review

Editing Tip – January 2017

Writing Prompt – January 2017

Women’s National Book Association Writing Contest

Book Review for November 2016

Editing Tip for November 2016

They did it; they finished!

Meeting a writing rock star

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