10 Common Mistakes Writers Overlook

Writers’ Life recently published a list of ten common mistakes writes overlook.

They include ones I’ve mentioned many times before. In fact, you should all be able to recite them. Things like telling instead of showing the reader what is happening, and repeating “pet” or “crutch” words. Then there are run-on sentences, and empty words that are pure padding and don’t forward the story at all.

One good point they make that’s slightly different is to watch the dialogue. Do all the characters speak the same? Is someone more a caricature than a character? Try reading the dialogue out loud and see if it makes you cringe.

The full article is at: http://writerslife.org/10-common-mistakes-writers-overlook/ and is well worth reading.

Helen Woodall
helen.woodall@gmail.com

Helen is available to line edit and/ or content edit fiction and non-fiction. Rates on application.

The Bestseller Book That Didn’t Exist

This is an absolutely brilliant hoax. It's hard to believe it ever happened, but the way it was pulled off is amazing.
I find human nature endlessly fascinating, and an author's fans should never be underestimated.
Go, read, laugh, enjoy.

http://www.jmarkpowell.com/the-bestseller-book-that-didnt-exist-how-the-author-of-a-beloved-christmas-classic-pulled-off-the-hoax-of-the-century/

Helen Woodall
helen.woodall@gmail.com

Helen is available to line edit and/ or content edit fiction and non-fiction. Rates on application.

The 35 most actionably useless corporate buzz words

“By leveraging our stakeholders' core competencies, this low hanging fruit could be actioned by close of play.”

Do you know what that means? No? I’m pretty sure no one else does either, but it sounds kind of official and businesslike so it must be okay? Right?

Wrong.

This article is for everyone stuck in a job where the management really speaks like this. Or a country where the politicians do. (“Heavy lifting” any Aussies?)

It’s also a warning for writers. Please ensure only a villain uses these terms except as a joke with their friends after work.
If you aren’t convinced look at some of the words critically. “Blue sky thinking”. Because in other businesses they have green skies? Are all ideas going to be considered? Really? Or just the ones the boss likes and thinks he can fit into the budget?
Or how about “upselling”? Because no one ever grinds their teeth when the kid at Maccas totals up their order and says, “Would you like fries with that?”

The full story is at: http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/victoria/these-are-the-35-most-actionably-useless-corporate-buzz-words/story-fnkd6ppg-1227324911537#itm=newscomau%7Chome%7Cnca-homepage-masthead-feature%7C3%7Cheading%7Chomepage%7Chomepage&itmt=1430211972954


Helen Woodall
helen.woodall@gmail.com

Helen is available to line edit and/ or content edit fiction and non-fiction. Rates on application.

Positive words to change your brain

A new study shows that positive words can change the expression of genes, strengthening areas in our frontal lobes and promoting the brain’s cognitive functioning.

According to Andrew Newberg, M.D. and Mark Robert Waldman, in their book, Words Can Change Your Brain, a single negative word can increase the activity in our amygdala (the fear center of the brain). This releases dozens of stress-producing hormones and neurotransmitters, which in turn interrupts our brains’ functioning, especially with regard to logic, reason, and language. They said, “Angry words send alarm messages through the brain, and they partially shut down the logic-and-reasoning centers located in the frontal lobes.”

On the other hand, the longer someone concentrates on positive words, the more the positives begin to affect other areas of the brain. Functions in the parietal lobe start to change, which changes a person’s perception of themself and the people around them. People perceive reality with less suspicion and mistrust and their logical thinking is much clearer.

The full story is here: http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2013/11/30/words-can-change-your-brain/

Helen Woodall
helen.woodall@gmail.com

Helen is available to line edit and/ or content edit fiction and non-fiction. Rates on application.

The history of swear words

About two-thirds of the words in the English language come from the romance languages: predominantly Latin and French. Yet most of our swear words have a base in the Germanic languages.

When William, Duke of Normandy defeated Harold Godwinson at the battle of Hastings in 1066 William made French the language of Britain. That meant that French became the “polite” language and the old Germanic-based English was considered crude.

In turn, that meant calling your annoying neighbor an arsch rather than a cul.

But more than that, our everyday words tend to be from the Germanic root. It’s not hard to work out what Haar, Hand, and Fuss mean, for example.

For the whole story see: http://blog.oxforddictionaries.com/2015/06/swear-words-etymology-and-the-history-of-english/

Helen Woodall
helen.woodall@gmail.com

Helen is available to line edit and/ or content edit fiction and non-fiction. Rates on application.