Things that will doom your book

Waiting for inspiration: Solution: The only way to get a book written is with BICFOK (Butt in Chair. Fingers on Keyboard) Just write. You can’t fix a blank page!

Fears and doubts: Solution: Yes, your book might be rejected, but first you have to write it. BICFOK works well here.

Spelling, grammar and punctuation are boring: Solution: So ignore them until you’ve finished your first draft. Once that draft is down then tidy it up.

If your book is rejected tell everyone how horrible the agent/publisher/critic is all over social media. This will guarantee any other book you write is also rejected. Solution: Always act professionally in public. Feel free to yell, cry and eat chocolate in private. Then fix the book and resubmit it.

Self-publish your book the day you finish writing it: Solution: Or you could be sensible and get it critiqued, edited and polished first. Everyone needs a critical eye on their work before putting it out in the world.

Give up: Solution: Most successful writers were rejected many times before they were published. BICFOK and keep writing, polishing and submitting.


Helen Woodall
helen.woodall@gmail.com

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

Writing by hand helps learning to read

Research suggests handwriting skills help children to read by “writing down” what they are learning in terms of spelling and sentence construction, similar to note-taking in other subject areas. It is “learning by doing” to an extent not possible with phones and tablets that auto-complete and auto-correct on behalf of the user. From a typographic perspective, handwriting provides us with the ability to see letters as shapes with form, weight, texture and space and this facilitates ease of reading by being able to form and identify letters that are clearly distinguishable from each other.

US psychologist Karin James at Indiana University found that the “doing” part of drawing letters by hand increases activity in three areas of a child’s brain that adults use when they read and write. Handwriting enables children to generate more words and more ideas.

Since children also need to know how to use technology, handwriting shouldn’t be seen as an either/or situation but both are needed equally for children to develop.

For the full study see: http://www.lifehacker.com.au/2014/07/why-handwriting-still-matters-in-the-digital-era/


Helen Woodall
helen.woodall@gmail.com

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

Word crimes

Are you still confused about grammar? Here's Weird Al Yankovic's take on it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Gv0H-vPoDc&feature=youtu.be


Helen Woodall
helen.woodall@gmail.com

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

How to avoid clichés and melodrama

Each book you write should be fresh, new and different. If you have ten books they should not be the same story told ten different ways.

Resist the lure of stereotypes. Real people are much more interesting, and much harder to write.

Tell your own story. Don’t try to rewrite someone else’s.

You do have to keep the story moving, but don’t rush. Give the reader detail so they understand and relate to the characters and the situation.

Conflict doesn’t have to be sensational. Ordinary lives with the problems set out so the reader relates to them work fine. Avoid gratuitous violence and melodrama.

Your characters need to grow, develop, and change. The reader needs to see this happen and understand how and why it happens. That makes them want to keep reading.


Helen Woodall
helen.woodall@gmail.com

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

Resume writing

In my freelance editing, from time to time I edit CVs, resumes, and other professional documents. Here are some tips.

It’s not all about your grade average. You need to showcase all your strengths and abilities.

Keep it to under two pages. One page might not be enough to do it properly, but more than two probably won’t be read.

Link your accomplishments to your experience. Let them see what you did.

Don’t just write a resume and send it to everyone. Target your resume and your experience to each job you’re applying for.

Be aware potential employers are likely to check your Facebook, Twitter, Linked In, etc. Make sure employment dates and so on all match. Also consider taking down those pictures of you at a party drunk and half naked.

Employers value integrity and honesty. Don’t add in white lies (or big lies either) as they may well come back to bite you.

Ensure there are no typos and spelling errors. An employer will think if you can’t even get your CV correct you won’t care enough to do his job properly either.

Helen Woodall
helen.woodall@gmail.com

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

Spelling bloopers

For those of you who think spelling doesn’t really matter, everyone makes errors, no one cares, to some extent you’re right. Plenty of people don’t care, or maybe they don’t know what you wrote is wrong. But there are still others willing to post your errors over the internet. Which will give those of us who can spell a laugh.

WARNING: Swearing and bad language as well as typos and idiocy.

For example:

http://www.thepoke.co.uk/2014/05/21/the-25-worst-best-spelling-mistakes-on-twitter/

http://www.buzzfeed.com/alanwhite/19-people-who-took-on-the-english-language-and-lost?bffb

Helen Woodall
helen.woodall@gmail.com

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