Kia ora, We’ve passed the halfway mark: for us in the southern hemisphere, winter solstice happened on Sunday. Longer (but colder) days ahead! Hoorah! I’m keeping it short this week with six adventure-related updates about books, movies, and gear. Got any links you want to share with me? Reply and send them my way! Cheers,DeborahContinue reading “6 adventure-related updates”
Category Archives: Email
There are already so many memoirs about walking this trail – is there space for mine?
I recently saw someone ask this question online: “There are already so many memoirs about walking Te Araroa. Is there even space for mine?”
YES! There is space for your story! It doesn’t matter if you’re writing about Te Araroa or the Pacific Crest Trail or the Camino de Santiago or any other popular trail. There is space for your story.
Writing a book one moment after another
Kia ora, Writing a book is hard! Do you know how many chapters that is? How many pages? How many words? It’s hours and hours of thinking and staring and typing, and thinking some more, and getting distracted and typing… But you don’t have to write it all at once. You don’t even have toContinue reading “Writing a book one moment after another”
One for the Kiwis
Kia ora, I don’t often get political in this newsletter, but my god, I cannot wait to vote out this government on November 7. I could bang on about what bollocks the coalition have been doing, but I’ll stick with a summary of the Conservation Amendment Bill this time. This bill opens up around 60%Continue reading “One for the Kiwis”
Being edited makes you a better writer
Kia ora, Many years ago I worked with an author on his first book. He was a journalist by training, so he knew what it was like working with a subeditor. But he’d never worked with a book editor before, nor had anything as long as a manuscript edited. He was a little nervous aboutContinue reading “Being edited makes you a better writer”
That time I suggested an author add a … tasteful? … joke to his story
Kia ora, That tasteful joke in the subject line. It was actually a dick joke. But I didn’t want to say it that obviously in case the spam gods banished my email. But yes, I once suggested an author add a dick joke to his story. This author had a particular writing style – self-deprecating,Continue reading “That time I suggested an author add a … tasteful? … joke to his story”
A fresh idea for dealing with a writing rut
Kia ora, Yesterday I spent the morning staring at a blank doc trying to figure out how to get a blog idea out. I had the topic, and I knew what I wanted to say, but … the thoughts were not connecting with the fingers on the keyboard. Feel familiar? I’m sure you’ve had yourContinue reading “A fresh idea for dealing with a writing rut”
My favourite writing goofs
Kia ora, Over the years, I’ve picked up all sorts of goofs in my editing work. Here are a few I remember: In each case, something stuck out to me as I read. And because of the type of person I am, I had to go fact-checking. The authors weren’t dummies for making these mistakes.Continue reading “My favourite writing goofs”
What are your favourite writing tools?
Kia ora, How do you wrangle the tens of thousands of words that go into your book? It’s easy to manage a few pages, but when you start getting into chapters and you’re scrolling and scrolling to find the spot where you want to add a detail, the whole writing thing gets a little complicated.Continue reading “What are your favourite writing tools?”
What do you love doing the most?
Kia ora, Last weekend I put on my tramping boots and went for a loooong walk. I didn’t really need my boots, but wearing them made the walk feel more like an adventure. Plus there were cow pats everywhere. I go for a short walk most lunchtimes, and I do a circuit of the BotanicContinue reading “What do you love doing the most?”
Deborah Shaw Adventure Editing 