Is “decide” weakening your writing? This small word can slow pacing, strip emotional depth, and trap you in telling rather than showing. My latest blog post shows how focusing on actions, rather than decisions, creates more engaging scenes.
Category Archives: How to
How to include flashbacks in your writing
Flashbacks send readers back in time to events that happened outside your story’s “present”. Knowing how to nudge your readers in the right direction will keep readers engaged, instead of having them go “huh?”
How long should your book be? A word count guide for travel and adventure writers
The short answer: as long as it needs to be. While this is a vague answer, understanding word counts can make the difference between readers finishing your book or abandoning it half way through. Let’s discuss why your word count matters, look at some examples, and look at ways to reduce your word count whenContinue reading “How long should your book be? A word count guide for travel and adventure writers”
How to write scientific names for animals, plants, and fungi
As an adventure writer, you probably don’t often use scientific naming in your stories, but occasionally you might want to use the scientific name of a creature that you come across during your travels.
Here is how those names are formatted.
How to avoid overloading your descriptions
It’s tempting to load your adventure scenes with detail-rich descriptions that capture what you experienced in the moment. But too much detail can overwhelm a scene and slow the pace.
How to reduce the number of ‘I’s in your writing
I went here, I saw this, I did that. Too many ‘I’s can make your narrative all about you, which makes for a dull narrative akin to a report from Julius Caesar: I came, I saw, I conquered.
How to use verbs to boost your descriptions
Verbs convey action, but some verbs can have the opposite effect: they can flatten your writing and drain all the energy from a scene.
Improve your writing by removing filter words
Removing filter words from your writing is an easy way to deepen your narrative and engage your readers.
When do you capitalise “mum” and “dad”?
“Mum” can be used as a title or as a common noun. When it’s used as a title, it’s capitalised. When it’s used as a common noun, it’s lower case.
How to write (great) sex scenes
Picture the scene: your characters have been pining over each other for months and they’ve finally had their first kiss. They’re ready for more. They want to, no, need to have sex, right now.
Deborah Shaw Adventure Editing 