Song lyrics can give a scene a particular mood or evoke a particular memory or time. They can set the tone when used as a quote at the start of a chapter. But song lyrics are copyrighted, raising the question: can you use them in your book?
Category Archives: Self-editing
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.
How to use apostrophes
In this article I will show you how to use apostrophes to indicate missing letters and possession, and how they are used with years, time, Māori words, and abbreviations.
How to punctuate dialogue
Following punctuation conventions when writing dialogue will give your readers a smooth reading experience. When done well, punctuation silently guides the reader so they can concentrate on what your characters are saying.
What are style guides and style sheets? (And do I need one?)
Style guides are tools editors use to help ensure consistency throughout your novel, thesis, or document.
Style sheets are tailored to a specific project. They condense the most important parts of a style guide into a user friendly document.
How to proofread your own work
You don’t always have the time or luxury to pay for a proofreader so here are two tips to help you proofread your own work: listening and checklists.
How to delete multiple spaces
File clean-up is an important part of the editing process. Before I get into the nuts and bolts of editing a document, I run a handful of global checks. One of these is searching for and deleting multiple spaces. To save your editor time, and you money, try and delete these extra spaces before you send your file to them.
Deborah Shaw Editor & Proofreader 