If you’re talking to an editor about getting your manuscript edited, you’ll likely hear us talk about how many rounds of editing we provide and how many passes of your manuscript we’ll do. They’re not the same thing, so knowing the difference will help you understand what you’re getting for your money. What is aContinue reading “Editing lingo: What is a pass and what is a round?”
Tag Archives: writing-tips
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?”
Word choices matter
Kia ora, I read an excellent article on The Spinoff last week: Why the word ‘tribe’ makes some Māori uneasy. It’s a great read, and I think even if you’re not from New Zealand, you’ll still find it interesting and valuable. It got me thinking about how word choice matters so much. You’ve heard meContinue reading “Word choices matter”
Type 2 fun
Kia ora, Do you know about the fun scale? It’s a way of categorising experiences based on how easy to hard the experience was. Type 2 fun and type 3 fun are what a lot of armchair adventurers enjoy reading about. Trips they’d never go on themselves, but they still want to read about othersContinue reading “Type 2 fun”
If we only had 15 minutes together
Kia ora, If I could sit with you and talk about your manuscript, here’s what I’d say: First, congratulations on writing a whole damn book! That’s huge. The hardest part, in my opinion, is DONE. But that doesn’t mean you’re done-done. Getting the story out is just the first stage. But that’s okay. Publishing isContinue reading “If we only had 15 minutes together”
The effect “before” and “after” have on your travel writing (aka timeline nudges)
Let’s start with an anecdote: When I arrived in the clearing, I set up my tent before putting my sleeping bag inside, then got my stove boiling so I could make a cup of Milo. I went for a walk to collect dry wood after I had warmed up, before lighting a camp fire. There’sContinue reading “The effect “before” and “after” have on your travel writing (aka timeline nudges)”
Going for a walk helped me figure out a big issue
Kia ora, I wasn’t at my desk, I wasn’t on the clock, I wasn’t actively thinking about the story at all, but the clichéd bolt of lightning hit me as I heaved my way up a hill, getting blasted by a full-on southerly straight from Antarctica: the tense was wrong. I’d been working on aContinue reading “Going for a walk helped me figure out a big issue”
Busting myths that travel & adventure writers have about editing
Too many new writers let common myths about editing hold them back from working with the very people who can kick their writing up a notch. I’m taking about editors like me. I’m not here to just check your spelling and grammar, and I’m never going to tell you that you’re a bad writer. I’mContinue reading “Busting myths that travel & adventure writers have about editing”
Are you a writer?
Kia ora, A writer I worked with earlier in the year got in touch recently with an update. He’d just finished self publishing his first book – the book we worked on together. “I guess I’m a writer now!” he said. I shared his joy, of course! Getting that first book out is huge. ButContinue reading “Are you a writer?”
Pull your writing out of the toddler zone
Kia ora, Have you ever got stuck talking to a toddler who’s telling you all about their trip to the playground and that they got to feed the ducks, and then they got chased by the ducks, and then they stood in duck poo, and then they found a stick, and then, and then, andContinue reading “Pull your writing out of the toddler zone”
Deborah Shaw Adventure Editing 