Editorial - Blog Posts
self-editing for fiction writers
Showing vs Telling
Do you have any narrative summary, or are you bouncing from scene to scene without pausing for breath?
Characterization & Exposition
What information do your readers need in order to understand your story? At what point in the story do they need to know it?
How are you getting this info across to your readers? Is it all at once through a writer-to-reader lecture?
If exposition comes out through dialogue, is it through dialogue your characters would actually speak even if your readers didn’t have to know the information? In other words, does the dialogue exist only to put the information across?
Point of View
Look at your descriptions. Can you tell how your viewpoint character feels about what you’re describing?
Proportion
Look at descriptions. Are the details you give the ones your viewpoint character would notice?
Reread your first fifty pages, paying attention to what you spend your time on. Are the characters you develop most fully important to the ending? Do you use the locations you develop in detail later in the story? Do any of the characters play a surprising role in the ending? Could readers guess this from the amount of time you spend on them?
Dialogue
Can you get rid of some of your speaker attributions entirely? Try replacing some with beats.
How often have you paragrapher your dialogue?Try paragraphing a little more often.
See How it Sounds
Read your dialogue aloud. At some point, read aloud every word you write.
Be on the lookout for places where you are tempted to change the wording.
How well do your characters understand each other? Do they ever mislead on another? Any outright lies?
Interior Monologue
First, how much interior monologue do you have? If you seem to have a lot, check to see whether some is actually dialogue description in disguise. Are you using interior monologue to show things that should be told?
Do you have thinker attributions you should get rid of (by recasting into 3rd person, by setting the interior monologue off in its own paragraph or in italics, or by simply dropping the attribution)
Do your mechanics match your narrative distance?(Thinker attributions, italics, first person when your narrative is in third?)
Easy Beats
How many beats do you have? How often do you interrupt your dialogue?
What are your beats describing? Familiar every day actions, such as dialling a telephone or buying groceries? How often do you repeat a beat? Are your characters always looking out of windows or lighting cigarettes?
Do your beats help illuminate your characters? Are they individual or general actions anyone might do under just about any circumstances?
Do your beats fit the rhythm of your dialogue? Read it aloud and find out
Breaking up is easy to do
Look for white space. How much is there? Do you have paragraphs that go on as much as a page in length?
Do you have scenes with NO longer paragraphs? Remember what you’re after is the right balance.
Have your characters made little speeches to one another?
If you’re writing a novel, are all your scenes or chapters exactly the same length? -> brief scenes or chapters can give you more control over your story. They can add to your story’s tension. Longer chapters can give it a more leisurely feels. If scene or chapter length remains steady while the tension of the story varies considerably, your are passing up the chance to reinforce the tension.
Once is usually enough
Reread your manuscript, keeping in mind what you are trying to do with each paragraph–what character point you’re trying to establish, what sort of mood you’re trying to create, what background you’re trying to suggest. In how many different ways are you accomplishing each of these ends?
If more than one way, try reading the passage without the weakest approach and see if it itsn’t more effective.
How about on a chapter level? Do you have more than one chapter that accomplishes the same thing?
Is there a plot device or stylistic effect you are particularly pleased with? How often do you use it?
Keep on the lookout for unintentional word repeats. The more striking a word or phrase is, the more jarring it will be if repeated
Sophistication
How many -ing and as phrases do you write? The only ones that count are the ones that place a bit of action in a subordinate clause
How about -ly adverbs?
Do you have a lot of short sentences, both within your dialogue and within your description and narration? Try stringing some of them together with commas
Hounds of Death (2022)
“There is nothing more powerful, than an idea whose time has come” - Saul Williams
2016 Drama Soup for the Soul
2016 Drama Soup for the Soul
The Asian Drama Philosopher (A-Philosopher)’s Chair thanks everyone for their warm support in the past, especially ladysighs for spreading the love for Six Flying Dragons beyond the drama blogging community. All the same, drama watching is a very time-consuming activity, so it does not really expect readers to watch any of the dramas covered on this site. What it truly aims for is cross-cultural…
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OH NO THIS ASTROMAN WAS CRACKED IN HALF BY THE MUSIC, WHAT ARE WE TO DO!?
Dystopia II
True to myself it didn't take long for a new problem to appear.
Did you know that finding an Editorial house and publishing house is a pain in the neck ? Well I did, so I decided to start looking to try and find a few that could correspond to my need.
I find one but to find the relevant information they make you click on several links that end up just keeping you in a never ending cycle of links. So I gave up, after 15 min. I think that if I can't find what I need in 5 minutes on a site then it's probably not worth my time anyway.
That was a major let down but I will be going back online, later in the project, to continue my search for the graal !
Religious Fundamentalist Ken Ham Battles US Constitution on Twitter
Religious Fundamentalist Ken Ham Battles US Constitution
This morning, Ken Ham, of Answers in Genesis, took to Twitter to release a barrage of tweets insisting that public schools have the right to plan and execute school trips to his newly-opened Ark Encounter biblical theme park which teaches, among other things, that the Earth is no older than 6,000 years and that evolution is false.
It seems that Mr. Ham is blissfully unfamiliar with the…
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I originally posted a different edit of the photo on the left. I think this one is more powerful. Bonus dreamy shot on the right!
Model: @hazardousreign
Toronto Contemporary Family Room
Example of a large, modern, open-concept family room with a light wood floor, white walls, a tile fireplace, a ribbon fireplace, and a wall-mounted television.
Alek Wek for Paper Magazine Fall 2017
caleb mclaughlin for neu neu magazine
Bella Hadid for Miss Sixty's SS25 Collection (2025)
luv the 60s concept !! 🍉🧃
credits: (all of the @s are linked on instagram)
Photography: @/carlijnjacobs on instagram DP: @/michaelcukr on instagram Styling: @/ibkamara on instagram Creative Direction: @/terryxu_ on instagram Art Direction: @/frederic_saint_parck on instagram Hair: @/jawaraw on instagram Makeup: @/samvissermakeup on instagram Set Design: @/davidjameswhite_ on instagram Manicure: @/nailglam on instagram Production: @/prodn_artandcommerce on instagram
Disney o Rei Leão Balmain Paris
Em homenagem ao 30º aniversário do Rei Leão, a Disney X Balmain está lançando uma coleção de edição limitada.
Diretor Criativo: Olivier Rousteing
Fotógrafo: Joel Anderson
I had an idea (which happens sometimes in the middle of something entirely different that you're supposed to be doing) and I wanted to explore it right away. I wanted to do retro cassette tapes (because who doesn't love those awesome shapes?). As fruit (because who doesn't love the colours of watermelon?). And this little project was born. I don't know where it's going yet. I only have a vague inclination in my mind where I would like it to end up. It is crying out for texture, so I'll probably add that next. Comments welcome! :)
There are some changes afoot around here after a long break but before all is revealed here’s a recent cover for the Chicago Reader V-day issue.
When you get the call to craft a Rube Goldberg machine out of sex toys you know you’re doing something right - big thanks to my amazing AD Paul Higgins for the dream job!
New piece for The New York Times Book Review to accompany a review of Rachel Moran’s book Paid For: My Journey Through Prostitution.
Some bits and pieces from a new piece for San Francisco Magazine about a pretty cool live/work/play space in Oakland called The Hive.
A fun new piece for MoneySense about taking a risk with retirement funds.
Totally forgot to post this and I’ve been a bit neglectful with a big project wrapping up but here’s the work I did for an awesome article on the B-52′s in the latest issue of The Pitchfork Review. This was so much fun to work on and my AD’s Michael Renaud and Molly Butterfoss made it a total dream project!