An astonishing percentage of what I do with my clients' web copy involves eradicating the phrase "click here" from their links. For more information, click here. You see it everywhere. Everyone's doing it, so it must be a best practice, right? Wrong. It's the worst possible … [Read more...] about Why “click here” is a terrible link, and what to write instead
Writing
Copyediting
99 commas appear on the page. 99 commas appear. Take one down, pass it around, 108 commas appear on the page. … [Read more...] about Copyediting
Romance writing advice in 140 characters
The other day, YA author Justine Larbalestier asked several luminaries of the romance genre on Twitter why she was having so much trouble writing a romance. I've Storified the advice she got from Joanna Bourne, Tessa Dare, Courtney Milan, Sherry Thomas, Cecilia Grant, and … [Read more...] about Romance writing advice in 140 characters
What 100 days of writing looks like
I love this infographic from Jamie Todd Rubin: I don't track all the same things, but my graph would probably look very similar. (via Tobias Buckell) … [Read more...] about What 100 days of writing looks like
Werewolves, wolf packs, and discredited science
The fiction I'm working on at the moment involves werewolves. I hadn't revisited the premise in a while (this is a reworking of a very old piece), and I knew that I needed to look up modern views on wolf pack hierarchy because the "alpha wolf" notion has been discredited. It … [Read more...] about Werewolves, wolf packs, and discredited science
Lying to Ourselves
Not surprisingly, seeing as writers lie for money, we lie to ourselves all the damn time. You start off pretending a project doesn’t mean that much to you, or that you’re writing it to learn, or that you’re writing it for art, or that you need to do something during your lunch … [Read more...] about Lying to Ourselves
Novel in 90 summer round, May 15-August 13
Novel in 90 is a LiveJournal community started by Elizabeth Bear back in 2007. (Here's her original not-FAQ.) It's a kinder, gentler version of NaNoWriMo. The goal is only 750 words per day. There's a daily post to the community, and everyone comments with their day's progress. … [Read more...] about Novel in 90 summer round, May 15-August 13
On the Oxford comma
The Oxford Comma is always and eternally invariably correct, and knowing failure to use it is abomination punishable by death, or at least a failing mark. The delimiter of a comma-delimited list is a comma. In the fake and obviously-manufactured constructed situations where the … [Read more...] about On the Oxford comma
I feel busy, oh so busy…
I've been whingeing about deadlines on Twitter, so I thought I'd take a moment and catch you up on what I'm doing. First up, I'm turning in a chapter every Thursday on the second edition of the book. That goes until mid-April. Because all my fiction projects turn into … [Read more...] about I feel busy, oh so busy…
Writing: on fear and creativity, the Thud, and a hundred other things
I'm writing regularly again for the first time since the baby was born. It's glorious. I always forget, in the lulls, how great I feel when I'm able to keep it going for more than a few days at a time. As it does, the universe is throwing me things I need to see and hear. The … [Read more...] about Writing: on fear and creativity, the Thud, and a hundred other things
