Almost two years ago, my agent notified me that the rights to one of my books were due to be returned to me, and all I had to do was formally make the request. While I was at it, I went ahead and …
How ya gonna keep ’em down on the farm …?
Even though I grew up on a working Midwestern farm, I’m pretty sure I couldn’t get into the mind of a farmer enough to make a farmer character sound realistic. But I have to cackle like a hen when I …
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Putting your ducks in a row
A/K/A, getting the modifiers and the clauses to line up right so everything makes sense There’s a natural flow to English – some kinds of descriptions simply sound better in one order than in …
Redundancy and other repetitions
Lately the Snarky Editor has been running across an unusual number of repetitive phrases. Most of them are thoughtless, because the author is just cruising along telling the story without stopping to …
“Every working woman….”
"Every working woman needs a wife!" My first editor was the one who uttered that memorable phrase, in an interview with a local television station when she was visiting my hometown. But honestly, …
When expressions go astray
When an author thinks he or she knows the reference, and doesn't stop to check, the results (like these examples from published books) can be amusing ... and sometimes disconcerting. …your client …