Writing

Should you edit while writing a first draft, or keep pushing forward through errors until the draft is finished? It’s a question many new writers ask, but it doesn’t come with a simple yes or no answer. What is certain is that if you’re hitting the backspace key more often than letter keys, you are…

When is a writing draft finished? You might be writing an article, a blog post, a short story, or even a novel. Your first draft was rough around the edges, but after revisions, rewrites, corrections, edits, and proofreading, it’s now in much better shape. Is it finished now? That’s a question every writer asks. The…

It’s easy to ignore weak sentences because they’re usually grammatically correct. They don’t get flagged by grammar checkers, and they’re easy to skim past while you’re writing. But during editing, certain sentences start to stand out because something feels slightly off. Maybe it’s too wordy, the idea feels flat, or it’s harder to read than…

If you use AI editing tools to correct your writing, does it mean it could be flagged as AI-generated? That’s a question many writers are now asking as AI becomes part of everyday correcting, editing, and proofreading. The answer isn’t straightforward because correcting writing, rewriting text, and generating content are three different processes. In practice,…

If you want to make your writing sound more human, avoid over-correcting. With so many AI grammar and writing tools available, it’s easy to think that more corrections automatically means better writing. But your writing voice doesn’t work like that. Writing isn’t only about correctness. It’s about rhythm, tone, and the small vocabulary choices that…

You might wonder whether writing software and apps can actually make you a better writer. With so many tools available today for drafting, editing, organising, and even generating ideas and text, it’s easy to assume the right software could improve your writing skills. I’ve used many writing tools over the years, and they can certainly…

How-to advice is great for fixing a coffee machine, but far less useful when it comes to writing a book. Sure, the advice to have an outline, use it, and write 750 words a day sounds logical. However, writing a book is not a logical, repeatable process. I’ve written eighteen books, and no two followed…

You’ve probably read a lot of writing advice saying that you should avoid using very long sentences because it increases the level of difficulty for readers, especially in a world where attention spans are much shorter, and small screen reading is increasing, but does the reduced frequency of simply using a period (or full stop)…

In fiction writing, telling verbs often flatten a sentence, causing you to miss opportunities to show action. It’s easy to overuse verbs like was, seemed, felt, or had because they quickly summarize or move the story along. Whenever possible, replace them with more descriptive, action-based alternatives. In other words, show the reader instead of telling.…