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Editing

The Picky Pen
Punctuation Series: How to Edit Hyphens

In the world of grammar and punctuation, there are three types of dash (hyphen, en dash, and em dash).…
August 22, 2019
The Picky Pen
Punctuation Series: How to Edit the Em Dash

In the world of grammar and punctuation, there are three types of dash (hyphen, en dash, and em dash).…
July 22, 2019
The Picky Pen
Punctuation Series: How to Edit En Dashes

In the world of grammar and punctuation, there are three types of dash (hyphen, en dash, and em dash).…
June 22, 2019
The Picky Pen
Punctuation Series: How to Edit Lists

Presentation is everything, especially when it comes to the publishing world. And your presentation of punctuation is crucial to…
May 22, 2019
The Picky Pen
Punctuation Series: How to Edit Punctuation Marks

Presentation is everything, especially when it comes to the publishing world. And your presentation of punctuation is crucial to…
April 22, 2019
The Picky Pen
Punctuation Series: How to Edit Modifiers

Presentation is everything, especially when it comes to the publishing world. And your presentation of punctuation is crucial to…
March 22, 2019
Grammar and Grace
Apart or A Part. Which One?

Do you stay up at night wondering which one to choose–apart or a part? I don’t either, but when…
March 18, 2019
The Picky Pen
Punctuation Series: How to Capitalize Tricky Words

Presentation is everything, especially when it comes to the publishing world. And your presentation of punctuation is crucial to…
February 22, 2019
The Picky Pen
Punctuation Series: Four Ways to Edit Commas

Presentation is everything, especially when it comes to the publishing world. And your presentation of punctuation is crucial to…
January 22, 2019
Grammar and Grace
Probably, Not Prolly!

Do you cringe when someone scratches her fingernails down a blackboard or clicks her teeth against a metal utensil?…
January 18, 2019
The Picky Pen
How to Edit Your Character

We’re heading into a New Year. Perhaps you’ve finished a novel during Nanowrimo. Maybe you’re plotting a new story…
December 22, 2018
The Picky Pen
Five Ways to Edit Dialogue

When thinking about the dialogue in our story, whether fiction or nonfiction, we must consider perspective. With each story,…
November 22, 2018
Grammar and Grace
Three Simple Rules for Pluralizing Names

The holiday season is approaching, and it’s time for a post about the correct way to make proper names…
November 18, 2018
The Picky Pen
How to Take an Editing Break

In light of conference season coming to a close, I thought I’d take a moment and deviate from my…
October 22, 2018
Grammar and Grace
How to Write Big Money

I was recently polishing my latest manuscript. One of the subplots involves a grant payout with large sums of…
October 18, 2018
The Picky Pen
Editing Like a Director

Hello! How’s your editing been going for you? I hope you’re seeing great improvement, but if you’re at a…
September 22, 2018
Grammar and Grace
What’s an Interjection

Last year, we explored seven of the eight parts of speech. Then I took a break to address compound…
September 18, 2018
The Picky Pen
How to Think Like an Editor Part 2

Writing is a funny art because agents and editors (freelance and publishing house) tell us to write, write, write…
August 22, 2018
Grammar and Grace
It’s or Its?

Almost three years ago, I wrote a post about using apostrophes. If you want to read it, go here. The…
August 18, 2018
The Picky Pen
How to Think Like an Editor

Writing is a funny art, isn’t it? Agents and editors (freelance and publishing house) tell us to write, write,…
July 22, 2018
Grammar and Grace
Empathy versus Sympathy

The words empathy and sympathy often cause confusion. I know first hand. I used empathy in another blog post…
July 18, 2018
The Picky Pen
Editing Dialogue

Many writers are introverts and don’t prefer to talk a lot. Some writers are extroverts and love to talk.…
June 22, 2018
Grammar and Grace
Compound Words (Part 3)

This post includes the remainder of compound words from U through Z. The list is intended to help during…
June 18, 2018
The Picky Pen
Editing Is Psychological

Yes. That’s right. Psychological. I promise not to go too deep. Please keep reading. In editing our own manuscripts,…
May 22, 2018
Grammar and Grace
Compound Words? (Part 2)

Last time, I offered a list of compound words from A to H. This post continues with the remainder…
May 18, 2018