"Proofreader required" by Art Siegel, December 11, 2007. No changes made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0/ Over the past couple of months, I've written a series of articles on editing tips for fluency. Here are links to each article, with short teasers of what they contain.
Dialogue Tags: prose becomes overladen when we fail to cut unnecessary 'he said's and 'she said's from the text. If you have already mentioned your character in action, you can often tack their quotation next to the sentence describing what they were doing. Examples are included in the article.
Repeated Words: little words such as 'just', 'suddenly', and 'but' can become wearisome to the reader when used in repeatedly in rapid succession. Substituting them with synonyms or cutting them out entirely can result in better prose.
Adjective and Adverb Abuse: too many describing words can either tire out or nauseate your reader. This article includes both practical examples and tips for getting rid of endless adjectives and adverbs.
Repeated Sentence Structure: a variety of sentence lengths and structures will keep your readers interested in what you're saying. If you constantly write sentences that begin the same way, then this article is for you.
Using Quotation Marks Correctly: what are the rules surrounding the use of " and '? This article explains some of them.
Growing a Useful Vocabulary: lost for words? This article talks about the importance of reading widely.
Commonly Misused Words: they're everywhere. This quick link will help you get started on identifying some of the words you often misuse.
Consistent Spelling: confused by American and British spelling? Here are some rules to help illuminate the topic for you.
Happy editing!
Dialogue Tags: prose becomes overladen when we fail to cut unnecessary 'he said's and 'she said's from the text. If you have already mentioned your character in action, you can often tack their quotation next to the sentence describing what they were doing. Examples are included in the article.
Repeated Words: little words such as 'just', 'suddenly', and 'but' can become wearisome to the reader when used in repeatedly in rapid succession. Substituting them with synonyms or cutting them out entirely can result in better prose.
Adjective and Adverb Abuse: too many describing words can either tire out or nauseate your reader. This article includes both practical examples and tips for getting rid of endless adjectives and adverbs.
Repeated Sentence Structure: a variety of sentence lengths and structures will keep your readers interested in what you're saying. If you constantly write sentences that begin the same way, then this article is for you.
Using Quotation Marks Correctly: what are the rules surrounding the use of " and '? This article explains some of them.
Growing a Useful Vocabulary: lost for words? This article talks about the importance of reading widely.
Commonly Misused Words: they're everywhere. This quick link will help you get started on identifying some of the words you often misuse.
Consistent Spelling: confused by American and British spelling? Here are some rules to help illuminate the topic for you.
Happy editing!
