From beginning to end, The Ride on the Butterfield Trail was a project of love. The author, Bill Alcorn, is my father, and he's been telling stories for as long as I can remember (some of the most entertaining ones were true). When my brother and I … [Read more...] about A Labor of Love: The Ride on the Butterfield Trail
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Slim Down Your Writing – Part 2
In an earlier post, Slim Down Your Writing, I discussed three easy ways to slim down and tighten up your writing: use fewer words, use the active voice, and control your use of adjectives and adverbs. Today's post is Part 2 of slimming down and … [Read more...] about Slim Down Your Writing – Part 2
Slim Down Your Writing
Perhaps you've resolved to shed a few inches from your waistline in 2012, and you're having great success slashing your meal portions, shunning dessert, and hitting the gym regularly. Good for you! Keep up the good work. Now, are you giving the … [Read more...] about Slim Down Your Writing
Grammar: 5 Pesky Pairs
If you're an author, you most likely have a top-notch editor to clean up your copy before it goes to print. But what about everything else -- query letters, your website, or your blog? As writers, our credibility is on the line every time we put … [Read more...] about Grammar: 5 Pesky Pairs
Get Its Right
I'll confess: I'm a bit of a Grammar Nazi. I try to keep my editorial urges in check so that I'm not perpetually obnoxious; however, the thing that always sends me over the edge is the misuse of its and it's. So, if this is a pair that tends to … [Read more...] about Get Its Right
Common Style Issues
Most editors I know and work with use the Chicago Manual of Style as their primary style guide. It's our go-to source for clarifying which words are capitalized, how to properly use colons, when to spell out numbers, and oh so much more. While … [Read more...] about Common Style Issues
