Shadow of the Canyon
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- Written by Pam Davis and Steve Davis Pam Davis and Steve Davis
Come journey with us on a magical adventure and meet a special horse, Shadow of the Canyon. Shadow is a wild Mustang, who begins life as just another member of the herd, but by facing many challenges with determination and courage he develops inner strength, self-esteem and happiness through his encounters with others.Dialogue: More Than Just Talk
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- Written by Greg Sushinsky Greg Sushinsky
People talk. We’re always talking.
If you go anywhere, you’ll notice people constantly talking. Our age of social media is just another form of talk; texting and talking on our phones, reading on our phones, reading what people are talking to us about.
As an exercise, perhaps even a punishment, some writers will listen and write down dialogue verbatim. Truman Capote once did this long after he was successful, to re-train his ear and mind to capture dialogue.
Welcome!
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- Written by Greg Sushinsky Greg Sushinsky
When Editors Do Bad Things To Your Book
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- Written by Greg Sushinsky Greg Sushinsky
Okay, so you got that contract, you’ve worked long days and nights maybe taking in a bit more caffeine than you ordinarily would, and you’ve got that thing done. Your book is a beast, a beast at times you hated but ultimately it’s a lovable beast, and you’re satisfied. Congratulations, you’ve completed your book. That’s quite an accomplishment. Now you eagerly send off the digital files to your contact at the publishing company, hopefully your editor. Then you wait, breathlessly. You completed the manuscript in six months instead of a year because the publisher said he wanted to rush it out. You know your book is good, full of new and important and helpful stuff, not just a rehash of everything everybody already knows, written in an engaging and entertaining way. So now you wait.Word of the Day
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Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 20, 2019 is:
canker • \KANG-ker\ • verb 1 : to become infested with erosive or spreading sores 2 : to corrupt the spirit of 3 : to become corrupted
canker
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When Writers Do Bad Things to Editors
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- Written by Greg Sushinsky Greg Sushinsky
Mostly when writers do bad things, the main bad thing they do is write badly. But that’s not all of it. There’s a lot of related behavior that comes with writing badly that compounds what writers are doing, or not doing.
In the article, “When Editors Do Bad Things to Your Book,” I highlighted the nightmare world where writers are caught in a book destroying, soul dampening exercise of bad editing. To be fair, as both a writer and editor, it should be pointed out that many editors—if not most—are conscientious and dedicated, and work as well as they can in a publishing world that has changed—and continues to change—dramatically and at light speed. It’s not a world that favors careful, conscientious, thorough editing, so that needs to be said.
Also, as writers, we can celebrate the good editors we’ve had. Any writer, even those of us who are also editors, needs and can benefit from a good editor. I’ve had the good fortune and pleasure of having several terrific editors. Some of these editors have done heroic work on books and magazines that might astound not only readers, but other writers and editors as well.
So what is it that writers do that put editors in a bind?