Sharon Honeycutt, Editor

You write. I edit. You shine.

Category: editing (Page 3 of 8)

You’re the author. I’m the editor: Respecting the difference

July 28, 2017 /

Hey, writers … ever wondered what would happen if you and your editor didn’t see eye to eye on every aspect of your book? This post is for you.

I recently–and successfully–finished editing a romance with some magical realism elements. My client’s happy and moving on with publication, but I can’t tell you how many times I read and reread their last email to me. I can’t tell you either how many times I constructed a reply in my mind, typed the reply, deleted the reply, and then wrote it again, only to delete it for good.

Sometimes, I just have to let them go.

I had a couple hurdles with this particular client. (I’m keeping my references to this client gender neutral to respect their privacy.) Continue reading

A Writing Lesson: The Drifter (A Peter Ash Novel) – Incorporating Sarcasm

June 15, 2017 /

I wrote a post a while ago discussing the importance of being an active reader if you’re a writer. Please notice, I said “active” reader—not just a reader.

If you want to read actively, you need to pay attention to the way a writer writes. You need to notice the subtle as well as the obvious choices the writer makes to convey the tone, the mood, the theme, and the whole big story they’re telling.

In my last couple posts, I shared with you some well-written examples of figurative language taken from All the Light We Cannot See, the Pulitzer Prize–winning novel by Anthony Doerr. Today, I want to look at a very different book written by a different kind of writer: The Drifter (A Peter Ash Novel) by Nick Petrie. And instead of looking at imagery, we’re going to look at some examples of dry, sarcastic humor. Continue reading

A Writing Lesson: All the Light We Cannot See – Using Metaphors Well

April 27, 2017 /

In an earlier post, I shared with you some great examples of similes from Anthony Doerr’s All the Light We Cannot See: A Novel. (ICYMI, you can find the post here.) Why am I talking about Doerr’s use of figurative language?

  • Because the man writes mind-blowing phrases—he won a Pulitzer, for heaven’s sake
  • Because figurative language is hard to do well
  • Because when done well, figurative language helps your reader connect to your book and REMEMBER your book.

Because we already discussed similes, today we’re focusing on a few examples of his metaphors. Continue reading

A Writing Lesson: All the Light We Cannot See – Using Similes Well

April 24, 2017 /

As writers (and editors helping writers), we’re always looking for new ways to say things that have been said before. When we use words and phrasing to create images, we’re using figurative language, and in the figurative language realm are metaphors, similes, and personification. It’s not too awful hard to come up with examples of these and to use them in our writing. However, to use them well, to create an image that feels new and exciting to the reader, that, my friends, is something.

I tried desperately hard to read All the Light We Cannot See: A Novel by Anthony Doerr. It won the Pulitzer Prize, and it has over 250,000 five-star reviews on Goodreads. Good grief. I should have devoured this book, right? Well … I didn’t. I tried twice to sink my teeth in and get through it, and I couldn’t do it. I may go back to it because I didn’t dislike it, but it also didn’t captivate me.

What did captivate me, though? Doerr’s writing. Oh. My. Gosh. The man can turn a phrase.

So even though I didn’t LOVE his book, I did love his writing. Because of this, I thought I would share with you some examples of his beautifully crafted figurative language. Continue reading

To Oxford or Not to Oxford, the Comma Is the Question

April 4, 2017 /

If I had to name the single-most hated grammar rule I’ve encountered with my clients, it’s the Oxford (serial) comma. Oh my, the number of times I’ve been told “I hate that comma!” is staggering. And now that little ink spot could be worth millions to some laborers (details at the end of this entry).

If you need a quick refresher, the Oxford comma is the one that comes before the conjunction in a series of items. For example: “I want to visit Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, and New York on my next trip.” The comma after “Vermont” and before “and” is the Oxford comma.

You might read that sentence and think, “I don’t need that comma. It makes sense without it.” Yes, you’re right. That one does.

But what about this one: The dress comes in blue and white, black and red, and orange and brown.

If you removed the comma after “red,” would the sentence be as clear? Would you know for sure what colors the dress comes in? Does it come in six different colors, all solid? Does it come in one pattern–blue and white–and four solids? Does it come in two patterns, one that’s blue and white and one that’s a combination of the last four?

Continue reading

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