For professional fiction editors — One of the most important services you can offer a client is to get to know the characters in their story. You’ll evaluate the story based on the characters and how they relate to the story. Making a list of the characters in every scene forces you to focus on…

Connect readers with your characters by describing characters in a way that keeps the reader engaged. — But how do you do this in the most effective way? The most important element you can use for describing a character is not describing what they look like. It’s showing the reader what a character does. The second most important element you can use for describing a character is…

Like an author, an editor must work hard to find their editor’s voice. — An author’s voice is the unique style they use when writing. An author can be funny, serious, flowery. They can use short, punchy sentences or long descriptive sentences. Sometimes it takes years and several novels for an author to create their voice. An editor’s voice is the unique style they…

A compelling character arc is the emotional journey your character takes throughout your story that engages your reader. —

A blurb is a promise to the readers — Every story editor should request a blurb from their client prior to starting to work. What is a blurb? Think of a blurb as the copy that goes on the back of the published book. This tells the reader what the story is about. A blurb does not give away the ending of a…

One more step to ensure readers love your story. — Linking the inciting incident to the climax scene is one more step to ensure readers love your story. We’ve covered the major plot points in detail, so let’s go one step deeper and see how two of the plot points must be linked together to ensure the reader is satisfied…

A fiction editor has many responsibilities. One of them is to give a writer the editor’s view of character names. — Character names are a way for readers to connect to the characters and are the first way a writer describes the characters. Inexperienced writers may not put a lot of thought into name choices, and even an experienced writer may not see if they’ve confused a reader with ineffective names.

First, let’s talk about spelling of plotpoint. One word or two. It’s doesn’t matter. What does matter is that you know what a plotpoint is and how to use it in your story. My point. It won’t matter how perfect your spelling and grammar are if you don’t have a…