I'm a former assistant editor with advice about how to write novels, comic books and graphic novels. Most of my content applies to fiction-writing in general, but I also provide articles specifically about superhero stories.

The difference between “anyone” and “any one” is simple but frequently missed. “Anyone” is a synonym to “anybody,” so use “anyone” in a situation where “anybody” would also work. If anybody does not fit, use “any one.”

• Any one of Jim’s girlfriends would murder him if she found out.
• Anyone could have told Jim that having four girlfriends was probably an unwise move in terms of not getting murdered.

Also, please keep in mind that both are singular. “Jim’s girlfriends would murder him if they found out” vs. “Any one of Jim’s girlfriends would murder him if she found out.”

Beginning authors tend to overuse “said bookisms,” which are words used to replace the word “said.”  For example, in the sentence “I’m ready!” he declared, declared is a said-bookism.

Using more than a few said-bookisms per page will probably make the dialogue feel melodramatic and stilted (“I’m hungry,” he uttered). Some common said-bookisms are wrong because they aren’t actually a way to speak.  For example, “I knew you’d come back,” she smiled lazily conflates two actions: the speaking and the smiling.   No, she didn’t smile those words.  It would be clearer and more publisher-friendly to change the phrase to “she said with a smile” or give the two actions their own sentences.

Additionally, animal-sounds are unusually annoying.  It doesn’t take much of him clucking and her purring to sound absolutely ridiculous.

Continue Reading »

(Courtesy of xkcd).

Please don’t invent words when an immediate English translation is available.

From Wired.com: “Thomas Edison, never shy about exploiting a situation to his advantage, especially if it could cripple a rival, therefore built the electric chair to operate on alternating current [the preferred system of his rivals]. By associating the Tesla-Westinghouse current with something as unpleasant as capital punishment, Edison hoped to turn public opinion his way. He even suggested replacing the new coinage, electrocution, with ‘to be Westinghoused.’ It never caught on.”

That invented use of “Westinghouse” is brilliant. Which words could you repurpose for your fiction?

If you ever come across one of these words as you rewrite, please replace it with something more specific and spicy.

1. Good
2. Nice
3. Alright
4. Well
5. Mean (adjective)
6. Interesting
7. Vivid (hat-tip to anonymous commenter)
8. Of course (hat-tip to T3knomanser)
9. Smart (hat-tip to Jacob)

Did I forget any words you love to hate?

When you try to sell your work to a publisher or readers, please do not use the word “parody” interchangeably with “comedy.” A parody imitates the style or plays on the conventions of an author/genre /work to make fun of it.  Most comedies are not parodies. There are two common reasons that authors may misuse the word parody…

Continue Reading »

This short article will help beginning novelists avoid another five common mistakes that will usually cause publishers to throw out a manuscript.

Continue Reading »

Empty interjections, like the word “well,” should rarely start a sentence. As a rule, if you can take out the first word of a sentence, it’s probably a good idea to do so. You should never waste words, but it’s particularly dangerous to do so at the beginning of sentences.

Here are some common offenders:

1. Well
2. You know
3. Yeah
4. Oh
5. Like
6. Umm
7. OK
8. I mean
9. Seriously
10. Basically