by Sarah Chauncey | Aug 28, 2014 | Editing
An editing client once dubbed me a “book intuitive” because I was able to see beyond her writing challenges to the personal issues underneath. In addition to stark contrasts in the quality of her writing (depending on whether she was writing about her experience or...
by Sarah | Mar 24, 2014 | Editing, Writing
If you’ve studied psychology (or ever watched Lie to Me), you’ll know that microexpressions are split-second facial expressions that we’re not aware of making, but which reveal our true feelings about a given conversation. Although most people can’t consciously...
by Sarah | Mar 19, 2014 | Editing, Writing
The other day, a friend sent me a job posting from a well-known technology company. The first sentence included the phrase “creates top-of-the-funnel content to drive form completes, engagement and establish thought leadership status.” I nearly broke out in hives. My...
by Sarah | Mar 16, 2014 | Editing, Writing
One of the fundamentals of narrative writing is “show, don’t tell.” People retain stories and scenes better than they do a list of facts. Stories resonate more deeply with readers, creating more of an emotional engagement with the material at hand. For example,...
by Sarah | Mar 5, 2014 | Editing, Writing
As writers, we work painstakingly to craft beautiful sentences, paragraphs and stories. And then there comes a time when an editor says we need to cut 1200 words, or a client wants us to “tighten it up,” and the horror of having to delete those beautiful pieces often...
by Sarah | Mar 2, 2014 | Editing, Writing
I’m frequently asked what type of editing I do. That’s kind of a trick question, because there are no operational definitions when it comes to editing. What I call “substantive,” someone else might call “structural.” What I call...
