Should You Hire a Developmental Editor or a Copy Editor?

by Marylee MacDonald in For Writers Doing Revisions

You’ve just finished your manuscript, the one you’ve been working on diligently for what feels like forever. You know that before you submit it, you should get it looked at by an editor, but whom do you pick? Are they all the same? The first thing you need to do is to figure out what […]

Where Do Story Ideas Come From?

by Marylee MacDonald in For Readers

“So where do you get your story ideas?” My old friend’s question stumped me. Recently she had begun writing short stories based closely on her own experiences, and she’d just finished reading my story collection, This Far Isn’t Far Enough. An army grunt in occupied German after World War II; a failed actor caring for […]

Heighten Tension by Raising the Stakes

by Marylee MacDonald in For Writers Doing Revisions

If you heighten tension, you can transform a good book into a book readers can’t put down. That’s because we’re hardwired for danger. We register a threat when we see a shadow on a sidewalk. If a dog lunges toward a fence, we jump back. If our spouse tells us he’s having an affair, we […]