Is it a blurb or a synopsis? (Publishing term explained)

Posted on October 13, 2023May 29, 2024 by Judy L Mohr

There are some publishing industry terms that are designed to confuse us. It's like the people who created the terms did it deliberately, determined to make all of us scratch our heads and question the sanity of those around us.

Today's term is doubly confusing, because it has different meanings depending on the context.

Blurb and synopsis. Two words that can have the same meaning, but have completely different meanings at the same time. (I did mention how some terms were designed to confuse us, right?)

Let's break this down and define these terms.

Every writer needs to learn to say “No”

Posted on September 15, 2023July 5, 2023 by Judy L Mohr

Hanging a lantern on it is NOT cheating

Posted on August 18, 2023June 30, 2023 by Judy L Mohr

For those who don't know, the term hanging a lantern on it refers to when writers deliberately highlight something that is not what readers expect, but it is done in such a way that it's a fleeting moment, asking the reader to accept things the way the writer is presenting it. It's an important tool for any fiction writing that deviates from "normal" society.

But there are some writers who believe that hanging a lantern on it is cheating, but it's not. It's asking your reader to trust you and accept the world that you are presenting, asking them to put aside their preconceived ideas and beliefs long enough to enjoy the ride.

In today's post, I want to explore why hanging a lantern on it is an important device to have in your toolbox and how it can actually save a story from the fires of reader criticism.

Accountability for Writers

Posted on July 14, 2023June 30, 2023 by Judy L Mohr

Setting goals, devising a plan, and sticking to it. It sounds easy, but many people struggle to stick to routines—especially in the beginning. For many of us, when we start working towards a new goal and we start out well, focused on what needs to be done. Then we falter. We lose the energy to keep going, or something comes up unexpectedly to throw a spanner in the works.

There are many reasons for this, and for the most part, it all comes down to personality. Even if those routines are nicely tuned with the way we work, we still find reasons to procrastinate, avoiding what it is we should be focusing on. And it's often on a subconscious level.

Are you one that readily meets deadlines, even self-imposed ones? Or are you one that meets externally imposed deadlines but not the self-imposed ones? Or are you a person who laughs at deadlines? ("I'll do it when I feel like it." Yeah, I know people like this.)

In today's post, I want to talk about the way in which we respond to meeting our deadlines and expectations, and I want to explain why accountability is one of the best tools that writers can use to keep them on track.

Not everyone uses Google

Posted on June 16, 2023March 30, 2024 by Judy L Mohr

Over the past few months, I have encountered multiple instances where someone would invite me to a Google Calendar, or send me a Google Doc file, ask that I fill in a restricted-access Google Form, or any other number of things that you can do with Google. And in every instance, those invites have been sent to my work email (a custom domain email for the Black Wolf Editorial domain). And in every instance, there has been some issue that all comes down to the lack of access to Google products.

Because Google has become mainstream and so embedded in our everyday lives, there is this assumption that every email address on the planet can access a Google product. But it's an assumption. And when you assume things, you make an "ass" out of "u" and "me".

In today's post, I want to deviate from talking about writing and editing specifically, and I want to highlight the issues associated with this Google assumption.

Too many short sentences make a scene feel stilted

Posted on May 12, 2023January 13, 2025 by Judy L Mohr

When I was still new to writing, someone told me that to write a good action sequence you had to use a lot of short sentences. The idea was that short sentences were straight to the point and didn't give you a chance to add fluffy stuff. When I was told this advice, I was told that the short sentences would speed things up. Now that I'm more experienced, I know that this was bad advice and fundamentally not true.

Short sentences can be a great device to add emphasis, which is why this misconception exists. When used wisely, the short sentence can create urgency within your storytelling. However, too many short sentences in quick succession will create a stilted feeling in the narrative that is disjointed and slow to read. It can even make things confusing.

In today's post, we're going to discuss the true nature of using short sentences in action sequences.

You don’t have to use an editor’s proposed solution.

Posted on April 14, 2023April 14, 2023 by Judy L Mohr

The job of a developmental editor is to highlight areas within a manuscript that are problematic and provide possible solutions on how to fix those problems. However, it's the writer's job to fix those identified problems in a way that works for the story and holds true to the writer's vision for that story.

That doesn't mean that the writer is supposed to just bow down and do exactly what the editor tells them to do. The editor could be wrong. But it's up to the writer to make that choice.

In today's post, I want to talk about my own experiences of working with editors on my own manuscripts and how I, as a writer, had to make the choice to tell my editor "no" to his solution and do it my own way.

5 ways to drive your editor batty

Posted on March 17, 2023September 3, 2023 by Judy L Mohr

Every editor has a few pet peeves, things that irritate them when they see them. But we editors suffer in silence, correcting those issues and moving on to the next page of the manuscript. But there are editors like me who happily turn those pet peeves into blog posts, showing the world how irritating they can be.

Today's post dives into some of the things that writers do that can drive an editor to the coo-coo train.

(Now, watch, some of my writing buddies will turn this into a challenge to see if they can work all of these things into their next writing piece that they share with me.)

4 signs you have finished editing your manuscript

Posted on February 17, 2023September 11, 2023 by Judy L Mohr

Years ago, I was at a writing group when a newer writer asked a loaded question:

"When do you know you have finished editing a manuscript?"

Without hesitation, one of my writing buddies, JC Harroway, blurted out, "When someone takes it away from you." Of course, the room burst out laughing, but JC was serious. She is a dreadful tinkerer, never happy with what she has written and constantly obsessing over it. But she is a writer with publication deadlines, and when those deadlines arrive, she has no choice but to hand over that manuscript to the editor or it won't get published.

But when you look at the original question with seriousness, there are multiple aspects to consider. Not only do you have those who constantly obsess over every little detail, but the editing question goes the other way, too. You also have those who think they have finished editing but in reality still have work to do to ensure that the story they envision is what is on the page.

In today's post, I want to discuss some of the benchmark tests you can use to determine if you have finished editing a manuscript.

Goal Setting with a Theme

Posted on January 13, 2023January 19, 2025 by Judy L Mohr

When setting goals, we are told to use SMART goals: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Timely. We are encouraged to define our goals with clearly defined constraints and requirements to achieve the goals (specific), using something that we can measure our progress against (measurable). While it's important to dream big, we should never set ourselves up to fail by shooting for the stars from word go when there are a lot of little steps that we need to take along the way (attainable and realistic), and we need to put time limits on those goals (timely).

While I strongly believe in the ethos behind using SMART goals, it's the R in SMART that I believe is a little troublesome.

Commonly, I'll see R as Realistic, but I think Relevant is a better word to use. We might set a goal based on a certain task, but does that task have a purpose that is in service to our long-term hopes and dreams? For example, building that active Twitter following probably won't be of any help to the writer whose target audience is filled with young readers.

Today, I want to talk about shifting our SMART goals into something that has a stronger relevance to not only our hopes and dreams, but with our subconscious motivations too.