Tag Archives: advice for writers

Another Way to Write Your Memoir

Posted on September 30, 2017 by Danielle de Valera

Many’s the person who’s thought to themselves, “I’ve had an interesting life. I should write my memoir.” And they’re right: there’s a book in every one of us, whether we’ve lived what to the ordinary world would seem an interesting … Continue reading →

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Using Commas with As, Since and While

Posted on March 20, 2017 by Danielle de Valera

This is actually very easy, but people often get it wrong. Most people whack in a comma at the end of all opening clauses that contain a verb. In Australia, at least, this is not the right way to go … Continue reading →

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Producing a Print Book’s a Hard Journey

Posted on March 8, 2017 by Danielle de Valera

Some time ago, I investigated Indie publishing, particularly the publishing of Print on Demand (POD) books with CreateSpace, a subsidiary of Amazon. This investigation and my own experiences with it were most illuminating, and I thought I might share my … Continue reading →

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Conflict in Novels

Posted on February 11, 2017 by Danielle de Valera

Every good novel needs conflict, something that prevents its hero from achieving his or her aim. Superman wants a safe world, Lex Luthor wants to take it over and doesn’t care who he kills to do it. Girl wants boy, … Continue reading →

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Finding an expert you can trust

Posted on November 19, 2016 by Danielle de Valera

If you’re an indie writer, these days you’re often dealing with people you’ve never met and probably never will – cover designers, interior designers, manuscript assessors, editors. I have never met the woman did the cover and the interior for … Continue reading →

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Foreword v. Preface v. Introduction

Posted on May 7, 2016 by Danielle de Valera

Last month, a client of mine asked me to edit his non-fiction book, a series of vignettes about his time in rural Australia in the 1950s and Papua New Guinea in the ‘70s. One of the first things I noticed … Continue reading →

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Commas – inside or outside quotes?

Posted on April 11, 2016 by Danielle de Valera

In my work as a manuscript evaluator and developmental editor, it’s clear to me that writers are still having a lot of trouble with commas. One of the instances that always seems to cause confusion is the one where sometimes, … Continue reading →

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What’s in a name?

Posted on May 30, 2015 by Danielle de Valera

When it’s the title of your novel, a great deal, if you plan to publish on the web. A writer has only four chances to attract readers. These are: ~ the cover ~ the title ~ the story as revealed … Continue reading →

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Spontaneity in fiction

Posted on September 14, 2014 by Danielle de Valera

How important IS spontaneity in fiction? The answer is: It depends. Some works benefit from having a style that appears spontaneous. However, in my experience, when emerging writers talk about spontaneity and the fear of losing it by redrafting, they … Continue reading →

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“Real” Dialogue

Posted on July 19, 2014 by Danielle de Valera

Good dialogue in novels is not real dialogue, which is often very boring, containing as it does a lot of batting about of unimportant information between the two parties. Too often, writers get led astray by their desire for realism … Continue reading →

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