Edit toward clarity

There are a lot of things you have to think about when you're editing your work. There are a lot of rules and conventions that you have to remember. There are a lot of ways you could go wrong.

Here is one that I was recently reminded of when someone else read my work: Your reader doesn’t know what you're thinking. They don't know what's important and what's not. They don't know why someone is asking a question or why you aren't telling them something. They don't know that you know what you’re doing.

So, you have to show them. You have to edit your writing to make sure that you're showing your reader what they need to trust you. Tell them where you are. Tell them when you are. Tell them who these people are and why they matter. Tell them what each pronoun means.

When you're editing, don't just worry about grammar and spelling. Remember that your story has to make sense to someone who doesn't know where you're going. Make your story clear and then worry about the details.

Learn something new

New year, new goals, new skills.

Why not commit to learning something new this new year?

Maybe you can find a way to use AI to help you with your research. Maybe you can explore the world of self-publishing. Maybe you can explore grammar like you never have before.

Or, maybe you can just learn about a subject that interests you to see if you can make it the star of your next novel.

Learning something new is always good. Even if it turns out to be a useless endeavour, it keeps your brain young. And you never know what it might inspire.

So what are you going to learn this year to move you forward?

What are your 2026 writing goals?

Every year is another chance at writing. Okay, every day is another chance at writing, but a new year can help kick you in the butt and motivate you to move faster.

Finish a novel. Edit a novel. Submit something for publication. Go to a conference. Present at a conference.

Every year is a new chance to get something important done. Write down your 2026 writing goals and see if you can outdo your writing achievements next year.

Year end right

The end of the year is a great time to look back and finish what you have been wanting to get done.

Check your writing goals, tally how many you've accomplished, and see if you can get any more completed before the ball drops.

Here is something else you can do to help you end the year right: Make sure that you've catalogued your year's progress right.

Are your files in the right folder? Did you name them in a way that will help you find them later? Do you have duplicate documents that confuse you?

There is a lot you can do at the end of the year. Why not make cleaning your files one of them.

What you'll never see

We get used to the smell of our own house. So much so that we sometimes don't even realize that the smell might be unpleasant.

Writing can be very similar.

Sometimes, you've lived in your story so long that you don't see its faults anymore. You don't see the plot holes or that some of the actions come out of nowhere.

You miss a lot when it's something you're too close to. So, get someone else to help and point out what you yourself could never see.

The many reactions to alcohol

Alcohol sure can come in handy sometimes.

In movies, it can get someone to tell the truth. It can get will-they-or-won't-they couples to finally hook up. It can get someone out of the way long enough for other people to do exactly what they want to do, but can't in front of their friend.

Alcohol can have many effects. If you need a little help moving your plot along, maybe a little drink can help your characters. Just make sure that you give your characters a logical reason to be drinking.

How many times over?

You're going to have to do a lot of editing.

You're going to have to read your writing over and over again to make sure that it's exactly what you want it to be.

You're going to have to work on it.

How many times you're going to have to edit depends on how you do it.

If you start by polishing before you've made sure your story flows, you're in trouble.

Start with the parts that are going to change the most text. If you have to add a character or a plot element, those are all new words that you're going to have to edit. If you have to change a paragraph to clarify the sequence of events, you're going to have to check it again for grammar.

Start by changing the big things and then you'll be able to focus on the smaller ones. Otherwise, you'll be checking the details over and over again as you change your story.