Celebrating Year One at The Editor’s Blog

Time truly does fly and it flies even faster as you age; I can’t believe The Editor’s Blog is beginning its second year.

Yes, last week was the one-year anniversary of this blog.

Thank you all for joining me in an exploration of writing and editing and the world of fiction. I’ve enjoyed every article and comment so far and plan to enjoy many more in the coming years.

I wanted to know if I’d met the goals I’d stated for the blog (I think I’d stated a few goals), so I took a look back into the early posts, from May of 2010. In my first article, on the blog’s purpose, I’d said—

My plan is to post weekly, more often if the mood strikes or I come across a topic that encourages exploration. I’m guessing you’ll find a lot of writing tips here. Maybe examples of what to do and what not to do. Probably lots of suggestions for writing better, for creating emotions in the reader, for keeping writers encouraged.

I’m fairly satisfied with the blog’s progress when viewed against those goals:  There are nearly 100 articles on craft; we’ve looked at tips for writing better; and I’ve written articles on creating emotions in the reader, on encouragement, on grammar and punctuation, and on the elements of fiction.

There are other topics to explore, of course; several readers have made requests for topics they want to see covered. So we should have plenty to look at in the weeks and months ahead. I hope you’ll stick around, share your opinions and questions.

A quick recap of the first year at The Editor’s Blog . . .

The two most read articles—

Punctuation in Dialogue

How to Format Your Novel Manuscript

The next five most read articles—

Duties of an Editor

Sex in Fiction

Creating Emotion in the Reader

Use and Misuse of Dialogue Tags

Male Writers and Female Writers—There’s a Difference

Search term used most often to reach The Editor’s Blog—

What does an editor do?

A few articles that struck a chord with readers—

Male and Female Writers—There’s a Difference

The Outline Dilemma—Plotting vs. Pantsing

Dealing with Discouragement

Early articles worth checking out—

The First Book is Seldom the Best

How to Hook Your Readers

Detail Enhances Your Fiction

I was going to include my list of articles on topics I find important for writers, but I couldn’t limit such a list to just a few. Check out the alphabetical archives for a full list of articles; I’m hoping you’ll find articles both useful and entertaining.

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Thank you for reading The Editor’s Blog, for commenting and asking questions. Thank you for tweeting and linking and mentioning the blog on your Facebook pages. I appreciate every moment you spend here.

As for the coming year, I plan to continue writing articles on craft and encouraging writers and editors.

I may also introduce a new element to the blog—First Pages on First Fridays. I’m thinking of offering an edit of the first page of at least one manuscript, perhaps a few, the first Friday of every month. This would be a public edit, so I’m not sure who will be up for that. Solely an idea under consideration at the moment. I’ll let you know for sure when I make a decision.

Also, I’m also considering something special to celebrate the 100th blog article—giving away a free edit of the first 30 pages of one fiction manuscript. If there’s enough interest in this kind of giveaway, I’ll probably do it. Watch for more details.

Again, thank you for your interest in The Editor’s Blog. I’m celebrating the past year, looking forward to the next, and lifting a glass to you, you writers and editors determined to write satisfying and entertaining fiction.

Here’s to even more good writing!

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Tags: blog update     Posted in: A Writer's Life, Recommendations