As promised, here are Ten New Year’s Resolutions for Editors. They're resolutions you really can keep.

Resolution for Editors No. 1: To read every word of a draft before making changes. (Yes, this is hard. But if time permits, a good practice.) Resolution for Editors No. 2: To give your writers something good to read--to inspire them with fine style, structure or storytelling—and then to talk with them about it.

Here are New Year’s resolutions you really can keep-- Resolutions for Writers.

No. 1: To never stop reading. You never know where you will find inspiration: poetry, fiction, long-form and short. It can be a word, a technique or a framing device that makes your next story pop. Writer’s Resolution No. 2: To read your work out loud. If really daring, read it to someone else. Hear how lengths and rhythms affect your meaning. Think of writing like a musical phrase, a series of contrasts—long/short, loud/soft, staccato/legato.

A Writer’s Thanksgiving. Ten things writers are (or should be) grateful for.

No. 1: The em dash. But don’t abuse it.

#writingtips #Thanksgiving A Writer’s Thanksgiving, No. 2: The English language’s abundance of robust verbs (and the occasional adverb). Use them wisely.

I just chatted writing with the @latimes spring interns and, among other things, shared four tips on using quotes. Now I’ll share with you. Quote Tip No. 1: Review the sentence before each quote. Such lead-ins often give away too much of the quote and can be trimmed or cut. Quote Tip No. 2: Capture dialogue. If you report exchanges between people--whether in speech, text or emails--it’s like inserting a little movie into your story. @finneganLAT shows how: latimes.com/california/sto…

Here are 10 items for any editor’s 2021 to-do list.

Resolutions for Editors, No. 1: To remember it’s not your byline on the story. Also, ask yourself: “Am I making this better, or just different?”

#editing #writing #NewYearsResolutions Resolutions for Editors, No. 2: To be positive. When you find a gem in the 20th paragraph don’t say, “You buried the lede.” Say, “This part is so good we gotta move it up.”

An Editor’s Thanksgiving.

Nine things editors are (and should be) grateful for:

No. 1: Writers who read their work out loud. An Editor’s Thanksgiving, No 2: Writers who love the sound of words—but still use the dictionary to make sure they’re using the words correctly.

"Omit needless words," say Strunk & White. But how do we know what's needless? To give us all another break from virus news, here are four #writingtips on finding needless words, best used while self-editing drafts. 1/6 1. Review prepositions. If you snip one (of, for, from, etc.) you likely take other words with it. Even cutting just one word makes copy tighter. "Tariffs barred dairy products from Canada" can become "Tariffs barred Canadian dairy products." 2/6

Harry Potter movies on TV all weekend brought to mind #writingtips from “Sorcerer’s Stone” about word order. The great writing coach Jim Hayes told me sentences should end with gusto. As Jim put it, “Put the best stuff at the end.” A key sentence in “Stone” does just that. 1/4 Near the end of the novel, Hagrid gives Harry a book of wizard photographs (remember, they move). J.K. Rowling describes what Harry sees: “Smiling and waving at him from every page were his mother and father.” It’s a moving passage—made me misty-eyed. Why? Word order. 2/4

Let's again set aside grim news for writing. I got a request for #writingtips on avoiding passive voice, so here's a full-proof method I learned in college. First, reminders. Passive voice: "The bill was passed by Congress." Active: "Congress passed the bill." 1/5 Turning passive to active is easy, so when writing your first draft DON'T WORRY about whether it's active or passive. Nail down your ideas and facts. That's the most important thing in writing--the meaning. 2/5