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Cheryl Burman
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Category: Writing tips

Character backstory – the what, when and how

December 8, 2021 cheryl

Character backstory is critical to a reader’s understanding of our characters. But there are ways to do it without bogging…

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Posted in: Writing tips Filed under: character backstory, characters, editing, writing characters

Six scene essentials

November 10, 2021 cheryl
books on shelf

The WHY, WHO, WHERE, WHEN, WHAT and HOW of scenes In editing my current WIP, I found I had snippets…

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Posted in: Writing tips Filed under: change in scenes, character change, editing, Keepers, newsletter, point of view, scene beginnings, scene endings, scenes

Four stages of novel editing to make your book shine

September 10, 2021 cheryl 2 Comments
person writing

The draft is done. Yay! Now it’s time for editing. When I read that someone’s manuscript is with their editor,…

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Posted in: self publishing, Writing tips Filed under: copy editing, developmental editing, editing, line editing, proofreading, structural editing

Beta readers – what are they and why do you need them?

September 3, 2021 cheryl
beta readers

Updated October 2022 I’d never heard of beta readers when I (poorly) published my first books, a fantasy trilogy. If…

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Posted in: For the readers among us, self publishing, Writing tips Filed under: beta readers, editing, novel draft

Using Deep Point of View to immerse your reader

August 13, 2021 cheryl 4 Comments

This post appeared in my August 2021 newsletter’s writers’ corner. For regular tips, and much much more, take a risk…

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Posted in: Writing tips Filed under: author intervention, character voice, editing, immersive reader experience, voice

Four steps to using dialogue to drive your story

June 11, 2021 cheryl
people talking

(And a free downloadable guide) This post first appeared in my June 2021 newsletter’s writer’s corner and again a year…

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Posted in: Writing tips Filed under: characterisation in novels, dialogue, driving plot with dialogue, punctuation, show not tell

Story endings

May 14, 2021 cheryl 2 Comments

This post first appeared in my May 2021 newsletter’s writer’s corner. There’s a post like this, sometimes with downloadable guides,…

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Posted in: Writing tips Filed under: novel endings, short story endings, story endings

Six reasons why short story writing is good for you

February 27, 2021 cheryl 9 Comments
typewriter

Short story writing isn’t as easy as some people make it look. Early in my writing journey I threw a…

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Posted in: Writing tips Filed under: competitions, resist the urge to explain, short stories, structure

Second person present tense: 2 pros, 2 cons

January 6, 2021 cheryl

As a homework exercise for Dean Writers Circle, I suggested writing a piece in second person, present tense. Not something…

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Posted in: self publishing, Writing tips Filed under: present tense, second person

Easy steps to stronger sentences

November 28, 2020 cheryl

Words of wisdom from Harry Bingham at Jericho Writers. If you haven’t signed up for their newsletter at least, or…

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Posted in: Writing tips

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  • About the author
  • Cheryl Burman’s Books
  • Newsletter
  • Blog posts for readers & writers
  • Guardians of the Forest
  • Historical Fiction
  • Bits of writing
  • Author guest spots
  • Reviews of what I’m reading
  • Sammy’s Walks
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