Numbers cause a lot of difficulty for self-editors. They appear in a variety of jumbled forms within manuscripts as if the author is unclear of the rules. The confusion is most likely derived from the fact that technical writing and creative writing have different...

A friend wrote me recently, and she commented on a book she was reading. She indicated the book was difficult to get through because the author didn’t understand RUE: Resist the Urge to Explain. When an author explains the dialogue or actions of his character rather...

Recently, authors have asked me several questions regarding chapters. What is a good word count for a scene? How many scenes should make up a chapter? When is a chapter considered too long? I suspect that the authors who asked these questions wanted simple answers,...